Gxi 5.0 - loud whine from engine

my200winns · **Posted:** Tue May 29, 2012 11:02 am

Hello,
I have a loud whining noise coming from the engine.(see link below). Louc mentioned there were issues on the Volvo fuel pumps. Is this a simple fix, clogged filter or is the pump toast? Or could it be another issue? What sucked is the boated sounded great when I pulled it off the trailer! boat sat at the dock for a couple of hours. Went to start the boat which sounded normal. Went into the house came back and that is when i heard the loud whine coming from the engine. Thought it was the impeller which did need replacing, replaced it and the noise was still there.
Here is the link:
http://vimeo.com/43008532
thanks
Matt

LouC · **Posted:** Tue May 29, 2012 3:02 pm

That noise does not sound like a water pump, impeller, or belt noise. Can you localize where it's coming from? It could be the fuel pump, there may be 2, a low pressure and a high pressure pump. I have not owned a fuel injected boat yet (have an ancient 4.3 with a Rochester Quadrajet, points+condenser ignition) so I am not familiar with the exact noise the pumps make but they are known to do that. And it has been reported that the noise precedes the pump failing. It is possible that a clogged fuel filter could cause that, you might try dumping out the gas in the water separating filter, getting a new filter, filling it with fresh gas and see what happens. Just be careful not to spill gas. Any leak on the suction side can cause problems. On a boat the fuel system has to be set up to suck fuel from the tank through the filter to the carb or injectors. An air leak in one of the lines or the gasket for the filter could cause a low fuel pressure condition. On cars with FI the pump in the gas tank and pushes the fuel forward, boats don't do it that way because of the fire risk if a fuel line ruptured in the bilge.

298VISTA2000 · **Posted:** Tue May 29, 2012 5:42 pm

That doesn't sound like an EFI fuel pump going bad to me.

ric · **Posted:** Tue May 29, 2012 7:32 pm

I'll take fuel pump for $200, Alex.

Cap'n Morgan · **Posted:** Tue May 29, 2012 7:40 pm

It almost sounds like an alarm that has a bad connection and diarrhea.

my200winns · **Posted:** Tue May 29, 2012 9:37 pm

I am thinking fuel pump as well due to the boat stalling, and also looking on web about the fuel pump issues Louc had mentioned. Not knowing much about engines it was pretty scary. I thought the boat was going to blow up. Actually that could have been a good thing. Ric after researching fuel pumps I wish they were only 200.00. They are selling for around 700+.
I have someone coming to look at the boat this week. So hopefully it's only a clogged screen or filter. 5 years maintenance free I guess I was due!
On the plus side I replaced the impeller myself!
matt

my200winns · **Posted:** Wed May 30, 2012 10:34 am

Just a pulling straws? I replaced the battery this year with a new battery. Bought the exact battery that came with the boat. Could a bad battery connection or battery cause the issue, since the fuel pump is an electric fuel pump?
Matt

ric · **Posted:** Wed May 30, 2012 11:44 am

my200winns wrote:

Just a pulling straws? I replaced the battery this year with a new battery. Bought the exact battery that came with the boat. Could a bad battery connection or battery cause the issue, since the fuel pump is an electric fuel pump?
Matt

no. That's a mechanical "scream" that runs on for 1 second after you shut the engine off. Fuel pump. They have bearings and stuff inside. They go bad. You don't need the whole $700 assembly, you can buy the pump for around $250 shipped.

I would get a mechanic stethoscope and verify it's gone bad. Even easier, when it's screaming just unplug it. The engine will die but either the noise stops instantly (bad pump) or it slowly tapers off (not the pump).

my200winns · **Posted:** Wed May 30, 2012 1:52 pm

Thanks Ric,
I spoke to the person earlier who is going to look at the boat and mentioned everyone on here thinks it is fuel pump related. He said he was bringing down a stethoscope to see what he could find. I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but now you make me feel more confident.
The good thing is I don't need the boat this weekend. Off to Aruba tomorrow!!

cougarcruiser · **Posted:** Wed May 30, 2012 2:23 pm

The Volvo pumps are frisky little bastards.

They are a 2 part pump - a high pressure and a low pressure.

If you are able to idle along all day long without issue, but then it bogs out when you accelerate, you probably have the low pressure side going out. The sound is a result of the high pressure side trying to make up for the lack of low pressure.

It's my understanding that the high pressure side can be replaced fairly cheap. However, if it's the low pressure side, you have to replace the entire unit. Yes, it's about 600-650 bucks.

More than likely, it's part 3594444. It's been around for a while

noexcuses · **Posted:** Thu May 31, 2012 8:12 am

I just replaced my fuel pump last weekend on my 5.0 Gxi. Some of the symptoms were a high pitched whine, loss of power while on plane and the pump was hot to the touch. The boat ran great after replacement until the next day when the oil line blew...

my200winns · **Posted:** Tue Jun 05, 2012 10:04 am

Just spoke to the mechanic that looked at my boat and he said both high & low pressure sound really bad. He suggested swapping out the whole pump. cougarcruiser thanks I will search that part number. noexcuses, that sucks! Hopefully this isn't a sign of more things to come!!
Matt

298VISTA2000 · **Posted:** Tue Jun 05, 2012 11:20 am

I never would have thought the fuel pump would have made that loud of a sound (and I have had to replace two) but I guess it does when both the high and low pressure go bad. Thankfully, the two I had to replace only had the high pressure portion go bad and the whining was not near that loud. That is odd that both would go bad on a 2005 so soon.

my200winns · **Posted:** Tue Jun 05, 2012 8:50 pm

298VISTA2000,
When did you replace your pumps? Did you have to replace the complete fuel pump or was it just the high pressure pump? Was it on the current boat you owned?

I guess the question now for everyone. Should I add seafoam every time I add gas or is there another additive I should add? I did use stabil when I winterized, but because I use the boat a lot I didn't add any treatment other than fuel injection cleaner every once in while to my boat during the boating season.
Matt

LouC · **Posted:** Tue Jun 05, 2012 9:52 pm

I honestly don't think you need to add Seafoam each time. What I would be careful about, is every season, replace the water separating fuel filter, but get a big glass jar, dump the old gas in it and let it sit. See if you see a layer of water on the bottom, if so, you should get that tank cleaned, also look for other debris in the gas. Make sure the anti-siphon valve on the gas tank and the fuel tank vent are both functioning correctly. If either is defective, it is going to make the pumps work harder and cause an early failure, same with a clogged fuel filter.

I had a corroded anti-siphon valve on my boat and it caused a fuel starvation problem I could not figure out (8 years ago) because while I was familiar with carburators, I did not know all aspects of marine fuel systems. The anti siphon valve is a spring loaded valve on the gas tank that prevents gas from flowing out into the bilge if the gas line from the tank to the pump fails. The suction of the pump has to be able to overcome the tension of the spring loaded ball in the valve. If the ball rusts inside, then the engine will starve for fuel and the pumps will strain. My mechanic changed the valve, rebuilt the carb and it ran fine after that. BTW, my boat has the original 24 year old mechanical fuel pump. I like FI in my cars but honestly the amount of fuel pump failures I have heard about in Volvo powered boats is simply unacceptable. Time for the aftermarket to step in with a better product!

www.iFourWinns.com

Gxi 5.0 - loud whine from engine

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