Need help figuring out where a fuel line goes... HALP!!!

[Smgbad]

Just bought a boat last night with a mid 80s Evinrude 150hp motor. E150tlcdc I think. No data tag to be found . Anyways. She started last night and ran, but I was smelling gas and seeing liquid fall while it was running. It didn't help it was heavily raining in the area during the hour before I got there, so the liquid falling was explained away as excess rainwater falling. It was also getting dark... it ran alright so I went ahead and bought it and tricked it home.

Get home from work and start it today and it won't crank. I squeeze the fuel bulb and notice fuel pooling in the fiberglass engine compartment. Sure enough... There was a fuel line loose. I've looked all over but it's really tight quarters in there and cannot figure out where it connects to.

Can't run the engine safely til I fix this by putting it back on its nipple. Anyone know where that nipple is exactly?

Thanks in advance for anyone that can help with this because I've tried researching and come up empty. Pretty much dead in the water (no pun intended) til I figure out where it goes...



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[flyingscott]

That is a primer line probably goes to the bottom carb. Look at the primer itself and make sure the red lever is in line with the body. That should not dump fuel while the motor is running. It should also not dump fuel while using the primer ball. Unless the primer red lever is in the manual position.

 

[Smgbad]

Anywhere to get a diagram of where the lines might go?

 

[Smgbad]

That is a primer line probably goes to the bottom carb. Look at the primer itself and make sure the red lever is in line with the body. That should not dump fuel while the motor is running. It should also not dump fuel while using the primer ball. Unless the primer red lever is in the manual position.

I haven't seen it dump fuel while running. I only saw it sleeping it when I squeeze the primer ball and then there's a pool of fuel I noticed both times after running so I assumed it did it while running too. Does the primer you speak of have a Schrader valve and a little red pointer shaped lever? If so I do knowsknow that gas will shoot out of that line if you pump the hand bulb with the red lever in either position.

It's so tight in there I can't see where on the bottom carb it would go. Assuming I'll have to take the intake manifold off completely to gain better access to those hoses but wanted to make sure no one knew exactly where it went before attempting that.

I can tell you that it appears that in the T it is part of, the upper hose goes to the upper nipple in the middle carb and it appears that the middle (horizontal) hose runs I'm guessing to the fuel pump maybe? And of course the bottom one is waving in the breeze.

Oddly enough it seemed to run just fine with it disconnected from wherever it goes, so not sure how that's even possible if the bottom carb isn't getting any fuel...

 

[racerone]

The electric primer is a valve that opens when you push the key in.----Or it opens when you turn the red lever,-----This wonderfully good unit replaced choke flappers in 1980 models and newer.-----That primer has NOTHING to do with filling the carburetors bowl either.----Find the nipple on top of each carburetor and make sure each one has a hose that originates from the 2 wee nipples on the primer cover !!

 

[Smgbad]

The electric primer is a valve that opens when you push the key in.----Or it opens when you turn the red lever,-----This wonderfully good unit replaced choke flappers in 1980 models and newer.-----That primer has NOTHING to do with filling the carburetors bowl either.----Find the nipple on top of each carburetor and make sure each one has a hose that originates from the 2 wee nipples on the primer cover !!

So since gas spews outta that open line withtwith knob in either position when I squeeze the hand bulb does that mean it's a bad primer valve too?

I will be revisiting this when I get home from work today. It's so tight in there it's hard to see the top and bottom of the carbs. Should there be one nipple on top of each carb? It looked like there was already a hose of same tiny diameter attached to the top of each carb, but I'll look again.

If worse comes to worse, is removing the intake manifold (the big black plastic housing) the best way to gain access to the hoses??

 

[racerone]

Fuel should only come out of a small primer hose when key is pushed in , or red lever is in the manual position.---Or bring it over and we figure this out in a heart beat.----Run to your nearest boat shop for help on this simple matter.

 

[emoney]

Once you find the red lever he's talking about, you probably see where that hose goes. I think on those old VRO systems, it was located behind the fuel/oil pump. Operative word being "think".

You should be able to loosen that VRO pump without taking any of the lines off, if you can't see behind there. Those do need "rebuilt" often, so make sure once you have it in view,, you confirm it's working. Push in on the key, red lever should flip. They're not very expensive at all, the rebuild kit, btw. Google Evinrude Fuel Primer Solenoid so you can see what you're looking for.

 

[racerone]

And what needs to be " rebuilt often " and why ? ---I am curious.----And the red lever does NOT MOVE when you push the key in !!!-----Where did you come up with this idea ?

 

[Smgbad]

Yeah. The lever is manual operation only, but I get what hes saying.
It might be easier to see where I need to see if I move the VRO out of the way by unbolting it. I'll definitely try that before taking the whole big black plastic intake manifold off.

I've never had a motor that had a vro pump before. Off topic but I noticed that the line coming off the vro pump (the line that is at the head of the unit just offscreen in my pic) been deleted. A bolt is shoved in the line to stop flow, and that line I think teed into a white standalone pressure switch that has currently got nothing running to it. At some point someone deleted a whole portion of the VRO system it looks like.

 

[racerone]

So your VRO is only being used as a fuel pump.----It will pump your 50:1 mix from the tank just fine.----The white switch would be the fuel restriction alarm.-----You should look into hooking that back up !!!

 

[Smgbad]

How would I hook it back up if the line it was coming off of on the vro was deleted? Use a tee and come off a different fuel line maybe? Or reinstitute the whole vro system? I checked and that white pressure switch is showing obsolete no longer available, and it looks kinda old. Not even sure it works. I'll try a continuity test and see if it comes on when I blow into it I guess.

Back to the main problem, is there any sort of diagram showing where the lines are supposed to go available? Or an old service manual online I can look at? Haven't found one yet

 

[Smgbad]

Turns out it went to a nipple that had been broken off under the the bottom carb. It's a primer line, so it still has the other ones going to the other 2 carbs. The broken off nipple connector seems inaccessable without removing the engine from the body (shell) of the motor. I ended up just blocking that line with a screw. Also learned that the gasket to the electric primer is blown which is why I saw gas seep out of it as well, so I got a rebuild kit coming to fix that. Hopefully no more gas leaks and I can finally take it on the water.

​​​​​​I did manage to break the wires off a completely dry rotted temp sensor that was pressed into the port side cylinder cover. There's one in each side... Shows obsolete no longer available on the boat part sites. Do I really need that so long as I check the telltale hole every so often during operation? If so I may be in trouble... Lol

 

[racerone]

The vacuum switch hooks up to the FUEL line into the pump !!!!-----It does not hook up to the missing OIL line as you assumed !!----The fuel line was not deleted because you motor is running , yes ?----It is a vacuum switch and does nothing if you blow into it.------Perhaps a manual is on your " Christmas list " for Santa.