Gas leak under the carburator

[AuSable Junkie]

My 55 hp 1969 Chrysler (model 5591) is leaking fuel and its draining out the weep hole near the bottom of my lower end. Almost right underneath the butterfly in the carburator, is a metal bowl with a brass hex head bolt that seats it into the bottom of the carb above it.
The "top" of the bowl is where the leak is. I'm guessing there's a gasket thats failing here.

IF I take the brass bolt out and remove the metal bowl, am I gunna have lots of little pieces of carburator spilling out everywhere, or is it safe to remove this and fix the gasket/leak???

 

[AuSable Junkie]

Re: Gas leak under the carburator

*Bump!*

 

[pnwboat]

Re: Gas leak under the carburator

Is it leaking from a weep hole on the carburetor itself? If so, then either the float is set too high, or the needle valve is sticking.

If it's not leaking from the weep hole and just leaking from the area where the bowl seals to the bottom of the carburetor body, then the bowl gasket is leaking.

You can remove the bowl by taking the brass hex head bolt out and you won't have parts falling out everywhere. You do have to be careful not to bump the float when removing the bowl. When you take the bolt out, all the gas in the bowl will come out. Sounds like you may need a rebuild kit.

 

[AuSable Junkie]

Re: Gas leak under the carburator

I'm pretty sure the leak is at the seat gasket. I wiped the bowl off a few times with a rag and watched the gas slowly re-appear starting at the top of the bowl where the gasket is.

I've had her in the water 4 times and the motor runs really well. I think the carb is functioning like it should or I would have performance problems out in the water. Is a rebuild kit still a good idea or is that something I should only do if the motor runs poorly??


Thanks for the reply BTW.
Dale

 

[pnwboat]

Re: Gas leak under the carburator

You don't actually need the rebuild kit. Sounds like all you need is a new carburetor bowl gasket. Probably less than a dollar. Only problem is finding one. You might try a small engine repair shop. I know that there are other folks on the forum that probably have a source for parts.

 

[bman1bpm]

Re: Gas leak under the carburator

if you're in md I know where you can find one.

 

[AuSable Junkie]

Re: Gas leak under the carburator

After I removed the bowl, I discovered that someone did a poor installation job on the gasket. About 1-1/2" of it was twisted 180 degrees and not seated ino the groove on the underside of the carb. I took the gasket to 3-4 places to find a new one. No luck, but they all pointed out that the gasket wasn't torn or rotted and could probably be reused.

I put it under a heavy book for a while and tried it. I dabbed a very thin layer of grease from my grease gun on the gasket surface that seats into the groove on the underside of the carb. This kept the gasket in place. An easier solution than removing the carb so I could turn it upside down to do the job. I took a 6" piece of wire and bent the last 1" of it to about 90 degrees.
I used this "tool" to slowly work my way around the gasket, pressing it up into the groove with the tip of the 1" end.

Probably way more info than ya needed but just wanted to share my repair so someone might benefit from it.

bman1bpm,
Thanks for the offer. I found a source for them yesterday but decided to reuse the one I had and see how it goes.

Dale