No Diesel coming through

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CreekCrawler

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I've recently had a nasty problem of diesel bug caused, I think by water getting into the plastic tank due to a perished o'ring on the filler cap. I have taken out the tank, cleaned it, drained the fuel pipes, replaced both filters and put it all back together again. I've now refilled the tank but cannot get any fuel flowing through to the primary filter, I've opened the bleed screw on the filter and pumped the lift pump, but nothing comes through. I know I have put the pipes back on the right way around and the fuel tap is open. Any suggestions would be gratefully received. My engine is a Beta 13.5
 
CreekCrawler said:
I've recently had a nasty problem of diesel bug caused, I think by water getting into the plastic tank due to a perished o'ring on the filler cap. I have taken out the tank, cleaned it, drained the fuel pipes, replaced both filters and put it all back together again. I've now refilled the tank but cannot get any fuel flowing through to the primary filter, I've opened the bleed screw on the filter and pumped the lift pump, but nothing comes through. I know I have put the pipes back on the right way around and the fuel tap is open. Any suggestions would be gratefully received. My engine is a Beta 13.5
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I had a pretty similar problem a couple of years ago. A mate brought a compressor along and blew air back through the fuel pipe. Then we had to clean the fuel in the tank. The compressor was on a pretty low setting (I think about 20-25 ib/in2, so beware of overdoing it).

In your situation I'd probably drain the tank before doing it to avoid dirtying your new fuel.
 
Could be the lift pump is stopped at a point on its cam where pumping the manual lever doesn't do much. Try tweaking the engine round a little and see if that makes a difference.
 
I know this might be teaching grandma to suck eggs, in which case, apologies..... but is the primary filter before the lift pump, or after?

If the former, then you need the bleed screw closed to pump fuel through.... otherwise you'll just suck air through the bleed screw.
 
Thanks for the replies. The primary filter is indeed before the lift pump, so I suppose I have as you say just been pumping air ! I'll try pumping it with the screw closed tomorrow.
 
Don't forget to open a screw on a filter after the lift pump in order to let the air out while you're pumping.

If you have two filters after the lift pump, start with the one closest to the pump and then when free fuel flows from there, repeat with the second filter.

You may need to bleed the injector pump... in which case there will be a bleed screw somewhere on the front if it... but you may get away without having to do that on a modern engine like a Beta.

Also, one last thought if you have to crank the engine over for any length of time, then two other things to be careful of.... 1 don't crank in one go for too long, as the starter will overheat, and secondly, and even more importantly, close the engine seacock and open it once the engine starts, as otherwise you risk backflooding the engine as the exhaust fills.

Hope that helps, and good luck!
 
As a general comment on bleeding the Beta, the lift pump is quite small and, depending upon the cam position, it can take a long time to pump fuel up to the engine. Many people (me included) put a priming bulb in the line just before the secondary filter to improve the bleeding process. The difference is significant, and is particularly valuable if you are dealing with a fuel problem at sea!
 
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