Stormcat918
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 12
- Reaction score
- 9
- Points
- 62
- Location
- 33760
- Boat Make
- Sugar Sand
- Year
- 1998
- Boat Model
- Other
- Boat Length
- 16
Hello my fellow boaters!
I am new to the jet boat scene so please forgive me if this is a stupid question. I bought a 1998 Sugar Sand Tango Offshore a few months back. It has the merc 175 sportjet engine. I ran it out on the water 2 or 3 times without any issues (all speeds and rpms seemed normal). About a month ago, I drop it in the water, it fires right up, then about 2 minutes later it dies and wouldn't start back up. When I got home and started her up, I was able to replicate the same 2-3 minute running time before it died again. I put a bottle of sea foam in the tank and it fired right up and ran with no issues. The next weekend, I put it back in the water and ran through the whole tank of gas (with seafoam) without any issues. I didnt turn off then engine at all during this time. The next weekend I filled it up with a fresh tank of gas ran it about 15 miles and anchored at a sandbar for a couple hours. Went to start it back up and it wouldn't start so I had to get towed back to the dock. Once again, I dumped some seafoam in it and got it back to the 2-3 minutes of running state before she dies. Has anyone experienced this before or have ideas on a fix? I don't know much about the previous maintenance. The oil system was already removed when I bought the boat and I run regular gas with a 50:1 oil mixture. I pulled the plugs and they all look good. I put a brand new battery in the boat when I first bought it. My gut is telling me that there is a fuel line clog somewhere. My current plan is to drain all the gas in the tank and replace both inline fuel filters and start using ethanol free gas. Does this sound reasonable?
On a side note, one of the fuel filters (mercury p/n 35-834830) is no longer made. I found some on ebay so I ordered 2 just to have a spare, but does anyone know of a comparable filter that could be used should I need one later down the road?
Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks and happy boating!
I am new to the jet boat scene so please forgive me if this is a stupid question. I bought a 1998 Sugar Sand Tango Offshore a few months back. It has the merc 175 sportjet engine. I ran it out on the water 2 or 3 times without any issues (all speeds and rpms seemed normal). About a month ago, I drop it in the water, it fires right up, then about 2 minutes later it dies and wouldn't start back up. When I got home and started her up, I was able to replicate the same 2-3 minute running time before it died again. I put a bottle of sea foam in the tank and it fired right up and ran with no issues. The next weekend, I put it back in the water and ran through the whole tank of gas (with seafoam) without any issues. I didnt turn off then engine at all during this time. The next weekend I filled it up with a fresh tank of gas ran it about 15 miles and anchored at a sandbar for a couple hours. Went to start it back up and it wouldn't start so I had to get towed back to the dock. Once again, I dumped some seafoam in it and got it back to the 2-3 minutes of running state before she dies. Has anyone experienced this before or have ideas on a fix? I don't know much about the previous maintenance. The oil system was already removed when I bought the boat and I run regular gas with a 50:1 oil mixture. I pulled the plugs and they all look good. I put a brand new battery in the boat when I first bought it. My gut is telling me that there is a fuel line clog somewhere. My current plan is to drain all the gas in the tank and replace both inline fuel filters and start using ethanol free gas. Does this sound reasonable?
On a side note, one of the fuel filters (mercury p/n 35-834830) is no longer made. I found some on ebay so I ordered 2 just to have a spare, but does anyone know of a comparable filter that could be used should I need one later down the road?
Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks and happy boating!