Carburetor rebuild?

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

I bought a sweet 2002 Alumacraft boat with a 50hp Yamaha. Only has 15 hrs on it. Problem is the carbs are gummed up and it won't run right. Dealer says carbs need to be rebuilt. Sounds like an overkill to me. Can't they be cleaned another way??

[huntnfish]

I like a product called Sea-Foam. It comes in a can and I normally run this stuff on every tank. It helped quite a bit last year when I couldn't idle down the motor while in gear. After a tank of gas with some sea-foam in it, the motor straitened up. It would be something to try before you dump a bunch of money on a carb rebuild.

[delmuts]

i run sea foam in my boat all the time to keep the carbs clean. but if yours are really bad ( like mine were!) then they will need to be torn down and cleaned. but i would try the sea foam first also!

[eurolarva]

Depending on the model number of the motor a carb kit could be as much as 50 dollars. Pretty pricey parts however if you choose to take it apart to clean it, it is best to have spare parts in case you tear a gasket or find a bad part that is replaceable.

[IFallsRon]

Start by using some spray carb cleaner. Take the carbs off the block and spray in every hole. If there's a drain screw on the bottom of the bowl, take that off and spray in the hole. Use a soft-bristle brush in all the areas you can reach. Let it dry and do it again. You may want to have a can of compressed air, too.

Reinstall the carb and run fuel with Sea Foam. If you don't notice a difference, you're probably looking at a rebuild.

[wayne123]

I wonder if you got some bad gas that plugged things up. Seems kind of soon for a rebuild with normal usage.

[Valv]

IFallsRon has a good suggestion, if it does the job you are set, but beware carb cleaners are harsh on paint.

Otherwise I would suggest doing the rebuild, a dirty carb can cause a lean condition on one cylinder, get little/no lubrication and score cylinder, it will be MUCH more expensive than a carb rebuild.

These problems are actually caused from NOT using the boat, if motor gets used at least once every 3 weeks or month it won't have any issue.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Thanks for the info. Sounds like justification for more frequent outings

[Jeremy airjer W]

Seafoam is a great product. You can use it in the gas all the time. Wich might not be a bad idea for the people who do not put on a lot of hours! Remember Seafoam Does 4 things, It stabalizes the fuel, cleans the fuel system, removes moisture from the fuel system, and decarbonizes the intake and upper end of the motor. The first time I uses it I noticed a difference within five minutes of running the boat!!