Old Mercury Outboard Question

[Trapper John]

I'm shamed to admit I know the bare minimum when it comes to outboards, especially older ones, so I'm just going to toss this out there for my own curiosity. I've been running my grandfather's old 1993 50 HP 2 stroke Mercury and boat since he left it to me over a decade ago. Works fine, runs great. I have, however, noticed that I get some gas leaking under the cowl of the motor when I trim the motor up. We've just recently had work done on it (Carb job, new fuel pump, lines). We've had it re-checked since then since I was a little concerned about that, but was told by a few sources that sometimes those old motors drip a little fuel because the float in the carb just can't stop it all when the motor is trimmed up. Thoughts? All lines and connectors check out. No problems priming the bulb. Boat starts and runs fine. I've basically had the fuel system checked twice and it all seems fine.

Now, it is not a large amount of fuel. Just enough for me to see a little slick when I take the cowl off the top of the motor. And it's always when I return home after having the motor trimmed up for the drive back so I'm assuming that's when it's happening. Probably on the trip to the lake as well.

I've got a little perfectionist streak in me so I just wanted to see if this seems normal or if I should look closer at a potential issue.

 

[TNCharlie]

I probably know less about outboards than you. My concern would be fire. A drop of gas on a hot motor could be exciting.

 

[Big Ben]

If possible try and disconnect the fuel line and run the motor out of gas before you take it out of the water and tilt. Then see if it still leaks. Sounds like gas is running out of the carb bowl once tilted. That would have to do with a stuck float and needle valve.