Leaving on fishing trip on Sunday! went out to check my 15hp 4 stroke before the trip. The motor is well cared for and has been very good to me and my wife. Started right up and purred like a kitten as usual. warmed it up and checked rpm at idle everything was as I left it in July. Shut it down and checked oil and timming belt. lubed all linkages and steering. I look over and gas is dripping off the bottom of the screws on the accelerator pump bottom plate. the rate was more than 30 big drops per minute. The gas was collecting in the tray under the carb. There was alot of fuel in there. I pulled the carb and checked the three screws holding the plate. Everthing was locked tight. I had never been inside that part of the carb because the quicksilver carb kit didn't contain a new diaphram or o-ring seals. The mating surfaces were less than perfect. How it managed to seal I do not know. I called my friendly Mercury Dealer to order a new set of accell parts. They couldn't get a PN for the two o-rings that seal the accel feed tube feeding off the diaphram. Called Mercury they said that I have to buy a $160 carb bowl assembly!!!! The poor surfaces and minor corosion between the matting surfaces caused a big leak!! Watch for this problem even if your motor doesn't burn up your fuel economy will go to hell.
