I have a 99 300 Explorer which has been faultless til today. After coming home from hunting,it was very hard to start while trying to take it off the trailer. The petcock was not turned off by mistake. Tonite while sitting in the garage, I noticed a strong gas smell.Under the machine was a puddle of gas. It looks like its coming down from under the carb and running down the skid plate. Anyone know whats up with this type of leak? Thanks in advance. Pete

 

Float stuck???

 

Let's try the simplest tings first.
Check the carb vent. It is possible (but not likely) that if it isn't venting properly, it may airlock the float down, causing it to run out the overflow.
Check the carb drain. This is a little screw at or near the bottom, that closes off the carb drain. It may have come loose.
Check for damage to something, particularly check to be sure nothing snagged and tore the fuel line, or if anything is cracked.
Now we go internal. If it is none of those, check for either a stuck float, a float gone bad, or a bad float needle/seat. The 400 engines are noted for wearing out the float needle, causing flooding, excessive gas consumption, and in extreme cases, can just let the gas keep flowing on through.

Good luck
Farmr