Association Forum - Carburetor leaks gas

Assn Members Area · Join

Home.

Association Forum

Ships Store

Cruising

Racing

Technical Tips

Photo Gallery - New

Boat Search - Updated

Manuals & Brochures

Swap Meet

Links

Officer Flag Line & Staff

Bylaws & Constitution

Members Area

Join the Association

Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.

Association Forum

Username:	Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

All Forums

Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Carburetor leaks gas

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Author

Topic

danc
Deckhand

Member Avatar

USA
22 Posts

Initially Posted - 12/30/2006 : 22:45:10

My year-old Tohatsu 6 hp 4-stroke outboard suddenly sputtered and died this afternoon after running about 30 minutes at near full-throttle in fresh water.

Would not start, but check light shows spark to the plug and fuel filter was clear. When pumping gas from tank, gas flows out of top of the carburetor.

The motor is still under warranty and I should probably take it into the shop but if there is a simple fix indicated by the symptoms above I would sure like to get it back in the water for Monday before guests leave. I'm thinking that some crud might have worked its way into the carb (gas about 10 weeks old) and blocked off a critical passage. Any suggestions?

Dan C

Dan Clawson
"Keta" C-25 SR SK
Hull #1901
Seattle

Edited by - on

Sloop Smitten
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1181 Posts

Response Posted - 12/31/2006 : 13:20:04

Dan,
When gas flows into your carburetor bowl it is suppose to raise the carb float which in turn closes a valve shich prevents overflooding of the carburetor. It sounds like your float may be stuck in a down position or the valve may have crud holding it open. The last time I had this happen I drained the carb bowl and sprayed a bunch of carb cleaner in it through the gas line. This disolved whatever was in there and it worked fine after that. If you feel comfortable pulling the carb off you could take the bottom part off and clean it well with a spray carburetor cleaner. Of course there's the age old remedy too. Rap the carburetor lightly with a small hammer. Sometimes that will free the float if it's hung up.

Edited by - on

danc
Deckhand

Members Avatar

USA
22 Posts

Response Posted - 12/31/2006 : 20:43:45

Joe,

This afternoon I switched to some fresher gas and it started on the second pull. No more gas coming from the carb when I pump the bulb. The float being stuck down makes sense. I just need the motor for about 50 feet to get out into the lake, then I can get back to the dock under sail if necessary. So after taking the guests out for a New Years sail tomorrow (if there's wind), the motor goes to the shop for its 100 hour service. The shop guys can tell me what was going on. I do believe a can of carb cleaner would be a good thing to have on board. Thanks for the input.

Dan Clawson
Keta
Seattle

Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

3072 Posts

Response Posted - 12/31/2006 : 22:37:33

IMHO: Adding fuel stabilizer is a good idea for engines that don't cycle much fuel over the season. I've noticed my engine is a lot easier to start since I started using it earlier this year. Also keeping the fuel tank full will help reduce in-tank condensation and related water problems common with the newer ethanol-blend gasolines.

Edited by - on

Topic

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Jump To:

Association Forum

Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.