Carburetors
Need a carburetor rebuild kit? You're at the right place!
A properly functioning marine carburetor is necessary to ensure the correct mix of fuel and air to sustain combustion and power a boat’s engine. So, if your engine isn’t running right (or not at all!), the carburetor might be to blame.
In the interest of safety, marine carburetors have a few features that automotive carburetors don’t. Specifically, in the event of fuel flooding, marine carburetors are designed to prevent fuel from flowing out of the carburetor on to an engine’s manifolds or to the boat’s bilge which can lead to an explosion.
Replacement Carburetors and Carburetor Replacement Kits
West Marine sells replacement carburetors and carburetor rebuild kits. Carburetor rebuild kits eliminate the need to search for each individual engine part and instead provide everything you need. The rebuild kits sold by West Marine are supplied by Sierra—boating’s largest supplier of aftermarket marine engine parts. Rebuild kits include gaskets, O-rings, jets, plus everything else you will need to restore performance and function. Sierra’s parts are made to meet or exceed OEM standards, so you can install them with complete confidence. 4-barrel and 2-barrel carburetor kits are available. Kits are offered for all major brands of inboard, sterndrive and outboard marine engines. Brands covered include Yamaha, Mercury, MerCruiser, Honda, Chrysler and more.
Steps to replace a carburetor.
- Disconnect the choke, fuel pump and air supply from the carburetor.
- Disconnect the throttle.
- Remove the carburetor hold-down bolts.
- There are usually four of these.
- Clean away any old gasket material from the carburetor mating surfaces. Position the new gasket and the replacement carburetor on top of it.
- Bolt down the new carburetor, using new bolts, if supplied. When securing it, be sure to use all the included hardware and washers.
- Reconnect the carburetor hose, gasket and fuel line.
- Reconnect the choke and throttle. Install the backfire flame arrestor to the top for safety.
- For an enclosed engine space, run the blower to remove gasoline fumes.
- Start the engine and make necessary adjustments.