Mercruiser 4.3L hard starting - possible solution

bt99

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Jun 23, 2009
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Figured I'd pass this along.

I have a 95 Tahoe Q6 with Mercruiser 4.3L, 2 bbl carb. Picked it up used about 2.5 years ago, and it had been difficult to start, will crank, but wouldn't always fire.

On the rare occasion, it would fire right up without any monkeying around. Most of the time, I'd have to throttle to full, turn and hold the key, while backing off the throttle. Somewhere around 3/4 throttle it would hit a sweet spot and fire up, sometimes. A shot from the can of starting fluid always helped.

Changed the plugs, cap, rotor, and wires, without any real improvement.

A mechanic friend told me to check the connections for the electric choke, the movement of the plunger and check for voltage at the connections. While I was getting ready to do this, I noticed the half the rubber O ring, where the electric choke connects into the carb was sticking out. I pulled the two screws that held the choke in place and removed the choke unit. The plunger moved freely, so I put it back in, making certain the O ring seated properly.

Connected everything back up and turned the key. The engine fired right up and has been working great for the past few weeks.
 
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