Re: 200 hp Johnson 1997 won't idle
Been thru the carbs twice.....hmmmm.....
There are two critical areas to clean on that engine's carbs that most ppl miss.
First, when you took off the black carb body, and removed the fuel bowl, you should have noticed a small brass tube sticking down.
That tube must be absolutely clean and clear. I run a welder's tip cleaner up thru the tube, and watch at the side of the carb (where that 5 screw plate is) to see the tip cleaner come out in that passageway.
Suck on the little tube to be sure it is flowing air. It is easier to tell flow if you suck thru it vs blow thru it.
Second, you absolutely must clean the throttle bodies. Most ppl do not consider the throttle bodies as part of the carbs, but they are. If you buy a carb assy., you get the black bodies and the throttle plate.
There are six small plates screwed with 4 screws to the sides of the throttle bodies. Remove those plates, look in and you will see very very tiny holes that go thru to the venturi throat. I think I remember there being 4 very small ones, and two larger ones.
Clean those out with the smallest of the tip cleaning tool. Set your idle adj screws at 5 turns out from lightly seated, re-assemble making sure the o-ring doesn't shift wneh installing the black carb to the throttle plate.
Did you clean these two areas?
If anyone has messed with or changed the carbs on this motor to try to fix it, it is probable that they might have changed the black carb bodies and left the original throttle bodies. The throttle bodies and black carb bodies are generally not interchangeable...especially on the years prior to 1996. Keep in mind that you may have mismatched parts.....
