Other Fuel and exhaust leak

[ADDict]

Both issues started fairly recently. I've noticed that after a small ride my engine compartment has some smoke in it. Not smoked out like a full blown exhaust leak, but still smokey. I've had many obvious exhaust leaks, this isn't one of them. It's slowly choking my ski out. I notice there is a small amount of greyish buildup around the flame arrestor intake holes that are facing the head. It's a Wamilton F/A. I'm guessing it's just because it's sucking all the smoke that way. Everything is fairly clean inside, so I would definitely see the soot if it were a big leak. Tried riding with the hood off for a bit and couldn't see anything.
Similar deal on the carbs.. At the end of a ride I noticed a couple drops of fuel/water coming out of my scupper. I pulled the carbs and went through them, and replaced all the fuel line with some nice new motion pro because I found some spots where it had started to crack around the carb nipples. I assumed that the shotty line was the problem. Rode yesterday and still have the issue. The intake manifold/carb base area has the old familiar grey fuel/water mess on it. Engine compartment obviously has a little fuel in it. I have checked and rechecked everything and can't seem to find the source.
Anyone had any mystery leaks in either area that you solved? Thanks in advance.

 

[engineman44]

possible cracked cylinder?? just throwin that out there type of engine?

 

[kevbo]

An exhaust leak will mess up the carb tune really bad. I had to reseal my S/N waterbox and use RTV on all exhaust hoses to finally fix the leaks. Then I had to retune the carb since I had it perfect with the leak.

 

[shawn_NJ]

Any oil on the bottom of the FP coupler? I had a very slight leak there on the first ride I took the new ski out on. Had moderate engine smoke but ski still ran mediocre. Could not see any signs of leaking, until I wiped the bottom of the coupler with a paper towel and it had a small amount of oil on it.

 

[Waternut]

The little exhaust leaks are the worst. Could be something as simple as a loose hose clamp or it could be a cracked exhaust hose, a pin hole worn into the pipe chamber, a small hole burned in the pipe to chamber coupler, etc. I would start by pulling the pipe and giving it a good look.