2003 Mercury 15 hp tiller oil and fuel leak

[Codyn60]

I took my boat out the other day and it hasn't been run in about three months so I flushed the fuel and oil before I hit the lake. It started on the first pull and idled pretty bad and was smoking at first which is a given. However later on during the day it was dripping oil and fuel inside of the cowling. It looked like it may have been coming out of the oil pump and fuel pump possibly. I couldn't really tell on the water. Where do I begin to troubleshoot this leak ? I'm pretty mechanically inclined but have never worked on these outboards before. Should I tear it down my self ? Or should I go get ripped off at a mechanic ? Any ideas or suggestions would help me get started towards getting back out on the water. 

[fishnkamp]

I would do some investigating first. Take the cowling off, look around and clean up any oil mess inside. Sometimes a little 409 and rags will do it. Nest hook it up to a garden hose and a set of ear muffs. Run it and watch all around the engine. The problem might be as simple as a cracked hose inside the cowling area.  Today's fuels are hard on all of the fuel system components.  Pay special attention around where the fuel connector connects, those o rings have been known to cause trouble in the past.

[Codyn60]

Roger that. I'll take a look at it sometime this week and get back to you thank you

[fishnkamp]

I will tell you the Ethanol fuels have been causing terrible trouble to fuel lines so it may have damaged the preformed fuel lines that run along the engine block. They can get brittle and crack. It also could be the diaphragm in the fuel lift pump, they can get hard and crack.