1989 Johnson leaks gas??? Newbie please help!!

[freshwater20]

Hello I just bought my first boat and the other day I took it out and I noticed that when I had the motor down for a while then lifted it there was gas leaking out of the front of the motor. I took some pics of were it was leaking the first pic were the line goes in it was dripping around that gasket from that cove thing. could that be because them bolts are not in there? also that front black cover the center bolt is loose and is there supposed to be 2 more in the bottom holes? what is that cover? one more thing what is the last picture? it looks like that is wet as well from gas. the boat sat for a year but had been taken reall good care of,Sorry if the questions are stupid.. I am new to the whole boat owner thing. oh I forgot it is a 1989 Johnson 88hp SPL
Thanks for your time
Garrett

 

[Joe Reeves]

Re: 1989 Johnson leaks gas??? Newbie please help!!

Pics 1,2,3 is the carburetor face plate, a protective cover. Missing and/or loose bolts would let fuel drip out of it when the engine is tilted.

Pic 4 is the fuel primer valve... takes the place of the old electric choke setup.

 

[boobie]

Re: 1989 Johnson leaks gas??? Newbie please help!!

How's the mtr run? The gas that is coming out of there is probably spit back from the carbs which is normal. Get a new gasket and some bolts and install. There's also a small hose that runs from the bottom of the air box to the intake manifold. Make sure that is on.

 

[freshwater20]

Re: 1989 Johnson leaks gas??? Newbie please help!!

OK thanks guys, The motor runs good to me, I did notice tho that when it idles for a bit it starts to spit and spudder and dies, also when I was out today and shut it off for a while it would not start up right away, had to turn the key about 6-8 times then use the idle lever, it also smoked a bit, the gas that is in it is about a year old but the guy I bought it from ran staybill and I think carbon block? in every tank of gas.

could that primer valve be bad or is itsupposed to be wet?

 

[freshwater20]

Re: 1989 Johnson leaks gas??? Newbie please help!!

Anyone have any other thoughts?

 

[Joe Reeves]

Re: 1989 Johnson leaks gas??? Newbie please help!!

There should not be any gasoline leaking at the primer solenoid area at any time.

Try a portable tank with fresh gasoline. When starting a cold engine, it's not uncommon to have to push the key in frequently to engage the primer solenoid, giving the engine a extra shot of fuel to keep it running until it warms up.

Heavy smoking could be due to having oil mixed with the fuel (accidentally) when also running a VRO equipped engine, OR a faulty VRO that needs rebuilding/replacing.

To check the carburetors for a flooding condition, have the engine in a straight up/down running position, remove the face plate, pump the fuel primer bulb up hard. If fuel flows out of the carburetor(s), they're flooding.

Exactly what are you looking for in the way of thoughts?

 

[freshwater20]

Re: 1989 Johnson leaks gas??? Newbie please help!!

OK I will have to have it checked out, I dont have oil injection on my motor, I will check the carb out and see if that is the problem.