1984 Mariner 9.9C Carburetor Leaking from Bowl Gasket

[cchildr84]

I have a 1984 Mariner 9.9C motor Serial #682C-S049356. I rebuilt the carb a few months ago, but with work and other obligations haven't had much time to work on it. The motor turns over fine and idles great and even appears to do good at full throttle. This all based on running it in a can in the driveway. However, it is leaking gas from around the carb bowl gasket pretty significantly. Looking at the gasket it appears there is a certain way it is supposed to go, but I don't remember which way as I didn't look at the old one before I pulled it out. As a result of this leak the primer bulb cannot be fully primed because as you're squeezing the bulb gas starts to leak out of the carb bowl. My main question, is do you think the sole issue is the gasket, or is it a combination of the gasket and float needle not seating properly. See photo of gasket below. Your help is appreciated. I love this motor and want to get it running right again.

 

[MTboatguy]

As it seems to be running correctly, I would think what probably happened is the gasket got pinched in the wrong way when it was put back causing it to leak under pressure.

 

[cchildr84]

Ok, well I've got the leak fixed, but now I can't seem to get it to idle right. For whatever reason, it seemed to idle better when it was leaking. On the adjustment needle from the seated position I turned it 1 1/2 turns to start with, and no matter which way I adjust it, it doesn't seem to want to get down to low idle without cutting out. Any thoughts?

 

[cchildr84]

Ok, so I tried taking the motor out on the lake this weekend, and had no luck. It turned over for a little while but then died out. Got home and it appears that it was flooding out. Now the primer bulb on the fuel line was hard. Fuel was coming back out of the carburetor into the air box. Do you think the needle is sticking or what would cause it to do that? Your help is appreciated. I really want to get this motor back to running right. It has always been a reliable motor, it has perfect compression at 120 psi in each cylinder, but for the life of me I can't get this fuel problem straightened out.