I have a 96 Fast Strike and there is gas pouring out of the side of the carb. float bowl. Second one down on the left side. There is a hole on the right side of the bowl with a copper plug of the other carbs could this be the problem on this particular bowl or could this be a vent hole and the float sticking? I have removed this carb and put a kit in it and it is still leaking. My thoughts are to use some epoxy and seal it up. Is this a good idea? Need help from a Johnson guru, thanks!

if theres a plug missing that the others have then yes thats your problem your kit should have come with new plugs and the type of epoxy matters so you might check on line

When I rebuilt the carb I didnt realy notice that the plug was missing. The kit that I got did not have any plugs in it. The kit just came with seals and gaskets, a new float, needle and seat and shaft for float. My biggset concern is that this might be a vent. Thanks Stick Steering.

I had the same problem with my 1996 175. There is a plug (for lack of a better description) on the lower side of the float bowl that leaks. I replaced the float bowl and that solved the problem.