Why is my carb oxidizing????

[racerone]

The air can be quite corrosive in and around farm buildings.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Any chance the boat has water in it (in waterlogged foam, for example) when stored? Anything that would be creating a very humid environment?

 

[j cat]

This is my second carburetor in 5 years. This one I installed last season.

covered the boat with shrinkwrap.

well the shrink wrap has a hole in it and then a lot of moisture ...
air temps rise and fall and a lot of wet in it . in fall
I use marvel mystery oil to the carb no corrosion ..
I put MMO 1 oz in the cylinders ...then I put a plastic sheet to cover the carb ..
I used a tarp 2 tarps .. then the air flows thru the internal boat area . I did my job to remove the tarp last week and my boat has no moisture in it ..I lifted the trailer on the bow area and take out the drain plug ..
your picture is corrosion alot of all over the motor ...

 

[Lancer76]

It may very well be that I allow too much ventilation and water/condensation forms. I'll try to improve that situation next fall. In the meanwhile, (violation of rule #8, don't do that again)

 

[QBhoy]

Is that an ignition coil I can see in right next to the carb !!

 

[Lou C]

Is that an ignition coil I can see in right next to the carb !!

Nothing unusual, common with 1970s Fords. We had one, never self-combusted. A 1970 Torino with a 5 liter (302 cu in) V8 and an Autolite 2100 2 bbl carb.

 

[QBhoy]

Nothing unusual, common with 1970s Fords. We had one, never self-combusted. A 1970 Torino with a 5 liter (302 cu in) V8 and an Autolite 2100 2 bbl carb.

wondering if it is having an effect on things, should it be poorly connected or poorly earthed near by. although I suspect the whole top end of the engine looks as if it is suffering severe corrosion issue. But if that carb was new last year...something is going on for sure.
Never noticed that these old engines ever had a coil in there between the V..always thought they were at the rear of the engine..not ever been familiar with anything that old though, to be fair. Looks like its one from the late 70's...closest I had to that would be an old mercruiser 140 4 cylinder.

 

[j cat]

It may very well be that I allow too much ventilation and water/condensation forms. I'll try to improve that situation next fall. In the meanwhile, anyone have a 2jet for sale?

well clean up the carb and see if it works ..bought it last year ..
my carb is a 1978 ..

 

[Lancer76]

Yup. Gonna either clean it or find a used carb. The motor will run great - good compression and installed pertronix ignition. Just need the fuel side.of the fire triangle.

 

[Lancer76]

The engine is the original 1976 Ford 351W aka Mercuiser 233. I may clean it up, but I may look to a salvage yard for a 2nd hand carb. This took the wind out of my sails a bit, so I've been avoiding the boat, which isn't easy when it is parked right outside the kitchen window. Eventually I will get motivation when my wife gets sick of it sitting there (which is understandable).

Thanks for all the responses

 

[FIN FEVER]

Are you keeping any fertilizers or oxidizers near the boat?

 

[Lou C]

Be careful with second hand carbs, the carb has to be a marine unit (J vents and the overflow nipple are not on automotive carbs) and used carbs can be in any condition, may never work right etc. I know it's an old boat but just be careful of what you buy. If I could not make my Quadrajet work right I'd use a new Holley or Edelbrock. No fun futzing with a carb during boating season.

 

[Lancer76]

Thanks for advice on marine vs. auto carbs. I meant a boat salvage yard, so will stick with a marine carb. I picked up an outdrive from an 888 a few years ago there. Maybe they'll have a carb.

No oxidizers or fertilizers nearby. It's mysterious. Well, more annoying than mysterious.

 

[isaacs]

You have rust and corrosion on every unpainted surface in that engine compartment, not just the carburetor,. What does the rest of the boat look like? Like under the dash--rusty bolts or funky looking electrical connections? It could be a clue if everything inside the boat is rusting.

Any chance there's some battery acid laying in a puddle somewhere...maybe from overfilling the battery? When is the last time you rinsed out the bilge?

 

[Lancer76]

Thought I'd follow up on this thread. I cleaned and rebuilt the old carb. It cleaned up okay but it has some minor pitting. Given the price of fuel, I gave this pretty low priority.

One afternoon, I had both old carbs on the table and my wife suggested just starting fresh with a new one. So I ordered a new 2 Jet, installed and was in the water yesterday for the first time in 2022. Boat ran like a top; at idle and throughout the RPM range. $375 for a carb. They are not cheap, but we all know what BOAT stands for - and with inflation, we should be writing BOATT (break out another two thousand!) ; )

Anyway during the get ready period, we scrubbed the boat and didn't see anything that would be suspect in terms of carb corrosion.

That's the follow up and, hopefully, conclusion. As usual, I'm very grateful for the collective wisdom and experience here. Thank you all very much and happy and trouble free boating!

 

[Scott06]

Yup. Gonna either clean it or find a used carb. The motor will run great - good compression and installed pertronix ignition. Just need the fuel side.of the fire triangle.

Try cleaning and painting the carb Like merc oem carbs. If you bought a rebuilt carb they usually strip all the coating off them when cleaning and they look like chit quickly let alone in a humid environment.
eastwood makes a ‘diamond satin clear’ that i used on the carbs for driver quality car restoration work Instead of recoloring carbs Looks fairly nice and holds up well.

 

[Lancer76]

The new carb was painted, so it has some protection. Of course, i have no idea what paint was used.

Regarding the surface rust on the intake manifold, coil and exhaust elbows, I cleaned those up and repainted for additional protection from the elements.

 

[Searay205]

Your block gets very cold over the long winter especially at night, then a warm front comes in then cold. Your engine is like a cold coke on a picnic table in summer sweating. I stored a boat outside one summer with a cover in Houston. Every single day you would think someone washed the engine with water. block would cool at night and with our 79% humidity in the mornings against 70F block and 72F dew point it was sopping wet. The boat cover made it worse by trapping moisture in. Get your boat in enclosed storage, tons of ventilation. Shrink wrap is killing it, vents holes, lmao, what forcing the circulation, the rains storm taking place inside it.