Re: 1971 mercury 80 hp 800 bogging when put into gear... cleaning carb trubble
When you took the carbs apart to clean them you should have ordered a rebuild kit for each carb. You should also order new floats, and a new needle and seat for each carb. The parts are cheap and worth the money. Don't worry about the float spring, a new float is cheap and will have a brand new spring in the float all ready to go.
You cant use the float without the spring because it allows the float to press on the carb lever arms and seal the needle and seat. There should be two arms, a long and a short. The long one should have a small bend in the very end, and the short would should have a wider, flat end. The long arm is supposed to go on first, and it should make contact with the needle. The short arm goes on after it. If you hold the carb bowl lid upright, you will see the short arm and the long arm drop down. The short arm has a part on the opposite end that stops it from falling any further, and this allows it to catch the long arm at a certain location, thus allowing the needle to drop down so it is not creating a seal any longer. Then, fuel will fill the bowl, and the float will rise up as more fuel enters the bowl. When the bowl gets to its full level, the spring on the float will contact the short lever, pushing it up. The short arm pushes the long arm up also, and the long arm pushes the needle back into the sealed position. This will stop the flow of fuel into the bowl, and the carb will not leak any fuel. Sometimes, the float will become "sunk," which means it has a pinhole or crack that allowed fuel to leak inside the float, which inhibits its ability to float, and rise up to seal off the needle and seat.
This being said, it is important and a good idea to replace both your floats and both needle and seat for each carb. The needles can become worn down sometimes and wont seal off. It is less likely but why not replace it when you have the carb apart? Also replace any gaskets on your carb with the new gaskets in the rebuild kit. Keep in mind, floats are sold separately, and so is the needle and seat. The rebuild kit contains gaskets and o rings and things of that sort. All these parts are best found at your merc dealer. Or you can call a dealer and have them get the correct part numbers for you if you are unsure, and you can order them from crowleymarine.com or wherever else you find them. Good luck.
