5 bolt gasket on a 4 bolt carb?

[sastanley]

I did a search and could not find a solution.

Along with the 30 years worth of 'stuff' I acquired with the boat were some gaskets for the engine..in this specific case, a carb gasket. I have taken the Zenith carb apart this winter and cleaned it up. My problem is the gasket is a 5 bolt hole gasket, but the carb is only a 4 bolt carb.

Should I pick up a 4 bolt gasket? Will the 5 bolt gasket work in a pinch (keep as a spare) on the boat as a backup? Maybe I should send it to a 5 bolt carb owner? ? ?

I am already working on my "Moyer Christmas list", so this may just be one more item to add

I can take pics if needed..it is winter time here and the carb is in pieces on the workbench.
thanks!

[Don Moyer]

The five-bolt gasket works equally well on four-bolt carburetors. You simply let the front of the gasket stick out in front of the housing, or you can trim it off after installation.

Don

[sastanley]

thanks, the guru has spoken!

Don, thanks for your reply. One of the beauties of internet forums is us regular Joe's have access to professionals that know the answers to our silly questions that we ponder over, and hopefully it doesn't take too much time for you to answer them.

My concern was that there appears to be a little bit less 'mating surface' due to the extra hole cut in the gasket for the non-existent 5th hole, but I didn't know if it was enough to worry about.

I have so many projects on the boat this winter, I am just trying to check off as many as I can, and the less disassembled piles laying around the better!

I'll put it together, toss it in a ziploc, and store it 'til spring!

[Don Moyer]

One of the great things about the Forum is that it gives us an opportunity at MMI to follow up on issues now and then that we've been taking for granted for many years to be sure we aren't missing something. It's very true that the fifth hole in the gasket causes the mating cross-section to be somewhat reduced at the very front of the housings at the point where it is necessary to make a good seal (ref. our first tech tip at moyermarine.com). Although we've been using the five-bolt bowl gaskets on four-bolt carburetors successfully for years, I made a call to our Zenith rep last week to see if it is still their intent that the five-bolt bowl gasket be used on four-bolt carburetors as well. I'll report back as soon as I hear anything definitive on this subject.

Don

[Don Moyer]

We finally heard back from Zenith and they confirmed that there is indeed only one bowl gasket for the late model Atomic 4 carburetor, so the small amount of reduced surface area caused by the fifth hole is not considered to be any issue by Zenith.

Don

[sastanley]

thanks

Thank you Don.

I took in good faith your recommendation that you expected it to be no problem, and I have reassembled my carb and stored in for winter. I appreciate the follow up so that I don't go looking for a 4-hole gasket.