Rebuild Carb or Cross My Fingers?

[Sputter]

Thanks everyone!  I just got home from camping in a remote area.

I don’t know if anything on my carb leaks yet because I haven’t got the motor reassembled, and it wasn’t running when I bought it.

I was speculating about whether the carb’s inlet needle seat might be dried up even though everything else looks good.

Part two was about the goop I saw on the bowl drain screw.  I didn’t know if that was normal. I’m going to fill the bowl with fuel and see if it leaks.  If it does, I’ll try Loctite on the threads.  If that doesn’t work, I’ll tap the hole for a bigger screw.  The point is that I want to be able to drain the bowl if the motor won’t be used for a month or more.

1956 Johnson 15 Hp, FD-10
1958 Johnson 5.5 Hp, CD-15

[fleetwin]

aquasonic wrote:

nabmd wrote:

Why would you want to use Loctite on a carb bowl drain screw? Why not a use the yellow Teflon tape (for gas) and/or a new piece of gasket material for a washer? If the threads are stripped, why not tap the next bigger screw size and use a bigger screw. JMHO

Let me try to answer your questions:

“Why would you want to use Loctite on a carb bowl drain screw?”

The drain plug comes with a sealant directly from the factory. In this case, I recommended Loctite as a thread sealer. The thread sealer helps insure against a leak. It’s also a quick, simple, and effective solution.

“Why not use the yellow Teflon tape (for gas) and/or a new piece of gasket material for a washer?’

The yellow Teflon tape is probably fine. This seems like a matter of preference. As far as the new piece of gasket material for a washer, that’s not going to work. This is a cylindrical plug, not a screw with a head.

” If the threads are stripped, why not tap the next bigger screw size and use a bigger screw.”

We don’t know if the threads are indeed stripped at this point, but if they are yours sounds like a good solution.

Again, am probably confused about which screw the poster is trying to seal up.  But, the little brass carb bowl drain screw does not use any gaskets for sure.  Over tightening the screw will surely create leaks, I’m guessing this is some sort of pipe thread arrangement.  You could always try a new brass drain screw also.  It would be mighty difficult to wrap this tiny screw with teflon tape, so a very careful application of an appropriate sealer (won’t be broken down by gasoline) is the only other option.

[Author]

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