Carb Troubles: Advice?

[Subliminal]

Hey guys,

So I have a Chevy 4.3L in my boat with a Holley Carb on it.

The engine/carb setup is brand new, but due to a douchebag dealership and some harsh rulings by Volvo Penta, I'm left to deal with my carb issues for myself.

Anyway, since day 1, the engine has had some serious hesitation down low. Every time I pop it in gear it sputters before taking off. When the engine is cold, and I'm just tooting around (like leaving the dock) it dies as often as not...which is awesome in a nice current.

The boat is also a leftover 2008 that probably had old gas in it for a while, as I didn't take ownership until 05/2010

At any rate, before my warranty claim was denied, the dealership told me they decided that it needed a rebuild kit installed. Now, at this point I have absolutely no confidence in that dealership whatsoever.

But, a carb kit is only like $35...although it does look to have a buttload of parts:


I've played with small engine carbs, like on lawn equipment, but have never (in all my 20+ cars) have had one with a carburetor.

But I know some of you folks are gurus with the old school...so I figured I'd post and ask for advice.

[mark]

its not hard to rebuild a carb just keep track of what came out of where. its just a 2bbl.
You can do this no problem You own a turbo mopar!

[Subliminal]

Thanks for the vote of confidence! Not so worried I can't do it, as I AM going to do it...just fishing for tips/advice/whatever

[mark]

here is some advice, after the rebuild, if it runs worse than before. you done messed up j/k

[Subliminal]

LOL...fair enough.

[black86glhs]

Send it to me and it will make 20 more HP than it did!!!!

[zshadow]

its not hard to rebuild a carb just keep track of what came out of where. its just a 2bbl.
You can do this no problem You own a turbo mopar!

+1!

If its anything like the 4.3L thats in my blazer, which i looks close enough, its not to bad to rebuild the carb.

just like any project, label the screws as they come out, mark what pieces have gaskets, and take pictures!

i haveth z faith of a successful rebuild!

[shackwrrr]

sounds like The Idle circuits could be clogged. You could fix that without even taking the carb off, just figure out where they are set and take them out, then spray carb cleaner in the holes. You Might also need a choke adjustment, a boat is going to need the choke to come off a little late since the water never really ever heats up.

And that float bowl sucks without the external adjustable float, also that water neck makes it impossible to pull the bowl without removing the carb . I wonder if the boat carbs got the spring loaded needle/seat for those high speed turns and nose up times before it planes out.

[turbovanman²]

I would check the choke adjustment, make sure it stays on for awhile when cold-loosen the screws holding the black reostat and tighten it up so it puts more pressure on the choke plate.

Set the float level, it should have removable screws/plugs in the float bowl, if its low, IE not just below the hole with the engine running, it needs adusting and that will be a big help.

Hesitation warm is most likely the accel pump adjustment, check if you see fuel squirting in the venturi-ENGINE OFF, lol. You basically want the screw with the spring just touching the pump arm, you can play with that tension but if no go, you'll need to mess with cams or bigger nozzles.

Check your timing too.

[BadAssPerformance]

Did you try the good old Gumout carb cleaner method? Not sure it needs a rebuild, but probably tuning?

Carb tuning? Dont you have to like sacrifice a goat to do that? LOL!

[turbovanman²]

Carb tuning? Dont you have to like sacrifice a goat to do that? LOL!

Yep, lol.

[ScottD]

+1 on checking the choke. The new Weber 32/36 I put on my Turismo had the choke out of adjustment out of the box. It would hesitate sputter and die when cold.

You may also want to double check the base idle and air/fuel mix.

I have a hard time believing a brand new carb would need a rebuild.