1955 Evinrude Pressurized Fuel Tank Problem

[swhobie]

I have a 7.5 Eveinrude 1955 vintage (I believe) and the fuel tank is one of those two line jobs that needs to be pumped to prime the flow up to the engine and then the engine shoots air back to the tank to keep it pressurized and the fuel flowing. My problem is with the little pump on the tank, when you pump it up it sprays gas through the top of the assemply where the little shaft goes up and down as you pump. I am assuming there is a gasket or o-ring that has gone bad. Are there any tips anyone can give me before I just start tearing into the tank to find out on my own.

I hesitate to just tear it apart as when I got the motor and tank, the top plate for the tank is screwed down and there is what appears to be PermaTek blue gasket material. The previous owner says that when he bought it, the owner before him said gaskets for this style tank are no longer available and that is why he used PermaTek.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Stuff4Toys]

Re: 1955 Evinrude Pressurized Fuel Tank Problem

Good Luck, the extent of repairs to an old two line system are only limited by Your level of creativeness.

There are No parts available unless you can find a 60 year old dealer somewhere that stocked up.

JOhn ><>

 

[jbjennings]

Re: 1955 Evinrude Pressurized Fuel Tank Problem

SWHobie,
I'm almost positive those tank kits are readily available. In fact I know they are but you'll have to check and see if they come with the primer button gasket since I've never actually bought one. You can find 'em for about 24 dollars on ebay, and other places as well for about the same. try vintageoutboard.com or laingsoutboards.com and they'll send you one. And if you don't like the tank (I personally like them and find them very reliable unlike the crappy primer bulbs that always have check valves going out on them on the modern single line tank hoses). Fix it with a new kit and forget about it, it will last for years and years. I also am the proud owner of a '55 7.5 evinrude. It is a great motor! Mine is changed over to a single line system with a 30 dollar briggs and stratton pulse vacuum 3-line fuel pump from the local lawn mower shop, a 5.00 pack of vacuum line plugs, and about 4.00 worth of fuel line. It uses 16:1 fuel/oil ratio which I had to learn about on iboats because I was too stupid to read the label on the inside of the cowl carefully. I only did that because it was one of my first oldies and I hadn't got the tankto it in yet. It works great, though.
Good luck,
JBJ

 

[swhobie]

Re: 1955 Evinrude Pressurized Fuel Tank Problem

JB, that was great info..... Thanks a bunch, I have fired off an email to www.vintageoutboard.com and now I will wait for a reply. Their site shows the repair kits but does not specify if the pump seals are part of the kit, but I imagine that they are in there. The kit looks pretty complete.

Thanks and smooth sailing......

Sounds and looks like you have quite a few of these oldies......

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1955 Evinrude Pressurized Fuel Tank Problem

rebuild kits are available at http://www.laingsoutboards.com/. there are 2 types of tanks, and it makes a difference, for which kit. one has a black plastic pump button, the other has a metal pump button. this determines the kit you need. i have used these kits, even include the o rings for the connector.

 

[F_R]

Re: 1955 Evinrude Pressurized Fuel Tank Problem

As mentioned, the button type dictates which kit you need. They take different pump diaphragms (part of the kit). The metal button has other issues as well. Water gets down in there and corrodes the push rod stem and diaphragm supports. That stuff all has to be in good condition or it will continue to leak even with a new diaphragm.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: 1955 Evinrude Pressurized Fuel Tank Problem

F-R,
Thanks to your wisdom I'm going to stop being so lazy and letting my tank sit outside. The one I use regularly has the metal primer and I've noticed it squirts water out every once in a while, I guess because of dew or rain. Hopefully I haven't ruined it yet because it doesn't leak gas.
Thanks as usual--very informative.
JBJ

 

[crocket15]

Re: 1955 Evinrude Pressurized Fuel Tank Problem

are all the tanks the same size? I have a '55 35hp Evinrude and my tank is constantly leaking out from between the actual tank itself and the cap/fuel line part. i took it apart a while ago and cut out my own seal from a kit while cleaning the inside of the tank. It obviously hasn't worked too well. i think my tank is a 4 gal. tank.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: 1955 Evinrude Pressurized Fuel Tank Problem

No, they also made a 6 gallon tank (I have one) at least. There may hav made one even bigger, I'm not sure.
JBJ

 

[F_R]

Re: 1955 Evinrude Pressurized Fuel Tank Problem

Four gallon and six gallon. Two types of mash buttons, metal or plastic with diaphragms to match. Otherwise, they are pretty much all alike.