CF3 modification

[scoflaw]

Someone asked about this, and I wanted to respond with my fix for this poorly designed POS.

Had a 9 year old cf3 that failed/ It had a breach between the gas and water section of the casting. Also had the paint flake issue altering my fuel pressure. And a leak at the water inlet with the old style O ring setup.

This is what I did. I disassembled the unit completely after removing it. Drilled and taped for threaded water pipe fittings instead of the O ring style. The newer units come this way now. There are posts here with pics explaining all that

Glass beaded the cf3 cover completely to get rid of the rest of the flaking paint. The body of the unit appears to be painted with a product that wasn't coming off so opted to leave that be.

This last mod is something I would do even if I had just bought a new unit. The water section of the cf3 is the weak link of the design. An aluminum, uncoated, water chamber with a paper thin wall between it and the fuel section of the unit. I used the product POR 15 that is made for coating/repairing old leaking gas tanks. It's a 3 step process that works quite well. I used this on the water chamber only. So now the salt water does not come into contact with the bare aluminum.

Been a couple of years now with no issues, and this was a 2006 failed unit to begin with

 

[Quint4]

What is a CF3?

 

[Madifonzo]

Fuel cooler

 

[bbwhitejr]

This is the famous cool fuel 3 module that houses fuel filters and pumps. The one that the paint flakes off on the inside and clogs the injectors. The one that also has the silly little flimsy plastic water fittings that break and leak water.

Thanks for for the write up!

Bennett

 

[Quint4]

This is the famous cool fuel 3 module that houses fuel filters and pumps. The one that the paint flakes off on the inside and clogs the injectors. The one that also has the silly little flimsy plastic water fittings that break and leak water.

Thanks for for the write up!

Bennett

Roger that.

 

[fc3]

The only problem with that is that plastics tend to insulate. Don't know the specific material of that product, but most plastics have a heat conductivity of about 0.1 to 0.3 W/(m K) which is much less than the conductivity of aluminum which is around 200 W/(mk) and copper 400 W/(m K). It won't corrode, but it probably won't cool fuel too well, either. On the other hand, if vapor lock isn't a problem, then don't worry about it. On the other hand, for someone in Florida, maybe not such a good idea.

 

[dpmulvey]

In all the math and acronyms all I understood right off the bat was POS. I've been through several of the POS myself. It's poorly designed for the consumer to work on; poorly placed for the consumer to get to; and is manufactured of the worst possible material to expose to the most likely environment (salt air and salty humidity) it's going to exist in. Add to that it's either coated in a substance completely unfit for the job it was supposed to do or there was a complete lack of testing prior to production. It's not as if ethanol fuel was new this year.

If I were a gambling man, I'd place a months salary on Merc:
1. being in cahoots with and getting kickbacks from marine mechanics and contortionists or
2. the political machine to put the boating industry out of business in the interest of reducing global warming.

It's a shame there is virtually no competition. Most I know say the same. I have to wonder if Merc is doing this at their own peril. Crusader engine parts are far more accessible and far less complex.

I travel 40 miles to and from work daily on route 95. Most of the larger boats (35 foot and up) I see being hauled these days are being powered by multiple high horsepower outboards. Most of those OB's are Yamaha or Evinrude. Up to 30 foot there are a lot of Hondas and lower HP Yamahas.

 

[fc3]

Mercury's product testing organization is known as "customers." Or probably the in-house name used by management, "suckers."

 

[dpmulvey]

Mercury's product testing organization is known as "customers." Or probably the in-house name used by management, "suckers."

ROFLMAO!!!!:smt043

Then I cried cause it true and I own two pieces of black iron attached to the aforementioned POS!:smt021