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Carburetor diagnostics help needed

K

kirkll

Regular Contributor
Yesterday I got a call from the shop I have my boat in regarding my carburetor. I was getting a transom kit put in, and had them go ahead and install the new water fuel separator and fuel pump why they were working on it. It’s a. 1990 4.3 mercruiser, 2 barrel carb. 19’ Blue Water Cuddy II executive.

I had been having issues with it stalling out after reaching 3000 rpms under load. But it seemed to run fine out of gear...... anyway.... I get a call and they said they found my problem. Said it has a cheap piece of junk for a carburetor that was all clogged up with ethanol residue. I was told at the time I purchased this boat it was a brand new carb.... the shop tells me it is a Rochester 2 barrel and not even worth working on. Said It’s a piece of junk that will give me more problems in the future. They won’t work on it. They recommended purchasing an Eldonbrock carb.

not being a mechanic with a lot of experience, I’m at a loss here..... can you gentlemen with experience give me some insight to my situation? Possibly some recommendations? I’d sure appreciate it. Kirk
 
When did you purchase the boat?

Also are they sure its a Rochester? If it has two air fuel mixture screws its a Rochester. If it has only one air fuel mixture screw it is a Mercarb.

Based on how long ago you purchased the boat, I would say a rebuild would be fine if done correctly. How much do you trust the mechanics there? Sounds like a bad way to describe your issue..........."carb is junk"
Would have better to say, Carb is source of your problem and we recommend replace with new.


So If you want a turn key problem free boat, spend the money and have new installed and have fun!

The choice is yours and how much to spend.
 
kghost said:
When did you purchase the boat?

Also are they sure its a Rochester? If it has two air fuel mixture screws its a Rochester. If it has only one air fuel mixture screw it is a Mercarb.

Based on how long ago you purchased the boat, I would say a rebuild would be fine if done correctly. How much do you trust the mechanics there? Sounds like a bad way to describe your issue..........."carb is junk"
Would have better to say, Carb is source of your problem and we recommend replace with new.


So If you want a turn key problem free boat, spend the money and have new installed and have fun!

The choice is yours and how much to spend.
Click to expand...

i purchased the boat back in late May from an old timer that put “A new engine”, and a brand new carb in it himself that only had 10 hours on it...... I’m beginning to think that was a stretch.... Well it was obviously a different engine, but definitely not new. and the amount of auto parts used when installed made it obvious again he didn’t have a clue what he was doing.....just found out it has an auto block too with galvanized steel soft plugs..... unfortunately with my ignorance of inboard boat motors, I’ve been slowly going through everything and replacing all this crap.

The amount of times I’ve had this baby in the water since then I could almost count on one hand. It was obviously suffering from neglect, and lack of maintenance. I’ve spent more time working on it than running it by far..... but I’m getting close to having everything ship shape now. The whole outdrive has been serviced, new wiring for the batteries and MBSS, new lower shift cables, bilge pump system updated and tested, and now the water fuel separator and fuel pump is CG approved.....

but how much do I trust my mechanic working on this? That one I can’t really say..... with mechanics it’s more like having a religious belief me thinks. Ya gotta have faith in the ones you use, but never really know how accurate their interpretation of the problems are going to be more than if they are being honest with you.... Soooooo l.....that’s kind of why I’m on this forum looking for different interpretations and opinions so I can make a more educated guess on my next move.....

so I appreciate the input here gentleman. Kirk
 
kirkll said:
i purchased the boat back in late May from an old timer that put “A new engine”, and a brand new carb in it himself that only had 10 hours on it...... I’m beginning to think that was a stretch.... Well it was obviously a different engine, but definitely not new. and the amount of auto parts used when installed made it obvious again he didn’t have a clue what he was doing.....just found out it has an auto block too with galvanized steel soft plugs..... /QUOTE]

Maybe the PO installed an automotive carb and not a marine carb? :confused: If he put in an automotive engine then I'd say it's possible he just thought a "carb is a carb" and got the cheapest one he could. If you do have an automotive carb that may be why the shop won't touch it because of liability issues.
Click to expand...
 
To follow up on this, The guys in the shop checked the numbers off the carb and its definitely the wrong one. I've got a reconditioned Merc carb coming for about half the price of a new one from a company called Flying fish carb co. or Guaranteed Carburetor. The shop told me they have worked with many of these and they do well from this company.

These guys are SERIOUSLY big on using non ethanol gas in this things. So i think i'll abide by that from here on out.
 
Welcome to another episode of "This Old Boat" Today we are going to try our hand at archeological reverse engineering of previous owner repairs and replacements. Lets start at the back and have a look at the engine compartment. O wow haven't seen this in a while...bone stock Chevy C10 motor for a '75!! This was the technology back in the day but really isn't a boat engine. Wonder what else has been done to this poor ol girl to keep it going...?

In all seriousness, the problem with buying a 30 year old boat is that you're buying 30 years of someone else's maintenance. The next time you are about to drop some coin on a boat, have it gone over by a marine surveyor, or insist that the seller does. The few hundred you spend for this service will save you thousands.

Alright beating will end here.

So the thing is, when the shop replaces all this stuff you should actually be OK with ethanol laced fuel. The new fuel lines, filters and carb should be of the newer materials rated for these fuels. In fact the shop MUST install the alcohol-resistant lines by law.
As for the old truck engine, Lots of boats have been fit with replacement automotive engines. The issue is that these are built for a whole different set of performance requirements and aren't well suited to life in a boat. Lots of internal parts are different between a marine engine and a car engine.
Boats are always under load and going "uphill" They never coast so the bearings are always getting stress (which is why they use heavy duty straight 30 oil) along with all the other bits. They are also made to operate in salt water.
I guess what I'm saying is that you can probably run it as it is, but the engine might not run as well as you would hope.
Anyway, hope that your repair bill isn't too dear and that you get out on the water soon. Wear your PFD at all times (Mustang SOSpenders).
 
That was a pretty choice response, Well worded to rub my nose in it a bit, but still give me a bit of faith all is not lost. Thanks for that.... In retrospect, I believe I would take a bit more time making a purchase in the future, and definitely spend the money on a marine survey prior to pulling the trigger. What we originally thought was a really good deal on this old boat has changed significantly as more and more cost has accumulated to get her in ship shape. But... we are still optimistic.

Ive enjoyed the project aspect of it, and gained a whole lot more knowledge of marine mechanics, and the maintenance required to keep these things going. I certainly appreciate the help and patience you gentlemen have given me on this site. I’d have never got this far without your help. it has been a bit discouraging at times finding one thing after another that needs to be done just to make this thing safe...... but.... we are getting close now, and our investment so far hasn’t been too astronomical.

If it wasn’t for the fact my wife really loves this thing, I don’t believe I’d feel the same way about it right now. But If I’d have bought a fishing boat of my choosing, rather than a pleasure craft, and had this many issues to deal with to get her safe and sound, I’d be getting flack from my wife about the extra money spent instead of support. Funny how that works eh? She found this boat for sale....So I always got that to fall back on when extra expenses come up.

All I can hope for now is a good stretch of use this Fall when our salmon fishing heats up in September/ October. It’s going to look a bit more like a fishing boat in the next couple weeks after getting the rubber mats on the deck and engine cover, and replace a couple of the seats with a captains chair ,fish box, and room for fishing gear...... I may get some flack about this transition. But she’ll get over it once we start putting fish in the boat. That woman loves to catch fish.

thanks again for your help and support. I gotta feeling I’m going to need more in the future. Kirk
 
o2batsea said:
Welcome to another episode of "This Old Boat" Today we are going to try our hand at archeological reverse engineering of previous owner repairs and replacements. Lets start at the back and have a look at the engine compartment. O wow haven't seen this in a while...bone stock Chevy C10 motor for a '75!! This was the technology back in the day but really isn't a boat engine. Wonder what else has been done to this poor ol girl to keep it going...?

In all seriousness, the problem with buying a 30 year old boat is that you're buying 30 years of someone else's maintenance. The next time you are about to drop some coin on a boat, have it gone over by a marine surveyor, or insist that the seller does. The few hundred you spend for this service will save you thousands.

Alright beating will end here.

So the thing is, when the shop replaces all this stuff you should actually be OK with ethanol laced fuel. The new fuel lines, filters and carb should be of the newer materials rated for these fuels. In fact the shop MUST install the alcohol-resistant lines by law.
As for the old truck engine, Lots of boats have been fit with replacement automotive engines. The issue is that these are built for a whole different set of performance requirements and aren't well suited to life in a boat. Lots of internal parts are different between a marine engine and a car engine.
Boats are always under load and going "uphill" They never coast so the bearings are always getting stress (which is why they use heavy duty straight 30 oil) along with all the other bits. They are also made to operate in salt water.
I guess what I'm saying is that you can probably run it as it is, but the engine might not run as well as you would hope.
Anyway, hope that your repair bill isn't too dear and that you get out on the water soon. Wear your PFD at all times (Mustang SOSpenders).
Click to expand...

I've bought several "classic" boats over the years.... My formula ( to avoid aggravation and optimize actual boating) is to buy the "classic" boat for "hull price", i.e factor in the price of a factory new engine and drive ( if an early MERC) ).... Surveys are a must.
 
Well Captain Bob, I’d say that is good sound advice if you have the investment capitol to work, with and the time and the shop to do the work yourself. Actually it would be good sport to do just that and keep a project boat going all the time......

unfortunately my shop is full of woodworking tools, and I build traditional bows to keep me entertained and make a few bucks. This classic boat restoration thing is all brand new to me. I’m going to need to build another boat barn if I decide to keep playing with this. I did just finish a machine shed to separate my grease tools from my wood working tools, and have a nice work bench for mechanics work now. Those two don’t mix well at all.

if you are curious what I build you can check this out.... http://bigfootbows.com/b/bows/
 
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