motor suddenly dies

[joe_db]

Just FYI:
Best thing I ever did to solve carb issues is just buy a NEW one!
At some point it seems the metal just starts corroding/eroding and you can NEVER get it working right for long. I know the $$$ hurts, but if you value your time at even $5/hr it pays off.

[roadnsky]

...I've either never had the problem before or perhaps more accurately never noticed it. That 5th bolt could have made a difference.

Funny, but your "fix" is exactly what Don recommends.

http://www.moyermarine.com/pressure_regulation.htm

[edwardc]

...
Ed
"With an electronic fuel pump, you should never need the priming bulb."

but until I fit the switch, I don't want to kill the battery turning the motor over until the fuel is there (I run the fuel line dry at the end of the day. )...

When you "run the fuel line dry", what you are actually doing is draining the carb float bowl. I've found that a properly functioning Facett pump will refill a completely dry float bowl in 5 seconds or less. Even if you take another 5 sec to generate enough oil pressure to close the OPSS, that's a total of 10 sec of cranking. Hardly enough to kill the battery. And if you really want, you can eliminate half of that by running a bypass line from the "R" terminal on the solenoid (if you have one) to the pump side of the OPSS. The "R" terminal supplies power to the pump only while cranking, and is completely isolated while running.

[Rob Salinas]

Hello HalcyonS,
Captain's Locker in Long Beach, located in the Alamitos Bay Marina Center is a Universal parts dealer. I bought a carb rebuild kit and a couple of extra gaskets the day after I bought my boat. I had a leaky carb and a no start beastie. I used them because of time constraints to get her running and out of the marina. I order from Moyer otherwise, but if I need something NOW there is a source. Call them first, as popular parts go fast! ie carb rebuild kits. Good luck!

[HalcyonS]

Rob -
Captains Locker - yes, it was recommended to me but I forgot its name. Thanks! Are you at Al Larson? (I am) That;s the only marina i know of in Terminal Island.

I would of course patronise MMI but I kinda want to get to this - this weekend

Ed -
thanks for the tip on the R teminal - very useful.

joe -
I don't think i need a new carb, its only 7 years old.

thanks all
Simon

[Rob Salinas]

Howdy neighbor!
Yes I am, I'm at the end of F dock, and have a green sail cover,where are you, and when did you move in? When are you going to be down next? If you don't mind, I could stop by and meet you and have a "looksea".

[HalcyonS]

"Howdy neighbor!"

howdy!

"Yes I am, I'm at the end of F dock, and have a green sail cover,where are you, and when did you move in? When are you going to be down next? If you don't mind, "

I'm out on a ball, blue cover, wooden mast.

"I could stop by and meet you and have a "looksea"."

sure, I might be down sunday, and maybe monday too
Simon

[HalcyonS]

carburetor cleaning fluids

Any tips on best carb soaking/cleaning fluids? (where best means cheap, most effective, and maybe least poisonous)
Simon

[ndutton]

Governor Moonbeam and his cohorts are at it again

I used to like lacquer thinner but it's been reformulated here in California to what seems like a mixture of acetone and Old Spice after shave. I used in on my rebuild last week and it did the job but I could tell it's not what it used to be, not nearly as aggressive as the old toluene based thinner.

[Mo]

I use brake cleaner for cleaning up the carb, grease around the engine etc...very multi purpose so I always keep a couple of cans around.

[marthur]

Here is one I have used on outboard carburetors: Pinesol. Yep, the ordinary stuff off the grocery store shelf. Way less toxic than some of the solvents we use and works surprisingly well.

Here is the story: I have several (OK, it is actually seven) outboards and the youngest is a 1977. I have bought and sold another half dozen in the last few years. My everyday runners are a 1957 Evinrude Fisherman and a 1956 Johnson 10 hp. When I got these motors, the carbs were sometimes pretty yucky because I won't buy a motor unless it is CHEAP. An overnight soak in Pinesol really cleans things up. Then I break out the brush and the air compressor to scrub the bowl and blast the passages.

I also keep a little Gum Out in a spray can for quick cleanups and for on the boat emergencies. It also makes a great paint remover so be careful where you spray : )

[HalcyonS]

So I took the carb off...

the scavenge tube was full of tarry crud, which was also in the bottom of the intake throat. Float reservoir had a dusting of fine pale green dust, apparently from the monel fuel tank, and got through both filters! Apart from that everything looked pretty clean. I ran carb cleaner through the passages, pulled out and cleaned the breathers, and jets, and put it back together. I'm glad to have done it but I'm thinking the carb is not my problem, or my problem is not the carb. But here's an odd thing - the instruction sheet with the Zenith (not clone) gasket and jet kit I acquired at Captains Locker (convenient but overpriced) said the float should hang down " 1- 5/32" (give or take 1/32) when installed without the gasket, and referred to "A" which was not on the drawing. This is confusing and the dimension makes no sense. Any idea what they mean? pic attached

[Kelly]

float specs

Hi,

I guess you saw that you answer your own question in the other thread you started containing the carb pdf files. For the others:

[romantic comedy]

We always called that dimension the "float height".

Just have the needle valve in place, and check the measurement. It is a way of checking the fullness or height of fuel in the chamber.

[HalcyonS]

Hi,

I guess you saw that you answer your own question in the other thread you started containing the carb pdf files. For the others:

yeah, well, as it happened I didn't have those docs with mew I was relying on the docs supplied with the repair kit. It would have helped it Zenith had included the relevant image in their doc.

thx
Simon