95 Force 120 - Carb question

[95Bayliner]

I ran into a big problem on my last trip out to the lake. Gas was literally spewing out of the motor. I'd say I lost about a 1/4 of a tank within 30mins to a hour. Luckily, I was able to make it back to the dock with the help of a nearby jetskier.

Upon opening the motor cover, I noticed that there was a brass colored bowl loose in the compartment - loose as in meaning completely off. I discovered that this bowl is for the lower carburetor. I was also able to locate the screw for the bowl. Upon further examination, I found the O-ring for the bowl was almost completely deteriorated.

I went ahead and ordered the replacement bowl (original was pretty banged up) and O-ring from boats.com. I ordered an extra set of O-rings as I suspect the top carb is probably in similar condition. They are expected to be delivered early next week.

The question(s) I have are for installation of the O-Ring and new bowl.

Is there anything else I need to do besides the obvious?
Is there something I need to do with the floats?
Should I sync the carbs before I try put the boat back in the lake?
Is there anything I need to be aware of before removing the bowl for the top carb to replace the ring?

I really hope additional damage wasn't caused for the brief time the motor was running off of the one (top) carb. What should I check to be sure?

What in the world could have caused the bowl to come completely free?? I'm glad to have made it out without an explosion and thankful the replacement parts were available online. Could have been ALOT worse.

Any help this community can provide is greatly appreciated!! Thank you!!!

 

[steveclv]

Re: 95 Force 120 - Carb question

If you ran this way for 30mins to an hour then you may be unlucky as the engine needs the fuel/oil to keep everything lubricated although you may have been saved by no fuel = no ignition and damage may be minimal.

Ensure that there is a gasket on the inside and one on the outside of the bowl and you shouldn't need to do anything else other than reattach the bowl - nothing should have interfered with the float or the sync - so assuming it ran ok beforehand then reassemble and try her out. A compression test on all 4 cylinders would help to identify any issues with the cylinders that ran dry (ish).

I would assume that it was never fully tightened and so came loose under vibration.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: 95 Force 120 - Carb question

Just make sure that the gaskets and seals are there.1 for the bowl and 2 for the bolt.One outside and 1 inside. Get a good diagram.
Like Steve said a comp test is very imp. It probably(hope) quit running pretty quick with no gas going to it.
Things fall off motors when you least expect it.Or somebody didn't tighten it when they cleaned it.
Go through the entire motor every spring for loose or missing bolts.
My carb covers/bolts ALWAYS come loose and need to be put back in at least 2-3 times a year.J