Good morning, all! I've been fighting this problem for a month, so I guess it's time to admit I don't know what I'm doing and ask for help. Always seems to be the last resort...<br /><br />I've got an old Johnson '62 75 hp outboard. I've rebuilt it completely (it was sitting in a field when I got it, totally seized). It's beautiful now, all new gaskets, seals, bearings, the works. Anyway, when it's cold it starts after just a few seconds. It runs like a dream, purrs at both low and high speed. <br /><br />Once you have it fully warmed up, if you turn it off you might as well get comfortable, because it is NOT starting again. Period. I actually had to be towed back to shore the last time after about 3 hours of trying.<br /><br />I put the motor on a rack and got the foot in a garbage can of water. I started it (of course, it's cold so it starts right up) and began looking it over (cowling is off). The one thing I notice is that the carb and throat are really, really cold. I live in Houston, so I've got condensate dripping off the outside of the throat. I look inside the carb intake, and I've got condensate there, too. The motor doesn't seem to mind all the water in the intake, but it just doesn't seem right to me. I kill the engine and look down the throat with the butterfly valves open so I can see, and there's gasoline puddled at the base of the throat. There's no way to start the motor at this point.<br /><br />It seems to me that the gasoline is condensing on the inside of the throat. Of course, the oil will condense first since it has a higher boiling point, so the puddle at the bottom should be very rich. There are little ports all over the reed box, so I'm wondering if any of those are submerged. I can't imagine that being very good. <br /><br />This is a fine little engine, and very popular in it's day, so I'm sure someone has dealt with this problem before. I'm thinking the engine is flooded, but it's odd that it would flood each and every time you turn it off. I'd like to be able to drive out to the middle of the lake, put a skier in the water, and be able to start the motor again, but that is turning out to be difficult. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated. I'm about to the point of kicking the piece of #%*$ into the bay. I'm tired of getting stranded and towed back to shore.<br /><br />Thanks in advance!
