J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Diesel problems

Having had this drama numerous times, the bulb will save you a lot of #%&$*Q time. I have now replaced the lift pump 3 times.. but in 14 years? Maybe they just LOOK like they should work forever

The lift pump fix the problem. Finally sailing.
Phantom364

Bill and others,

Could you please briefly describe the bleeding process you use using the racor hand pump after changing the racor filter and the filter on top of the engine? I am going to attempt the filter change tomorrow for the first time and have never had to bleed the system.

I've read lots on here about this but would appreciate your wisdom.

Thanks and cheers.

Eric,

You want to use the pump to fill the bowl on the Racor. You will also be pushing some air up the fuel system, through the fuel lift pump to the inlet of the high pressure fuel pump.

• Pump the Racor until you feel the system is full (it will get hard to pump). Once you get to that point,
• crack open the bleed screw on the top of the 2 micron filter located between the fuel lift pump and high pressure fuel pump on the stbd side. Note this is cracked open, NOT wide open because you only want to concentrate on air escaping, and minimize fuel escaping.
• put a rag under the bleed screw to catch fuel.
• Pump the Racor with one hand and you'll see air/fuel being pushed out of the bleed screw.
• Once the air is gone (no bubbles or hissing (solid fuel), close the bleed screw while pushing the plunger down on the Racor pump.
• crack open the bleed screw on the inlet fitting to the high pressure fuel pump (that's on the stbd side front of engine). Again, only cracked open, NOT wide open.
• put a rag under the bleed screw to catch fuel.
• Pump the Racor with one hand and you'll see air/fuel being pushed out of the bleed screw.
• Once the air is gone (no bubbles or hissing (solid fuel), close the bleed screw while pushing the plunger down on the Racor pump.

That should suffice on bleeding the system. You can actually bleed all the way to the injector inlet, but this probably isn't necessary. Start up the engine per normal procedure and call it done!

That's the most comprehendable description of the procedure I've seen anywhere. Big thanks.

One of the reasons I like sailing so much is that I hate engines.

First, what I had thought was a pump handle on the Racor primary filter was just a bleed/venting screw. So I left this filter alone and proceeded to change the upper/secondary filter. I then tried to bleed the air out of the system but the manual lever on the lift pump got me about ten drops of fuel per 100 pumps.

Does this mean that the lift pump is toast? And, does this primary/lift pump serve any other purpose than priming/bleeding? It does not look mechanical to me, but posts above suggest otherwise.

In the end, I filled the bowl of the secondary filter with fuel an and left it, planning to come back here to the forum and ask for advice. The boat's on the hard, but I need to get the engine running within two weeks to pump out antifreeze prior to launch in mid April.

My big question is will the other fuel pump eventually be able to reestablish fuel flow, or do I need to replace that lift pump? There is definately some air in the system, but only because of the filter change (I think). If I need a new lift pump, how do I get one?

I should also add that the engine had always been hesitant to start, that it smokes a lot when it does, and has cacked out or varied its RPMs when underway in a seaway. So I'm changing filters as a first step.

Eric - the most inexpensive but effective way is to buy one of the squeeze bulb inline fuel pumps you see on outboard motors. Splice this inline with the fuel system just before the inlet to the Racor. You can leave it in the system without any impact.

The fuel lift pump is a pain to prime the system, as you can't really pump it fast enough to be effective and it is really low capacity. It doesn't pump a whole lot, as the engine normally consumes about 0.3 to 0.5 gallons per hour.

If you need a new lift pump, you can look in the top menu under "Market", "Equipment Suppliers" and see the link for Yanmar parts.

Since you are in the great white north, Look here

Seems like the bulb pump would be better on the outflow side of the racor so you "pull" fule through the filter vs forcing it through. Maybe it does not matter - I do not have one but it has now made the "to do list" since I use the lift pump which is not very effective - particularly when you have to replace the filter underway.

David - either location should work. With the pump on the suction side, it lets you vent the Racor to get air out of it too.

Long term, I have a small 12V electric diaphragm pump I use to empty the fuel tank into containers when needed (e.g. dreaded diesel bug). It could also be used for priming if needed, but I have a hand pump on my Racor filter. To use the electric pump I disconnect the suction to the Racor and connect the pump there, then pump discharges fuel into containers. It plugs into a cigarette lighter connection on the power panel. Someday I plan on installing this permanently and wiring it to a power panel switch. Because the fuel lift pump has a diaphragm that could rupture and leak fuel into the crank case, I don't think the pump should be powered all the time, but in an emergency, I could bypass the fuel lift pump and use the electric pump to feed the HP fuel pump.

The manual lever on the lift pump on Rauzer II worked well once I figured out how it works. If you just push it down until you feel resistance then let it up, almost nothing is pumped. I had to push it down about another 1/4 inch or so, then when I let it up it gave a little squirt. It seems that only that last little bit of a push actually moved the diaphram.

The varying rpm,s while underway is almost certainly the small secondary filter. I have to change mine a couple times a year. Eventually I want to clean the tank and replace the fuel lines to eliminate this problem, but it is low on the priority list for this year.

I changed my lift pump last year. Any Yanmar dealer should have them in stock.