Rebuilt Carburetors

One Carburetor at a Time

Marine Carburetors

The GM Marine division started using the Rochester Quadrajet in 1968.

What Makes Your Marine Carburetor Different From A Comparable Automotive Carburetor?

Marine carburetors are made differently from automotive carburetors for one reason, to keep you from blowing up your boat. Replacing your marine carburetor with an automotive carburetor can be a disaster and you would be well advised not to do it. It is also illegal and can result in a ticket when you are inspected.

What makes a Marine carb different?

Venting is directed back into the carburetor, so when an overflow occurs the fuel goes into the engine and not the sump. An auto carburetor vents so that excess fuel spills over the carburetor and engine. Now, I wouldn't want gasoline on my car engine either, but I guess a cars engine catching fire is safer than a boat blowing up.
A marine carburetor should not have a gasket between the carburetor and the spark arrestor. A gasket tends to absorb gasoline, making it a fire hazard.
Other differences vary from carburetor to carburetor, but basically a marine carburetor is sealed from the outside world, where an automotive carburetor isn't.
The throttle shaft on an automotive carburetor tends to wear over time which creates a vacuum leak where the throttle shaft goes through the throttle body. This is caused from the throttle being constantly opened and closed. A marine carburetor tends to be kept at certain speeds thus there is little wear. I repair many throttle shafts on non marine carburetors. I can't remember the last time I repaired a marine throttle shaft.
A marine carburetor corrodes much faster than an automotive carburetor. I see many marine carburetors with parts so corroded that they can't be moved. Fortunately my ultrasonic cleaner will free most frozen parts.

Easy Shipping

Unless instructed otherwise we paint all marine carburetors black. This helps prevent corrosion, which can happen in a very short time especially around salt water.

Ethenol and Boat Engines

Almost all gasoline now contains Ethenol which is a problem for your boats fuel system. This blended fuel absorbs water much faster than unblended gasoline and the blend is hard on your filters and other fuel components, the carburetor for one. This is problematic for boaters since boats tend to sit around for long periods of time with gasoline sitting in the fuel system.

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