1998 Mercruiser 2 bbl carb issue.

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Stephen

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I'm looking for opinions.

My carb was fairly dirty so I cleaned it with carb cleaner along with the flame arrestor. Now the engine wants to stall at idle. I replaced the water separator, the fuel filter in the carb, and even ran from a gas can for 10 minutes to make sure I didn't have a batch of bad gas. The electric choke works properly and all linkage is fine. I cleaned the inside of the towers in my distributor cap and replaced the rotor in hopes it was that.

What I think happened was when I sprayed the top of the carb and into the bowl vent, I inadvertently got some dirt down the vent and that dirt is now sitting in one or both of the jets. To save me the joy of having to remove the carb for service, I was going to try to clean it again with carb cleaner, spraying a lot into the vent until the engine stalls. Then I will not start it for like 30 minutes to give that carb cleaner time to act on the jets. Another idea I had was to maybe fill the water separator 50-50 with Sea Foam and let that run through. Does anybody else have any ideas? Thanks!
 
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The carb needs to be removed and cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner and the parts from a rebuild kit installed.

Or better yet send it out to Treadwell Carb. Company in NY.
 
Thanks, I'll keep them in mind. I just wish they weren't four hours away.

Can anyone recommend a shop in South Jersey?
 
I just mailed mine. Even though I am in NY. Like starter/alternator rebuild shops, carburetor rebuild shops are becoming rare.
 
ddurand said:
carburetor rebuild shops are becoming rare.
Click to expand...
Because carburetors are becoming rare.
FWIW, my 21 year old Merc 4.3 2 bbl carbs have been bullet proof and the engines purr like a kitten. (Knock on wood!!!)
 
Yeah, when I called them to inquire about their services, I asked if they accept mail-in service. The woman laughed and said that's most of their work.
 
I found rebuilding a recently well running carb to be surprisingly easy - and I am by no means a skilled mechanic. With all of the YouTube’s ( Mike’s Carburetors ) out there, it’s really just a matter of disassembly, cleaning and reassembly. If the idle speeds, and everything else was all messed up to start with - then I’m sure it gets harder. But if only a clean out, with like for like replacement of parts - not a tough job, at least for the carbs I’ve dug into - Rochester 4bbl & Carter AFB.
 
alk said:
I found rebuilding a recently well running carb to be surprisingly easy - and I am by no means a skilled mechanic. With all of the YouTube’s ( Mike’s Carburetors ) out there, it’s really just a matter of disassembly, cleaning and reassembly. If the idle speeds, and everything else was all messed up to start with - then I’m sure it gets harder. But if only a clean out, with like for like replacement of parts - not a tough job, at least for the carbs I’ve dug into - Rochester 4bbl & Carter AFB.
Click to expand...
Best to have an ultrasonic cleaner.
 
I spent a whole lot of time last weekend checking just about everything that could cause an idle issue. I was looking for any excuse for it NOT to be the carb. But after finding nothing wrong anywhere, the carb is off and getting rebuilt. Still, my greatest fear is the rebuilder will tell me he found nothing wrong with it. We'll see in 3-4 days. I took it to Bowen Carb in Bristol PA, who has done work for me in the past.
 
I had a boat with a 4 barrel and idle problems. A rebuild solved the problem. But with the Merc ignition interrupter and idle issues due to the carb, docking is not always fun. Like when you stall and need some power so you do not hit the dock or another boat.
 
I got the carb back today. It looks like a new carb and I had to check the serial number. They even sent me a video of the carb installed on their test engine with some test device attached to measure air volume and fuel flow. The engine idled fine and accelerated smoothly. I'm excited and can't wait to install it on Saturday. They even gave it back to me in a new fitted box - nice touch.
 
The carb is on and working perfectly throughout all ranges!
 
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