1978 1150 115HP mercury gas leak on 18 hose

"this is a project motor that

"this is a project motor that I am fixing up to put on another boat......hard starting when cold,,,,,when cranking over several times there is a gas leak on an 1/8 hose,, which comes off a fitting on top of the engine under the flywheel cover,, on the port side just a little to the rear of the flywheel goes down past the fuel pump was unable to trace all the due to darkness... i can see that the rubber hose rotten and open at the top fitting
what is this hose for and why does it leak when cranking over..
why is this motor hard to start,, after 1st start,, starts very as long as warm
rebuilt carbs adjt floats to specs,,
rebuilt fuel pump
all new hose
new impeller"

That is a bleeder hose. For th

That is a bleeder hose. For the fuel recirculation. All these 6 cylinders are normally tough to start. The choke sucks on these.

"Install an OMC primer ,from a

"Install an OMC primer ,from any one of their bigger motors from the early 80's on and starting problems will be history."

not-a- student what is a OMC p

not-a- student what is a OMC primer and where do i get one?

where does the 1/8 hose go to on the bottom...
getting much needed rain here in NC and cant work on it

ths jimg984 NC

need to say this is a 1978 wit

need to say this is a 1978 with electric choke
which is operating.
only has 2 choke plates outta the 3 carbs a factory deal

"James, the bleed hoses, at le

"James, the bleed hoses, at least on the smaller models terminate 1) at the top of the block, into a one way valve near the upper crank bearing 2) the bottom of the block, into a one way valve, near the lower crank bearing and are usually tee'd off with a feed from either behind the carb(s) or whatever the location of the "reeds" is."

The OMC primer is a wonderfull

The OMC primer is a wonderfull gadget. Look at any motor from the early 80.s V-4 and it has it. It does away with antique choke plates and instead sprays the fuel where you need it for quick starting.I have installedthem on MERC's and aimed the fuel right into the tranfer ports.No more poor starting. Not only that they are cheap and just require a bit of plumbing.You should not run the motor anymore untill you replace the oil recirc line from the bottom of the block to the top.And are the bleed inserts still in place on this motor??.

"are the OMC primer available

"are the OMC primer available thru other outlets other than mercury dealers? if so Who?

dont know about bleed inserts where would they be located.. I have a seloc manual,, but haven't seen anything about this bleeder or bleed inserts yet.
does this 1/8 supply lube to bearings or is it a bleed off from them
thank you for your time and knowledge

jimg984"

A JOHNSON or Evinrude dealer w

A JOHNSON or Evinrude dealer will likely have a bunch of used ones laying around and even new they are cost effective.Just install one and starting problems will go away.