reed valve question 1989 omc 20 & 30 hp

[geezer1]

Have a leaf valve not seating. Pulled the plate and removed the leaf valves. Have Carson (fiber) reeds on hand to replace these. Noticed that the leaf valves I removed did not have the "notch" in the mount hole that the manual cites (one to be mounted at 11 o'clock and the other to be mounted at 1 o'clock, "or damage will occur"). What the heck is that all about? BTW, the Carson reeds are not notched either. I plan to call Chris Carson on this later today, but wanted to hear from the folks here on this. Any thoughts?

 

[geezer1]

Called Chris Carson who says the notches are there for reference to insure that you get the plate holes covered properly by the leaf valve (because they're steel, you can't see through them). Carson leaf valves are clear and easily lined up, so they do not need a reference notch. Makes perfect sense to me. I'm still a little confused by the fact that the steel leaf valves I removed had no reference notches. Perhaps an earlier edition of the part?

 

[Jdoughty]

Or an aftermarket replacement reed?

 

[geezer1]

Yup. Good point.

Or an aftermarket replacement reed?

 

[kimcrwbr1]

The referance notch it in the leaf plate not the leaf.

 

[geezer1]

The referance notch it in the leaf plate not the leaf.

Wanna bet?