TOPIC:

I should clarify the swell makes the float mount wider causing it to stick.  See the photo.  Where my fingers are holding the float get wider from the swell and cause the float to be sticky.  First time this happened I was at Lake Erie with no spare.  Some 320 grit from the local hardware allowed me to sand down those surfaces and get back on the water.  When I installed the new float I did the same giving a little more time.  I run ethanol free mostly but sometimes it’s unavoidable.  If you feel comfortable pulling the carb off the motor disconnect the fuel line off the outlet side of the fuel pump.  Leave the line connected to the carb.  Turn the carb upside down (some fuel will leak out). When the carb is upside down the needle / seat should not allow you to blow through the fuel feed line.  If you can blow air into that line with the carb upside down the float is likely stuck not allowing the needle to close in the seat.

Baron2150 wrote:

If you are running ethanol fuel the white plastic floats swell on the pivot pin.  At first they stick intermittent and after a while it will not float up enough to close the needle / seat.  It seems like every 3-4 seasons it’s time for a new float.  Easy fix.  Not much to go wrong on a carb fed kicker.  If you have spark you eliminated one possibility.  Plug gap on my Merc kicker is .035”.  Honestly plugs work fine on a kicker right out of the box.  Gapping takes no time so may as well set it.  My vote is stuck float due to ethanol swell.
Just saw the follow up post.  I will give it a try tomorrow.   Thanks 

So I made some adjustments to the float since the one they sent me didnt work, and I was able to verify that it is working using Baron's tips (thank you).   So it at least tries a little now but it almost seems like it is fighting against itself.  It sort of back fired a little one time but still no start.   I would say maybe the firing order was backwards but the top spark plug wire will not reach the bottom plug, so this leads me to think maybe some part of the ignition system now.   Looks like it will be going into the shop

Sorry to hear.  Let us know what they discover!

Well I finally got the kicker back about 3 weeks ago (right before we left on vacation).   The issue was somehow the nut on the top of the flywheel came loose and I ended up shearing off the Flywheel Key.    They said they have never seen that nut come loose unless a wrench was put on it.  I assured them I did not but not sure if they believed me or not.   I did accidently leave  the kicker down when I first did the run out on the lake and I heard that can force water up into the cyl but not sure if that would cause the flywheel nut to come loose.  The only other way I could think of is if someone decided to mess with the motor when it was in Michigan waiting for parts to come in for the Yamaha.  It was stored outside so it is possible I guess.   They warranty to cover about 1/3 of the labor cost so at least I didnt have to pay for all of the repair.   I have not run the kicker yet but hopefully if I get out tomorrow but the shop said they ran it for a while and it ran fine and started up every time.   

That’s crazy particularly since it’s a kicker.  Your theory about water getting into the cylinder may have merit.  Lock up a cylinder on the starter could shear a key and then the bolt may come loose.  Hopefully you are good to go for several years Ed!