2000 Evinrude Ficht 175 fuel pump issues

Hello all, I have a 2000 Evinrude 175hp Ficht w/ ram on a 20' Eagle flats boat. I recently purchased the boat and had an issue as the engine would not get the boat on plane. I called the previous owner and his mechanic took care of the issue. He said it was the vapor separator / fuel pump and that the screen was clogged. We water tested her right after and she ran like a champ. A few days later, I went on a trip and had no issues until we decided to head home. She would idle just fine but would not get on plane again. Seems to me that it was the same issue. I watched the mechanic rebuild the separator the first time and realized (being a mechanic myself) that it wasn't that difficult. I had no problem removing or disassembling the pump. What I did notice is that both of the o-rings that were under the ?cap? where torn and had rolled from the last rebuild. The o-ring on the cap was missing altogether. This was causing water to enter the fuel system as this pump is water cooled. The dealer said I had to order the entire assembly and that I could not purchase o-rings for this pump anywhere. Now I?m not cheap but I just cannot bring myself to spend $700 on a fuel pump when all I really need are these o-rings. The pump in question is BRP# 0439347 (new # is 5004428) I?m not sure what the difference between the two is. Does anyone know where these o-rings can be purchased or if there are o-rings that will fit at all? They must be used in another application, right? Auto or industrial maybe? I will buy a new pump if I need too but I would rather spend that on the boat and fishing stuff. In addition, what is the likelihood of an injector or two going bad due to this issue and how can I tell if they are indeed bad? Thanks and tight lines!

Re: 2000 Evinrude Ficht 175 fuel pump issues

I will be merging your two posts.

Re: 2000 Evinrude Ficht 175 fuel pump issues

Merged Post.

What damage, if any would be caused by by-passing the water jacket on a water cooled vapor separator/fuel pump? It has a water leak and I cannot purchase o-rings for it. I can seal the unit from the fuel but not the water side of it. Does it really need to be cooled? Thanks in advance!!

Re: 2000 Evinrude Ficht 175 fuel pump issues

I have 1999 150 Ficht and my fuel pump is sliding up exposing the 2 o-rings and leaking gas. I expect that I may also have problem with the 0-rings which along with the clamp hold the pump down. Have you had any luck finding the rings? Is the pump hard to take off and put on?

Re: 2000 Evinrude Ficht 175 fuel pump issues

Hi:
My 2000 90hp FICHT has the same symptoms.
-Runs great for days, then I go on a trip, runs great still. Then all of a sudden it bogs down, not getting on plane.
-Everytime this happens, I do something that I think improves it (new gas tank, bulb, filter, plugs, add SeaFoam to the gas.
-It will run great for a few trips, then it goes back to its old self again. I'm now on my fifth iteration of good/bad/change a component/good/bad/next day good again.

I've checked the following:
-Compression is 120/120/120/110
-vapor separator pressure is 20psi (the tire gauge check). It should be between 20-30. It makes a high pitch sound when the key is turned on (the 10 second on cycle). Is this normal? This is a $700 pump that I'd prefer not to replace this unless I'm sure it's the problem. I'd like some more details on what to look for to determine if water is getting into the fuel. These symptoms sure fit the description of water getting into the fuel.


-I've seen some talk about a antisyphon valve on the lift pump. Dumb question: doesn't the lift pump just fill up the main pump's vapor separator? If so, then once it's filled, it should run for a while even if the lift pump components don't perform perfectly (is this correct?). Please help me understand how a bad lift pump diaphram or anti syphon pump would not let me get enough power to get on plane.

I've bought the lift pump kit and am getting ready to put it in, but am not sure of its effect. Although I'm ready to put it in, I'd like to understand its effect on this symptom so that when it runs good again, I know I'm making the right change, and not something random and unjustified (like the 5 times before that didn't really fix this intermittent problem).

**Update on 9/8/10** As part of the rebuilding of the lift pump, I removed all the lines from the lift pump to the vapor separator pump and it appeared that the output of the vapor separator pump was clogged. I found this out when removing the output hose and nothing came out of the reservoir. A few minutes later, it cleared itself and the reservoir emptied itself into my driveway. I couldn't see or find the source of the clog, but I assume it's build up crud. After I put everything back together, there was no more noise, and the vapor separator was putting out 25psi. I hope this is the root cause of the fuel starvation problem. I will test on the lake this weekend. and update.

Please share your experience with this FICHT engine fuel system.
Thanks,
tim