'89 470 merc ,h2o PROBLEM ...HELP !!!...

I thought I had an empty gas tank , so I poured 2 gallons of fresh gas , tried starting her up , no dice . Long story short , I finally took off the carb and there it was , water , and lots of it . pulled the gas gauge pick up off and the 18 gallon tank was full of water .
I pumped out the water , pulled the tank out , added some alcohol , swished it around and dumped it . pulled the plugs , and with a bottle on the fuel pump line , cranked the engine and pumped out about 20 ounces of water . I blew out any and all ports and lines w/ compressed air .
I put everything back and could only get a few 'coughs' out of her with starter spray . ,...............what now ? ,.....is there still water inside the block/combustion chambers ?

Re: '89 470 merc ,h2o PROBLEM ...HELP !!!...

Did you rebuild the carb? Probably has all the passages plugged up with rust and corrosion.

Re: '89 470 merc ,h2o PROBLEM ...HELP !!!...

Don S said:

Did you rebuild the carb? Probably has all the passages plugged up with rust and corrosion.

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No Don , I should explain that I don't think water entered the carb till I tried starting it up , then I discovered the water . do you think I still need to rebuild the carb or do I check other areas first ? thanks for the quick reply

Re: '89 470 merc ,h2o PROBLEM ...HELP !!!...

Sounds like you have checked everything but the carb already. And then you obviously just pulled the top and seen the water.
You need to go through it, put a kit in it, and make sure every passage and check ball is clear and working.

Just to test it, squirt some fuel into the carb and see if it will start on the gas you squirt in.

Re: '89 470 merc ,h2o PROBLEM ...HELP !!!...

Don S said:

Sounds like you have checked everything but the carb already. And then you obviously just pulled the top and seen the water.
You need to go through it, put a kit in it, and make sure every passage and check ball is clear and working.

Just to test it, squirt some fuel into the carb and see if it will start on the gas you squirt in.

Click to expand...

I tried and it only gives a cough now and then . I hooked up a second battery and got a little more response , where it almost fired up , but quickly died . so i'm thinking the gas is still contaminated with water .
I'm going to pull the carb and tear it down as much as I can . can you give me a few pointers to look out for , such as the check balls ?