Honda 90hp outboard questions...Help

[fishracepoint]

I have 2 1997 90hp outboards that have been sitting as a lawn ornaments for a while. I used them 1 time last year and 1hr the year before. One ingested some water last year due to the separator filling up after pumping in some of the new gas. Now they run rough and need the carbs cleaned. I looked at the carbs and noticed there is a blind bolt holding the backfire arrester (air intake box) on.

Has anybody removed their carbs?

It appears that the intake, carbs, intake have to be removed as an assembly. Then dissemble the assembly to gain access to the individual carbs. Is this correct?
If so do I need to get a couple a couple of gasket sets or are these reusable?

I am in the process of obtaining a manual but would like to get started before the manual arrives.

Any experienced help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Honda Dude]

You are correct in your assumption: you need to remove the intake manifold along with the carbs. Disconnect the 2 throttle cables, the fuel lines, and the choke arm. Helpfull hint: When you try to lift out the manifold/carbs, you will think that you need to remove the small plate that held the throttle cables in place - DON't. Instead, remove the cover over the flywheel - with the top of the "clamshell" removed, the bottom can be bent up a little bit so you can remove the manifold/carb assembly. A word of advice, when you are reinstalling the manifold, hook up the cables, fuel lines and especially the choke arm BEFORE you bolt the manifold back on. The only part you should need is an intake manifold gasket.

Good luck, I've done this dozens of times and after a while you get pretty good and fast at it.