Re: 1976/77 OMC 9.9 & 15 carb needle valve bearing

[PugetSoundBoater]

After rebuilding the 1977 9.9 carb with the new needle bearing installed as i posted ,it ran and idled well in a barrel.

Then when i next did the 1976 15 carb, when i went to use the screw removal maneuver, i did not feel a bearing down in there. HUH? I looked with a flashlight,slid a piece of safety wire down the side of the hole to see if i could hit one,i did not. I swear it was missing. Not to mention the new needle bearings in carb kits are a clear color ,the original one i found in the ’77 9.9 was brown,much easier to see with a flashlight.
So i figured the bearing was missing and installed one exactly as i did on the 9.9. It won’t idle now ,and did before the rebuild,how odd. The slow speed needle is at 1.25 -1.5 turns out. The only other things i did on the motor was to set the carb sync better. i put fresh plugs in and rebuilt the water pump and removed the t stat and checked to see if it was stuck. I did check the timing and one cylinder was off a bit and i plan on trying to get that closer before his next outing. i also removed the new needle retainer as it was so tight i could not turn the needle by hand. I replaced it with the old one ,turns fine now.
I guess i will remove the needle bearing since it idled well before? As i recall this carb had been rebuilt before as it had a plastic float. Or did i damage the new bearing when i installed with it sitting in place on the needle? Maybe i should have put a bit of outboard oil on the sides of it so it would slide into it’s location in the hole better.
I did clean the carb very well with a soak in BRP Engine Tuner ,checked all passages carefully with the smooth end of small orifice drill bits and blew dry.
Anybody have some idea what i did wrong.
*** Also would like to hear how you guys install the new needle bearings*** Thanks ,Jim PSB

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