I ran out of gas while idling at the dock. My main tank was very low which I knew. I was on the reserve which showed between 1/2 and 1/4. Tried to restart on either tank with no luck. The reserve would start but die out. Tried to give it gas in neutral, and it bogged down and died like it was starving for gas. The main tank would not start at all-gauge was showing one bar. I called my son to pick up a gas can and some gas, while waiting for about 20 minutes, I tried restarting on the reserve and it started and ran fine. Gave it some gas in neutral and it revved up fine with no bogging down. Didn't attempt to drive it. I should mention when I squeezed the primer bulb, I could get some pressure/resistance on the reserve but nothing on the main. Put 5 gallons in the main, squeezed primer, started right away. Drove to the ramp and got pulled. Here's the weird thing. Filled the main tank the next day and it only took 61 gallons, plus the five I put in. I have always felt when filling the main that it should have taken more. Boat is a 2003 Gulfstream and according to the manual, the main tank should be 92 gallons, and the aux tank should be 56 gallons. I can understand my gauges being off, but only 66 gallons to fill the main tank. I did make sure the tank was full and rocked the boat to make sure it wasn't an air pocket in the tank. As mentioned before I always felt the main should have taken more. Once when the main had 1 bar showing, it only took about 60 to 70 (not sure of the exact number) gallons to fill it. I have not yet tried running it on the reserve. Any thoughts??
Ran Out of Gas
- Thread starter Bumpye
- Start date
I would be surprised if a previous owner replaced the tank with a smaller one on a boat that new so my next thought would be the pickup tube is too short, developed a split or got displaced in some way so the end does not lay in the bottom of the tank properly. Since you have two tanks maybe you could run that main tank till it goes dry again, then remove the pickup adapter so you can see what gives in there.
SkunkBoat
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That's going to be a pain to figure out but as half hitch said, you need to run down that tank until it stalls again and then look in the tank to see what you have.
Could be pickup tube....
wrong tank....tank tilted so vent fills too soon...
I saw a boat where they replaced a tank with a plastic one and the vent and fill were at the at wrong end...
Could be pickup tube....
wrong tank....tank tilted so vent fills too soon...
I saw a boat where they replaced a tank with a plastic one and the vent and fill were at the at wrong end...
I had a mind bender of a problem with mu old 208 a few years back. Based on the quantity of the discrepancy you are stating i doubt it is the same problem. To eliminate the possibility of the tank having been swapped with a smaller one and to do this without unsealing and lifting the hatch, open up both inspection plates to the main tank and look for the manufacturer sticker that will have the tanks specs and serial # on it. It should tell you how many gallons the tanks is and should have the phone number of the manufacturer. If it does not have the capacity on the sticker then, call the manufacturer (if any) or Grady to get the specs. Next thing i would do is pull the pickup from the tank and see if it did not break off, this does happen. Usually it breaks towards the bottom, but you never know. My problem (after we troubleshot every plausible option) was that the tank was never set in properly and at some point in time it collapsed forward, causing approx. 20 gallons to be inaccessible. The way i found this out is while standing on the deck, scratching my head, looking down at the open inspection plates, i noticed the front of the tank seemed significantly lower than the back. I took a tape measure and sure enough the back measured 3" to the top of the deck and the front was something like 8".
Thanks for your replies. I may wait till the end of the season. I like the suggestion of pulling the inspection covers from prince. I'm still baffled why it wouldn't start on the aux tank but did after sitting for a few minutes.
To be continued...
To be continued...
Bumpye,
What are the boat and outboard details? I had a similar problem with my old 208 and a 2007 e-tec. The thread is here: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=23433.
What are the boat and outboard details? I had a similar problem with my old 208 and a 2007 e-tec. The thread is here: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=23433.
Bumpye said:
Could be bad fuel pumps. When the tank is full the pumps may have enough suction to get gas to the motor but as the level gets lower, maybe not so much. One test that might have worked would be to get passengers, assuming you had some, move as far aft as possible to cause the stern to dip lower and in effect move the gas in the tank towards the rear, making the gas level higher in the tank. It could also be a small air leak in the fuel plumbing.
Jonah said:
Jonah, the boat is 2003 Gulfstream with a Yamaha 225. I read your thread-did you ever resolve the problem?
Hi Bumpye,
I was actually in the middle of a move when the problem arose, and I had to sell the boat before fixing it. By that point, we had narrowed it down (I think) to the lift pump. As Seasick said, we think it wasn't strong enough to lift the fuel from the lower levels. I recently sent an email to the new owner to ask if he figured it out. Will let you know if I hear from him.
I was actually in the middle of a move when the problem arose, and I had to sell the boat before fixing it. By that point, we had narrowed it down (I think) to the lift pump. As Seasick said, we think it wasn't strong enough to lift the fuel from the lower levels. I recently sent an email to the new owner to ask if he figured it out. Will let you know if I hear from him.
Hi Bumpye,
I heard back from the current owner. He took it back to the dealer who installed the E-Tec, and they claimed to find a hole in the pickup tube. But a few weeks later, the problem happened again.
I don't buy their claim that they found a hole in the pickup tube, because (as you saw in my other thread), my mechanic and I installed a new pickup tube when troubleshooting the problem ourselves.
Either way, the new owner hasn't resolved the problem yet. My best guess (as I told him recently) is something that Seasick suggested in my thread: the lift pump. When the fuel level gets low, the pump has to pull up further, which requires more strength.
Keep us posted on your progress.
I heard back from the current owner. He took it back to the dealer who installed the E-Tec, and they claimed to find a hole in the pickup tube. But a few weeks later, the problem happened again.
I don't buy their claim that they found a hole in the pickup tube, because (as you saw in my other thread), my mechanic and I installed a new pickup tube when troubleshooting the problem ourselves.
Either way, the new owner hasn't resolved the problem yet. My best guess (as I told him recently) is something that Seasick suggested in my thread: the lift pump. When the fuel level gets low, the pump has to pull up further, which requires more strength.
Keep us posted on your progress.