Frank Acampora
Supreme Mariner
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2007
- Messages
- 12,004
This post is directed at those people who seem to have a most difficult problem, or one that seems to be puzzling. It may explain why we sometimes can not exactly determine quickly what is happening.
A fellow called me several times about a poor running engine. He cleaned the carb and replaced the inlet needle. Now the engine was flooding as soon as he started it. I advised him and he checked the enrichment valve with no improvement. After a number of phone conversations I said "Well, the carb may be bad. Bring it to me and I will see if I can replace it." He wanted me to mail it BUT I said no. I needed to see it to tell if I had a direct replacement. So, he drove the boat out to my place.
I removed the carb and took off the float bowl. The first thing I noticed was that the float was set too low. With the carb inverted I blew through the inlet and it did not seal. I removed the float and needle. Inside the seat I saw a shadow that looked suspicious. I did not like it and decided to investigate further. I removed the inlet elbow which was sealed with Permatex. Another shadow was visible there inside the carb casting.
Probing, I determined that it probably was a small piece of Permatex. It was tenacious and took about 10-15 minutes of spraying and poking with a pipe cleaner to get it out.
Surprised, he said that he definitely cleaned the carb, he had blown through the inlet as I instructed him on the phone and it did seal. I have no doubt that he did indeed clean the carb a couple of times but given the amount of time it took to clear that one small, hardly noticeable piece, I suspect that it would have just dropped back, only to partially clog the seat and hold the inlet needle open when the engine was started.
After possibly working it out (I say possibly, because I did not see it come out but I could not see it inside either) upon assembly the float was now at its correct height, the carb did not flood, and the engine started and ran passably well.
While it took several phone calls of at least 15 minutes each with no positive result, upon seeing the carb it only took about 5 minutes to determine the problem.
The moral is that sometimes, we just need to actually see the problem and let our gut feeling guide us. This is not possible online.
A fellow called me several times about a poor running engine. He cleaned the carb and replaced the inlet needle. Now the engine was flooding as soon as he started it. I advised him and he checked the enrichment valve with no improvement. After a number of phone conversations I said "Well, the carb may be bad. Bring it to me and I will see if I can replace it." He wanted me to mail it BUT I said no. I needed to see it to tell if I had a direct replacement. So, he drove the boat out to my place.
I removed the carb and took off the float bowl. The first thing I noticed was that the float was set too low. With the carb inverted I blew through the inlet and it did not seal. I removed the float and needle. Inside the seat I saw a shadow that looked suspicious. I did not like it and decided to investigate further. I removed the inlet elbow which was sealed with Permatex. Another shadow was visible there inside the carb casting.
Probing, I determined that it probably was a small piece of Permatex. It was tenacious and took about 10-15 minutes of spraying and poking with a pipe cleaner to get it out.
Surprised, he said that he definitely cleaned the carb, he had blown through the inlet as I instructed him on the phone and it did seal. I have no doubt that he did indeed clean the carb a couple of times but given the amount of time it took to clear that one small, hardly noticeable piece, I suspect that it would have just dropped back, only to partially clog the seat and hold the inlet needle open when the engine was started.
After possibly working it out (I say possibly, because I did not see it come out but I could not see it inside either) upon assembly the float was now at its correct height, the carb did not flood, and the engine started and ran passably well.
While it took several phone calls of at least 15 minutes each with no positive result, upon seeing the carb it only took about 5 minutes to determine the problem.
The moral is that sometimes, we just need to actually see the problem and let our gut feeling guide us. This is not possible online.
