watch out for primer bulbs!

[Stan Williams]

A while back I posted about my 1977 70hp evinrude not running well. I would swap back and forth from old gas line to a new gas line,sometimes ran good with old line, next time new line, never the same way. I'm sure I need to clean my carbs but this is what I found out today. The primer bulb on the old line had one check valve that came apart and ended up backwards. The new gas line, from Walmart, not only had one checkvalve backwards, but the cap that holds the valve in place wasn't even in the bulb! Seems like I saw a post awhile back about primer bulbs with parts missing or installed wrong. They only had 4 parts to install and they couldn't get it correct? btw, how I found all this out was using one of those clear fuel filters to see if they were pumping gas. I will not buy another primer bulb without taking it apart to see if the did it correctly!

 

[Hooty]

Re: watch out for primer bulbs!

Thanks for the heads-up, Rosewood.<br /><br />c/6<br /><br />Hooty

 

[Bob in Calif.]

Re: watch out for primer bulbs!

Those "Wally World" fuel line setups might be made in Taiwan or China and if they are, they are made with inferior materials. You would be better off going with the factory OMC stuff. The quality is highly superior but it does cost a little more, but in the long run, it is worth it.<br />You can always just buy a factory primer bulb and end connectors and use good neoprene (American Made) fuel line. I have used after market setups in the past, made in the Oriental countries, but 9 out of 10 of them leak at the connectors, while the bulb and fuel line gets quite stiff after a year or less. ...Bob in Calif...

 

[Stan Williams]

Re: watch out for primer bulbs!

Bob, I thought I rememberd seeing made in china on the package but when I looked at the primer bulb it says made in USA. The check valves looked the same as my omc, could not tell them apart. I know this problem cost me several months labor looking in the wrong place.

 

[12Footer]

Re: watch out for primer bulbs!

Thanks for posting this. Yes, it's old news, but there are still gazillions of them out there, and we need to be reminded whenever replacing them, to check first. The thumb over intake ,or air-on-cheek tests, (if it's not in a blister pack)seem to werk well.<br /><br />It's not just Wallyworld, it's global! Thousands of defective primer bulbs have been produced, and are on shelves of every place that sells them. You are correct in that you have heard of this before. I first read the service builiten on another website in 2000!!<br />What suprises me is, that there are still thousands out there.<br />I cannot recal the otriginal manufacturer, but remeber OMC had a recall, as did US Marine back then.