DANG Chinese Carburetors

[Wudman]

I guess you can't expect much for $49.00.  I went to get my 4 wheeler out today to pull a plug core lawn aerator.  I don't use the 4 wheeler much.  I replaced the carb on it last October.  I saw something dripping onto the crankcase.  A finger through it and a sniff......gas.  I reached up to the carb and the fuel line disintegrated in my fingers.  Made a trip up town for some new fuel line.  Put it on and she wouldn't start.  Pulled the carb for a cleaning.  Surprise.....the diaphragm looked like Styrofoam soaked in gas.  It was pitted, swollen, and deformed to the point that it couldn't be removed from housing.  I bought if off Amazon.  Dropped the seller an email this afternoon inquiring about issues they have had with these carbs.  I need a replacement, but think it needs to be a tad better quality than this one.  Wonder if I will get a response.

Wudman

[lxskllr]

Question... I see a lot of people talking about replacing carbs, mostly regarding saws. Don't they sell rebuild kits? Seems like all a carb could need is rubber parts/gaskets. As long as it was running last season, I don't see what could go wrong with the metal a bit of cleaner can't handle.

All of which is to ask, why buy iffy Chinese stuff instead of fixing (possibly iffy Chinese, but probably more stringently manufactured)oem parts?

[sawguy21]

There are not many if any repair parts available for the Chinese stuff, look at the cost of a replacement. It is simply not worthwhile, 49 bucks vs 200+ for an OEM relacement. I was a small engine mechanic for years but am glad to be out of it, no way to make a living now.

[lxskllr]

Seems awfully wasteful. If things worked as I thought they should, the hardware would be robust, and semi consumables would be readily available for replacement. Ideally, you'd reuse as many parts as possible across the product line. No one-offs for some minor revision that won't be around five years from now.

[Wudman]

The original equipment had been rebuilt twice. This is a 18 year old machine.  It was rough enough the last time that I bought one off Amazon.  The OEM carb for this 4 wheeler is a little over $500 bucks from Kawasaki.  Not sure my wheeler is worth that......thus the Chinese knock-off.

Wudman

[lxskllr]

What I mean though is you shouldn't have to pay $500. There's most likely nothing wrong with housing. I don't know much about small engines, but I'm guessing they're close enough to cars. A light rebuild kit of needle valve, gaskets, a float and Orings should be what; maybe $50? For another ~$25 they could have a full rebuild kit which gets you new jets too.

*I get it. That's not how things work anymore, but they should.

*real time edit of a rant that didn't have an end in sight. Old man yells at cloud or something like that  :^D

[teakwood]

I had exactly the same thoughts when i rebuilt two 12 years old 260 chainsaws and i have been educated by some more experienced FF members that after 10 or more years a carburetor can build up some obstructions in the fine channels inside the carb which are impossible to clean. so the only solution is to put a new carb on.   

[Corley5]

Don't buy 1/2 price Chinese made Stanadyne knock off injectors from Ebay. 

[Bill Gaiche]

Not sure about the fuel you are using. Is it possible that there may be to much alcohol in your fuel and its attacking the plastic in the carb and rubber line? Race engines that run straight alcohol have to be drained after week end racing because it really messes up fuel lines. Old carburetors don't have the new materials like diaphragms and such to resist the alcohol in our ethanol based fuel we get now. bg

[Grizzly]

When i had a small engine shop my largest inventory was carb kits and my largest volume job was taking in dead saws, mowers, trimmers, etc, etc and in 30 minutes you could take it from dead to living. lxskllr spoke to that. And as teakwood says; if you can't get carb cleaner through each and every port on the carb body don't continue with it. I miss that stink of rotten gas!!   :D

[moodnacreek]

You can ultra sonic clean and put in repair kit but if the fuel has started to erode the white metal the repair will not last. Most carbs are from China. I think the o.e.m.'s are better made.

[Woodcutter_Mo]

Don't buy 1/2 price Chinese made Stanadyne knock off injectors from Ebay.

I bought a set of Chinese injectors for my truck one time, great price and they worked great for about 6 months, then one week my truck dropped from it's 18+/- avg mpg to 6 mpg and it made enough white smoke at idle to kill all the mosquitoes in a 1/4 mile radius. Got the injectors tested and they were anywhere from 100-400 psi off on the pop pressure...

[Corley5]

Mine were for a 6068 JD engine.  They lasted about 4 months before the check valves hammered out their seats.