Bad rubber in rigging grommet?

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johnsw

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Anyone hear of a problem with rubber deteriorating at the rigging grommet?

Years ago I added an engine temp gauge with left and right temp senders wired so I can monitor each side at the helm via a toggle switch. Last season, the starboard side stopped working so put it on my 'to do' list. Isolated the problem to a broken wire between the rigging grommet and the rigging tube exit in the battery compartment.

When I separated the rigging tube from the grommet and opened up the grommet, the rubber parts have all deteriorated with what looks like blistering and are no longer 'rubbery'. The temp sender wire color had faded and the insulation was swollen and spongy. The wire broke from just pulling it from the grommet. The fuel line was blistered and will flake apart when scraped. The casings of the cables were discolored, and blistered and not a rubber texture.

Physical condition of everything entering and exiting the rigging tube / grommet under the cowl and in the battery compartment looks good. I didn't remove the rigging tube so not sure how far back from the grommet the damage extends, but the damage goes the few inches from the grommet into the tube as far as I can see.

Looking like solvent damage (thinking ethanol), I checked the condition of the fuel line on either side of the rigging tube and all looks good. Pulled from fitting at the engine, primer bulb and fuel filter and at least the ends still look undamaged.

Don't have the time to rebuild and replace the damage myself, so will turn this one over to the marina mechanic. But curious to know if anyone has seen this before and what the problem may have been.

2004 150 2 stroke w/ carbs
 
I think you are on the right track. If you clean the decks with bleach or have used other strong cleaners I think they can do this. At the end of last season, I found my fuel line vent hose had split up where it attached to the outboard vent fitting. I've suspected that as the rest of the hose looked good that maybe I got some cleaning chemicals of some type on it and perhaps not rinsed off well, which caused it to corrode?
 
Was thinking about cleaners but I don't use bleach or harsh chemicals for mass cleaning. Just for spots as needed in a spray bottle. Generally just scrub the non-skid with Barkeepers.

Problem is the damage is within the flexible rigging tube at the transom, and definitely within the channels of the grommet itself judging by the condition of the temp sender wire. There's a 2 piece cover and clamp that holds the tube to the grommet, with a lip on the grommet that fits inside a groove in the 2 piece cover keeping it secure. So it's pretty well protected from the outside world.

The internal channels are not very big so it's a pretty tight squeeze getting everything inside that grommet so I didn't open it up all together. Just enough to pull my bad wire through to the outside world.
 
Spoke to my mechanic today (still waiting for him to pickup and service). He said it's not unheard of for Yamahas to leak fuel from the carburetor when the engine is tilted up, and he's seen it before. It's not usually much, but it can drip onto the grommet and "everything turns to mush".

Once he gets it and takes a closer look, we'll see how this all shakes out.

But when tilted up out of the water, I've always turned the engine hard starboard before tilting to reduce the bending at the rigging grommet. Dealer recommended I do it this way. That does position the grommet at the bottom with the rigging tube running to port before looping back.

Anyone ever notice or hear of fuel leaking when tilted up? Carbs were rebuilt 2 years ago and have been running great. But I know that doesn't mean they may not need to be be looked at again. Maybe float adjustment?

Who turns the engine when trimmed up (2120 or similar) and what direction?
 
No
m2cw on a 2002 F225

Maybe could leak at the under cowling fuel filter assembly esp if cap is loose or O ring is bad or missing and or the fuel lines attached to it (cracked, pinched), or around low pressure pump and VST area. VST has a drain plug and this area has several fuel lines (check lines and drain plug). Lastly the fuel injectors are attached to a fuel rail could leak or an injector could also


Or leak from fuel line going through the transom hole to OB

or none of the above
 
Thanks, but 2 stroke w/ carbs (old technology). So fuel layout is a bit different than FI models. Googled the topic in general, and seems to be something that can happen with carbs. Not only a Yamaha issue.

Simple work around may be to just tilt motor up with grommet at upper most level instead of down low. Need to see it to see how everything else lays out under the cowl.

Not yet sure how much repair and / or replacement needed with the existing damage.

Any trace of fuel evaporated over the winter, so tough to trace it to locate the source right now (if that's what this turns out to be).
 
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