I have 2004 8.1 GiI Volvo Penta engines and recently had issues with fuel starvation at higher RPM's on one motor. A dock mate with the same VP's had this problem on both motors this year. After research and inspection of my friends pumps, the issue is that the internal areas of the pumps are painted. As they age the paint starts to bubble, peel, and clog ports. Never in my decades of messing with motors have I seen this. I contacted VP but as usual they will not speak directly to you. A Google search has shown this is becoming a common problem with these VP pumps. Do other manufactures paint the insides?

At about $1200 per pump (plus labor if you hire a mechanic) this misstep has created a new business for at least one entrepreneur. He takes your pump(s), tears them down, removes internal/external paint via chemical or abrasives, repaints them (yep, you guessed it, outside only), checks the high and low pressure pumps, reassembles them with new o-rings/gaskets, tests them again, and ships them back. He charges $300 each if you don't need HP or LP pumps, $430 if you do. I plan on using his service this winter.

This was part rant and part for information if you're finding issues with VP fuel starvation that filter replacement doesn't resolve. I'm not throwing shade on Volvo Penta as overall I am happy with their engines, just not this particular issue.