1977 merc 200 (20 hp)

[caughtacase73]

Looking for some help with my carb. Keep in mind that I am not really good with motors.

My old merc barely stays running at idle and is very rough. I can sometimes get it to stay runnig and sometimes I get it to run out well. I then noticed that I have large amounts of gas leaking from the bowl and the air intake area. At idle it almost squirts out the air intake. I purchased a carb gasket kit and tried that but have the same results. Any suggestions that I could try myself would be great. Otherwise any suggestions on someone in the St Cloud area that could fix me up would be great too.

Travis

[marine_man]

It almost sounds like there's something goofy with the carb float - the needle valve isn't seating properly or your float has a hole in it is sort of what it sounds like, more than likely the needle / seat combination isn't functioning properly and your motor is getting way more gas than it needs.

Did you replace any of those parts?

marine_man

[caughtacase73]

I just replaced the gaskets. The carb kit was $60.00 and the gasket kit was only $10. I thought maybe the leaking was due to a bad gasket. I was hoping to get by cheap I guess. I will have to order the complete kit and give that a try.

Thanks for the response

[Pikeslayer]

I had a evinrude that ran just like that,turns out the problem wasnt the carb a all,it was a gasket on a plate on the side of the engine was bad!

[marine_man]

It's likely time for a going through on the carb.. I'd order the kit and do it... it ought to help alleviate the problem.

In regard to the above post - you're certain the gas is coming from the carb, correct?

marine_man

[boatfixer]

Also,When you install the new kit, make certain that the float bowl vent is clear. If it is not, it will try to vent out the the main jet and up the emulsion tube, causing excess fuel run out. And It sounds like Pikeslayer had an exhaust plate leaking, causing the engine to try reburning exhaust gas instead of fresh air.