Help with Carb Adjustment
 

I have a 454 Mag. It will start and run fine cold. After I run a while and turn it off for a few minutes, it is hard to start. Once i get it started it runs fine, but i usually have to crank several times. Also, after it sits on the beach all day it is the same way. Hard to start, but after it starts it runs fine.

How can I adjust the carb to clear this up or is it something else?

start with the basics clean the throttle blades ck the choke adjustment

sounds like you are vapor locking. Try and open up your hatch after you shut off the motor or for a little while before you shut it off. Just to see if getting some heat out of the engine compartment cures it. If it does you can look at how to fix it.

EFI or carb??????

mrfixxall
 

Q-jet??????? or a webber????????

duh..guess I should have looked back at the title.

Check to make sure the choke is working properly.

i think it is a Q-jet. what is the best way to make sure the choke is working properly

Take the flame arrestor off when you restart with the engine warm. The choke should be all the way open.

mrfixxall
 

what year is the engine? if its a q-jet then you may have some float bowl leak down..one fixx for it it to remove the carberator and then remove the carbs throttle plate..you will see directly under the needle and seat on the bottom side of the carb hwen the throttle plate is remover,,theirs a plug peened over.. also theirs 2 other plug that are peened over,get some jb weld and epoxy over those peened over plugs,this will stop the fuel from leaking out or the float bowl area in the carb...

do you run premimum fuel? to much alchol in the fuel could cause the fuel to evatorate in the carb..

just my 02:)

ps try starting the engine with out touching the throttle when its been sitting all day..

I ran it last weekend and after getting to the beach the choke was all the way closed. How do I fix this? I also noticed what looked to be some water droplets inside the carb. I have already replaced several fuel/water seperators and pumped the fuel tank empty. Any ideas?

mrfixxall
 

Again what style carberator??Q jet or webber,if you dont know letus know what year and make and model your engine is..water can be coming from anywhere,,if your engine is running to cold it couls be getting condonsation under the valve covers and sucking it in through the breathers..you may want to check your oil too,you could have a internal water leak in the engine and that could be sucked through the breathers in to the carb..

A webber carb has a electric choke and the power wire may have came off thats why its stuck closed but it should be idleing chitty...a q jet has a mechanical choke that works off of he reastat from the port that heats the intake..that could be bad or the choke lever couls have came off..

Just use wire or a zip tie to hold it open. Boats really don't need chokes anyway. Most people are not boating when its cold out.

My Merc Weber carb used reastat also.

I am thinking about buying a new carb. Any recomendations? The motor is a 1996 454 Mag.

mrfixxall
 

What state yo live in?

You do not need a new carb. You just need to fix the choke. You won't see any noticeable performance gains with a new carb.

Does your carb use an electric choke or a spring reastat??? a new electric choke kit is available from merc for about $90.
http://www.mercruiserparts.com/Show_...OR+%28WEBER%29

I live in Indiana.

When I was out last weekend the choke seemed to be working correctly. It was open when I got to the beach, but after sitting all day it was still hard to start.

I am trying to figure out what kind it is. It has a W stamped on the top so I would assume that it is a Weber, but the only numbers I see on the carb is 8867. I cant seem to find any info if these are the right numbers. It does look like the carb in Griff's link.

Tie wrap the choke open and run it.

That is a Weber Carb in the link.

I would bet that the choke closed while you were on the beach. Just for the heck of it, use a zip tie or wire and hold it open for a day. It may be just a little harder to start cold, but see if it starts easily when its already been running and warmed up.

I zip tied the choke open. After stopping for a few minutes it was hard to start again. Any other ideas?