Primer Bulb Problem (Kinda Long) Please Read

[Hooked]

98 TR-19 W/175 Johnson FastStrike. Had primer bulb hard before launching boat. Started motor fine, ran to fishing spot (Approx. 5 Min.) and used the trolling motor for about 1 hour. Went to start motor and it wanted to cough & spit and not idle. Finally got her to run and went to another spot, fished about 2 hours and was going to leave, decided to check primer bulb and it was soft as when I started that morning, reprimed it and it ran fine. This happened to me at least four different times that day. The last time when I was loading my boat on the trailer, almost cut off on me before I could get on trailer. I know this is not normal and need help in correcting this problem before I get totally frustated with it and give up. (SELL THE #$%^ BOAT). Please help.

[ChampioNman]

No need to sell the &#$%^&* boat. Pull the air box off and check for leaks in the fuel lines, when was the last time you've replace them/checked them for splitting/leaks? A slight split in a line will cause mucho problems. CM

[Hooked]

ChampioNman don't know that they have been replaced. Bought the boat this past fall. Previous owner had used it less than 20 hours. Had engine gone over before I ran it & did 20 Hr. service on motor. Mech. said that the motor was in excellent cond. but I don't know if he checked for that perticular situation. Had some rigging work done on it last week had different mech. to check performance of motor. When he found primer buld in back compartment under lid he said that was no good, was put there for cosmetic reasons, he ran hose outside and placed bulb in the transom well. Was the first time I was able to squeze bulb and get it to the point it would not get any harder. I always thought it was just cold natured. Thanks,
Scott

[RUSTY63]

Seems from your post this problem started when the primer bulb was moved, I hope the bulb is a Bomb part and not a after market part, also you need to see if there are any air leaks in the new fuel line, if its sucking air it wont pull fuel.

[Hooked]

Something seems strange. When I took boat out of water on Sat. I checked primer bulb and it was soft. I primed it until it was hard again. Just went and checked and primer bulb is still hard. It gets soft when I run the motor, but it has stayed hard for 2 days just sitting in garage. Any ideas? I am dumbfounded.

[RUSTY63]

Is it a Bomb bulb?

[Hooked]

John, I don't think it is. I don't see any markings. There is a yellow fitting at each end of the bulb (looks like they me be interchangeable), and the letter M like maybe a company logo in the middle of the bulb. When the mech relocated the bulb I did notice the fuel line looked to be larger coming from the tank than was going into the motor.
Thanks,
Scott

[RUSTY63]

The fuel line needs to be 3/8 from the tank to the motor.

[Hooked]

Is that 3/8" ID or OD?

[RUSTY63]

ID.

[Lojack]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hooked &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Something seems strange. When I took boat out of water on Sat. I checked and it was soft. I primed it until it was hard again. Just went and checked and still hard. It gets soft when I run the motor, but it has stayed hard for 2 days just sitting in garage. Any ideas? I am dumbfounded. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Some of those medications say if it's hard for more than 4 hours, see a doctor. Sorry, I've been reading too many of Wons' posts.

[JeffA]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hooked &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">John, I don't think it is. I don't see any markings. There is a yellow fitting at each end of the bulb (looks like they me be interchangeable), and the letter M like maybe a company logo in the middle of the bulb. When the mech relocated the bulb I did notice the fuel line looked to be larger coming from the tank than was going into the motor.
Thanks,
Scott</TD></TR></TABLE>mine has the same, is this a stock blub?

[ELGIN]

Dont know, got any pictures?