Re: 1968 Evinrude 18hp fouling bottom plug
I got the rebuild kit, and when I took the carb apart the float was trashed. Its the old style varnished cork, and the finish was cracked and peeling off, and the float was soaked full of gas. The float was also way out of adjustment. That seems to be the source of the bulb not getting hard, because I laid the float out in the sun for a few hours to dry it out, and adjusted it, and put it all back together (with the new needle and seat) it works like it should. I think the reason the float was so out of adjustment is that the float needle was a rubber tipped one, but it didn't have the groove in it for the spring. I think it may have been sticking before, and whoever worked on it before was trying to lower the float to get the needle to drop. Unfortunately I ordered the wrong float, and I am waiting on the new one to come in.
Everything inside the carb was spotless, with the exception of the low speed needle packing being a wad of mush. I dont know how long ago the carb was worked on, but it had clearly been worked on before, because the high speed nozzle was bent up from someone trying to take it out with a screwdriver. I'm not sure if it was so clean because someone had cleaned it recently before I got it, or if the seafoam I run in it is the reason it was so clean, but it was perfect inside.