Fuel Supply Issues- Checking the usual suspects

BarrySRX

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Good ol' fuel question here:

I'm looking into the fuel pump and carbs related to a fuel supply problem on my 99 SRX- I can turn it over with starting fluid spray but can't keep it running more than a minute or two. spark and compression look ok.

I've verified that my fuel pump "supplies" fuel at this point. I did notice that the three fuel lines do not supply much fuel on one, two or even three pulls on the starter cable. when using a rag at the end of the disconnected tube, i see about a 1" wide fuel spot after 2-3 pulls on any one hose. also the fuel just sort of slowly oversflows from the tube withput much velocity at all- just sort of oozes out.

1)Does anyone know what a "nominal" amount of fuel would be for a few pulls, or what this shoudl look like when coming out of the tube?
Are there any other comaponents between the tank and pump that may be a cause of restriction
2) would it make sense that the sled would idle lower when the airbox is removed? i havent been able to start it up with the box in place yet.


-yes this is a "first start after sitting" kind of situation
 

Fuel should go every where on a good pull. Try checking the line and filter in the tank as well as the vacuum line. A good carb cleaning might help as something could be clogged up.
 
X2^^ those filters can actually partially dissolve and make a real mess in your carbs. Verify your pickup line is clear and that you have a filter on the end of it. Verify you have a good pulse coming from the pulse line. Hold it up to your ear and get your bud to pull the engine over. At last if all else fails, replace the fuel pump.

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I personally would never start a sled with ether let alone keep it running for a minute or two. There is no oil getting to the motor with ether.
 
Yep^^ pour some premix down the plug holes of you need to check in the future.

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Clean the carbs good. Check the screens under the float needle and make sure the pilots are clean. How old is the fuel and how low is it in the tank?
 
Mine doesn't flow a lot of fuel out when pulling it over either.
Your first step is to clean the carbs.
 
Thanks for the responses.

i have the carbs pulled off and ready for a go through. i sort of expect to see nothing in the carbs since they were done end of last season without many milles after the cleanup.

I actually did try to start with the pre-mix in the cylinders, but i tried this at least 15 times and could not sustain ignition longer than a few seconds. The fuel is old with stabil-but still old- i siphoned out as much as possible and refilled with fresh 93/stabil.


i think my next steps are to:

1) verify the pulse line operation
2) clean carbs (check screens and pilot)
3) check tank filter (never done this one before)

Youllbe2nd--> what is a pickup line? do you mean the fuel line from the tank to pump?
 
Yes that is the pick up line.

You'll be surprised with the crappy gas now a days what the jets will look like after sitting. I think the ethanol in the fuel breaks down any gas left in the jets and effectively turns it into mud within about 90 days. Unless the system was completely dry of fuel while it sat i bet you'll find some crudlies in there. Yes I said crudlies. Your on the right track. Verify the things mentioned and report back. You may have something else going on.

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well good news.. i cleaned the carbs and found a ton of junk in there along with one partially blocked pilot jet. the PTO carb was particularly dirty. I also verified the fuel pump was working ok- actually gave it a closer look and it supplies an ok amount of fuel. i did see that my floats needed to be adjusted - thanks to MRVIPER there is a nice carb cleaning/tuning how-to in the tech pages.

It didnt turn over as easily as i expected. i tried to fill the bowls by slowly pulling the cable a few times without sparking the plugs and then used the premix in cylinder trick. i found that after a few seconds of sputtering ii would stall- i would remove the plugs and see they were wet. i dried them off and tried again. i continued this 4 or 5 times until it fully fired up. should the plugs be wet after stall?- doesnt this mean the cylinders are getting fuel? i also noticed a milky grey/white residue on the plugs.

i did notice the idle was a little erratic- so i'll have to look into this next. my airbox is without the foam filter on top due to critters and it did not fully warm up so maybe thats part of the problem


thanks for the suggestions! oh and is there any kind of fuel additive that stops E85 from breaking down like that?
 
E85? I don't know much about E85 but I am sure you do not want to run it in a sled. Should run 91 non ethanol or 93 with 10% ethanol.
 
Whoa sorry there guys meant E10- it seems to be what is available at all pumps. I asked at the local autozone and didn't get any good suggestions other than stabil
 


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