reed box questions

[858650ho]

Hi! I have a 1975 Johnson 115 hp v-4. Been in storage for alot of years. Got it out in '11. Difficult to keep running, starts again after re-choke, even when warmed up. Full throttle ok on a full tank, but after 1/2 gone acts as if it's starving. I've got the motor undone. I am planning on carb rebuild. Checked the reed boxes for damaged or sprung leafs. On one of the boxes, 3 of the 4 reeds show gap on a light test. It is approx. a .005 gap. One other box has a slight light gap on one leaf. Is this amount within a tolerable range? (My plan was to use the remaining good reeds, rebuild one good box, order one new box. Good idea or no?) Other 2 bank boxes look to be fine. The "gap one's" are on the same bank of cyclinders. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks, Ron

[boats.net]

It is usually recommended to change all the reeds, but not required. You do need to replace the gapped reeds though. Does sound like you need to repair the carburetor as well.

[858650ho]

reed box follow-up

Hi! Thanks for your response. Had a couple of questions. First, is it possible to buy just the reeds, and second, is it possible to take apart the reeds from the box and clean them in solvent? Or are they just sprung and beyond repair? Thanks, Ron