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2001 Ficht 225 Fuel Pump Alternatives

C

cmcooper666

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I have a 2001 225 Ficht (Yes, I know). I think both the lift pump and VST pumps are bad. The engine will run as long as someone pumps the bulb. Fuel line isn't blocked from the tank. Pulse lines from crankcase are working. No fuel is sprayed from output of lift pump. Also, the VST pump make no sounds when powered on.

I've read various posts where people have talked about replacing the pumps with aftermarket or e-tec models, but can't find any specific pump models that will work. Has anyone actually done this?
 
No aftermarket lift pumps made for Ficht engines ….OEM only. The one in VST can be replaced with E-tech one but must fab it to work.
 
I have the same engine and I've thought about possibilities for doing this. I have a lot of automotive fuel injection experience but this engine is my only outboard experience and my idea might have issues I'm not aware of.
I would not put the pump under the cowl and then first problem is finding an electric pump that can withstand pumping against a dead end and be able to make the 15+psi of pressure necessary. They might be out there but I am not aware of any.
Automotive fuel injection up until recently pumped the fuel in a loop with a pressure regulator that bypassed fuel back to the tank. With the pump in the boat it would be easier to do the loop and there are adjustable pressure regulators available from places like Jegs that would make the plumbing fairly easy except possibly for how to plumb in the tank return. They show plumbing schematics in the catalogue. Venting is an issue that probably should be taken into consideration but it's not like the pump is there with a lot of spark sources. Really recent automotive fuel injection systems have eliminated the fuel return but they control fuel pressure by varying fuel pump speed and that requires computer power. My pump isn't dead yet so I haven't tried. I would probably try and find a used pump first if it came to it.
 
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