Logo
FULL SITE MENU

Mislabeled Fuel Connectors???

M

Mitch Higgins

New member
I just bought a rebuilt '99 15HP Merc that I was having problems with, and took in for service. I brought along my fuel tank and line, just for them to test. Right off the bat, they told me the fitting screwed into the tank was a Johnson type connector, though I was sure I had bought an Attwood Mercury type fitting. Later on I get a bill in the mail saying they had to change the hose and fitting from the bulb on up to the engine side connector. The mechanic, who has been working on outboards for 50 years, told me the fittings on my "Mercury" fuel line kit and tank connector from Attwood were not actually Mercury connectors. He attributed my problems to an improper fuel connection and affixed what he deemed as the "real" Mercury type connector to the engine side of my fuel line. The tank and tank side line connector were left as is; the engine-side line connector and bit of hose from the bulb on up were replaced by him to what he declared "real" Mercury fittings. My first thought was how could Attwood be shipping Mercury tank fittings and complete fuel line assemblies labeled as for Mercury motors but with Johnson connectors on them???? Even stranger, I bought the tank fitting and fuel line kit from two different vendors. Can anyone ID these fittings as actually *not* being the proper Mercury type??

Entire Fuel Line Kit + Box....
http://i.imgur.com/TWa5bP1.jpg

"Real" Mercury engine side connector (left) and original Attwood "Mercury" fitting (right)
http://i.imgur.com/svKTNIP.jpg

Tank side connector (still original Attwood)
http://i.imgur.com/npuL7Sj.jpg

Tank outlet fitting...
http://i.imgur.com/QL4Y00n.jpg
 
I think the fuel line you purchased is for the larger Mercs,becomes noticeable when you see both connectors side by side.As for the tank end,it doesn't matter what type of fitting as long as the bore of the line is sufficient.I run the Yamaha and Merc on the same tank,two fuel lines,different engine fittings but same at the tank. The tank fittings you show look like what I have.I think your mechanic was thinking of the old bayonet style, http://www.moellermarine.com/aftermarket/fuel_systems/fuel_line_connectors/ ,top two
 
haventaclue said:
I think the fuel line you purchased is for the larger Mercs,becomes noticeable when you see both connectors side by side.As for the tank end,it doesn't matter what type of fitting as long as the bore of the line is sufficient.I run the Yamaha and Merc on the same tank,two fuel lines,different engine fittings but same at the tank. The tank fittings you show look like what I have.I think your mechanic was thinking of the old bayonet style, http://www.moellermarine.com/aftermarket/fuel_systems/fuel_line_connectors/ ,top two
Click to expand...


The different brand tank fittings look basically the same, just different lengths on the ported prong.

I suppose though it makes sense it was a bad engine side connector, I really had to force the thing on, and even then once I got it to stay I wasn't sure if it was properly secured. Needless to say I'm not going to buy ANYTHING fuel related from Attwood again. It'll probably be a fool's errand to demand compensation from them for my $200 bill that really only got me about a foot's length of hose and a new connector to go on it, but it's worth a try...
 
Merc did use two different (and non-compatable) of those prong style fittings over the years (plus that other bayonet style). And yes without a side/side comparison they do look like the OMC fittings.

Since I run both Merc/OMC portables and OMC fittings (were) half the price of Merc stuff I swapped everything over to OMC. Mostly so I would never end up with the wrong fuel line and ultimately it doesn't matter one iota "what" fittings you use as long as they all plug into each other - if you swapped all your connectors to Honda fittings the motor wouldn't know the difference.

The portable 2 stroke Merc's (6/8/9.9/15) originally use(d) the Yamaha fittings (not the Merc at all unless they had the bayonet) which makes sense since they had far more Yamaha built parts (but only used by Merc, not to be confused with the Yamaha built Mariners) on them then Merc.

In 1998 Merc came out with a fitting that was "almost" identical to the Yamaha fittings, but almost is the key word.

It's entirely possible that whoever owned the motor before you changed the original (engine side) fitting or that it had the Yamaha fitting and you tried to plug a Merc connector into it with just a hair of a difference.

I suspect if you had of bought a Yamaha (pre-rigged) gas line it would have probably plugged right in without issue.
 
Back
Top