Evinrude 2003 225 HO Ficht - Valve with Plastic Cap - Leaking

[champ203rude]

Seahorse and Company...

Prefishing for tournament i smelled gas and my engine died.. Took off top cap and got engine started and notice a huge gas leak in this 'thing' in the gas line that looks like a 'T' valve (metal) that has a thread on one of the 3 ends with a bicycle cap looking thing. The leak was not the cap.. but a leak in the seam between the bronze fitting and the T valve metal housing.

I used this gas tank emergency puddy stuff and wrapped with emergency tape and it it sealed totally and got me through the 2 day tournament.

Questions..

1. what is the function of this valve ?
2. any harm to my engine leaving my jerry fix on ?
3. my mechanic tells me that to get that piece fixed i need to buy an entirely new fuel line harness assembly that is like 250 bucks just for the part !

Any help on this ?

Thanks

[ChampioNman]

Not Seahorse but that it a monitoring port for fuel pressure. Yes it should be fixed ASAP.

[champ203rude]

ok.. thanks... if this is a 'monitoring' port.. then where is the monitor connection ? it's got this bicycle tire head /thread thing sticking out.. that is what i have goop'd up and jerry rig fixed...

Just curious .... when is that thing used ? when i bring the boat in for a checkup ? that's what i don't understand

thanks for the reply !

[SEAHORSE]

Get that fuel rail replaced ASAP!

Leaking gasoline under pressure is an explosion hazard and the the motor should not be run until it is fixed.

[Bassmeister]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by SEAHORSE &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">

Get that fuel rail replaced ASAP!

Leaking gasoline under pressure is an explosion hazard and the the motor should not be run until it is fixed.</td></tr></table>

There ya have it. The GURU has spoken. In all reality, think about it, leaking fuel in an enclosed area, with a flywheel stirring air, and one little spark, is a recipe for disaster. Yes the shrader valve is used for testing fuel pressure, and the test gauge screws onto that valve, either way it needs to be replaced for your safety....JMHO

[champ203rude]

yup.. scary that it even happened... is ethanol a cause for this ? i read somewhere it is and that this is a pretty common evinrude issue ?

[champ203rude]

Seahorse, thinking about this... if this valve broke down for me and caused a major gas leak... is there any preventive thing i can have my engine guy do to enhance the valve with some sealant to ensure that there never ever would ever be another leak happen ? How u described it of what 'could' happen sounds like it would have put me in a burn unit or 6 feet under.

Thoughts ?

[SEAHORSE]

The replacement fuel rail does not use the Schraeder fitting so that will not happen again.

It's not the 10% ethanol in the gas that causes the problem but the 40-50-60% ethanol in water mix that occurs after phase separation that damages the rubber and plastic parts that are made for 10% tolerance.

[Bassmeister]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by champ203rude &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">Seahorse, thinking about this... if this valve broke down for me and caused a major gas leak... is there any preventive thing i can have my engine guy do to enhance the valve with some sealant to ensure that there never ever would ever be another leak happen ? How u described it of what 'could' happen sounds like it would have put me in a burn unit or 6 feet under.

Thoughts ?</td></tr></table>

Mine is an 03 also, and I've been watching for this to happen. So far so good, but since ethanol was introduced in my area, I've been diligent about using fuel treatments..I've got 262 hours on my engine todate, how many on yours, and have you run anytime without fuel treatments? Just curious.

[champ203rude]

i'm just using Sea Foam and running the xp100 oil. Have it on the xp50 setting.

I'm not suggesting you go out and do this but in my opinion.. just the RISK that you are running down the lake and you have what happened to me where there is a MASSIVE gas leak at high pressure going on as you are running down the lake... if I still had a schrader valve that was 'working properly'.. i would at least put the following stuff around it for a second-level line of defense 'should' it begin to leak.

This stuff is incredible and resists fuels as well. Just suggesteing that a small wrap of this on your functioning schrader might save your life.


http://www.rescuetape.com/

I'm still shaking my head that Evinrude would allow people like me to be out there without a recall notice done on this schraeder valve ... someone is going to end up in the burn unit or dead ....

Just my thoughts... this tape is incredible.. it is what i used to seal the leak and get me back faile safe to my launch when i was 10 miles offshore. Glad i had it.

[Bassmeister]

Thanks for the link. Do you know how many hours are on your engine?

[champ203rude]

Yes, i have 400 hours.

[Bassmeister]

Thanks, I belive I've used the product or something similar, wrapping electrical connections, and it is indeed an excellent product. I'll keep that link and get me some just for a situation like that.

[pcmc19057]

I had the same thing happen to my motor.
I just removed the valve and put a piece of gas line where it was no more leak, just can't check fuel pressure.

[champ203rude]

I decided to bring the engine in to get that fuel rail replaced.. i believe the part is a good 250 bucks alone.... but i just don't want some other fuel pressure problem or something else to happen.... so i bit the bullet... even though my jerry rig seems to be solid.

[brems]

Fixing correctly is a lot cheaper than a blown motor...or worse. Had the same thing happen to me on a 03 175 Ficht. Some were covered on a recall depending on serial number-might be worth checking.