I've had decent luck with them, but I only buy the ones that are highly reviewed on Amazon. I've had a few that had issues out of the box when I bought them off ebay.
Gotta love the Chinese for a <$10 replacement carburetor
- Thread starter atikovi
- Start date
+1 I bought a Kiehin knockoff flatslide carburetor for an old Honda engine. It was a perfect match to the old one and ran great. It's always a gamble but I've been really lucky gambling on cheap Chinese parts on Amazon.
replace fuel line and look for airleaks with starting fuel spray
I clean the dirtiest Chinese carbs and have the machine back to the customer the same day or day after. It takes just 20 minutes after getting it removed from the sometimes 'corn maze' of Chinese engineering. You just have to clean them 'all the way' (not just the bowl). If the 'brass' nozzle won't come out, it's off to Ebay. I usually order them three at a time when under $15. AND, I always shop for the one that comes with extra gas line, filters, shutoffs, gaskets and primers!
For those who haven't noticed by the way, they have a great knockoff of a Mikuni carb used for Suzuki engines on some Toro snow blowers. Bought four of them for $12 apiece. Up to this year, I could only find actual Mikunis for upwards of $100.
For those who haven't noticed by the way, they have a great knockoff of a Mikuni carb used for Suzuki engines on some Toro snow blowers. Bought four of them for $12 apiece. Up to this year, I could only find actual Mikunis for upwards of $100.
Most people take the carb off, clean out the bowl and reassemble. Some do that, but also unscrew the main jet and remove the nozzle and clean them up. The last part is what most people don't do. That entails:
Assuming you don't have the metal, Phillips (top of carburetor) screw type, turn the plastic screw in that keeps the idle from falling below a certain level. Count the number of turns it takes to bottom out. Remember that number and remove the screw completely. The "plastic plug" that is exposed is pressed into place. Gently pry it up with a flat head screw driver. After it's out, you need to ensure the tiny (TINY) passage that goes through the tip and comes out where the larger holes are on either side is clear. A bristle from a standard wire brush is stiff enough and small enough to clear that passage. Once that's clear, (with bowl removed) blow air down in the hole in the carb where the plug came out. A little carb cleaner down that hole couldn't hurt. Reassemble it the way it came out, by pushing it in and tapping on it until it bottoms out. It will only go in two ways, both of which are correct. The flat spots on either side are your guide to reinserting it correctly. Reassemble and hopefully it will help. Does the mower/snow blower idle like it's on steroids?...you screwed the screw in too far.
Assuming you don't have the metal, Phillips (top of carburetor) screw type, turn the plastic screw in that keeps the idle from falling below a certain level. Count the number of turns it takes to bottom out. Remember that number and remove the screw completely. The "plastic plug" that is exposed is pressed into place. Gently pry it up with a flat head screw driver. After it's out, you need to ensure the tiny (TINY) passage that goes through the tip and comes out where the larger holes are on either side is clear. A bristle from a standard wire brush is stiff enough and small enough to clear that passage. Once that's clear, (with bowl removed) blow air down in the hole in the carb where the plug came out. A little carb cleaner down that hole couldn't hurt. Reassemble it the way it came out, by pushing it in and tapping on it until it bottoms out. It will only go in two ways, both of which are correct. The flat spots on either side are your guide to reinserting it correctly. Reassemble and hopefully it will help. Does the mower/snow blower idle like it's on steroids?...you screwed the screw in too far.
I spent considerable time going through a carb off a 12.5 HP riding mower my buddy gifted to me. I couldn't get it to run right, no matter what I did. I went on Ebay, and bought a china carb for $18 shipped. It fired right up and has run great ever since.......
I've had lesser luck with a China carb for my Tecumseh 8.5hp snowblower. Been fighting carb issues with the thing since a friend gave it to me. Decided to try one since it was only $10 with free 2 day Prime shipping from Amazon. It did work, but not much better than the original one. Took me a good 1/2 an hour to tune it, and before you ask I do know how to tune a small engine carb. It will run well enough to blow snow, so that's all I'm worried about. There's tons of metal coming out of the oil, so I can only guess the camshaft is eating itself. Not the first time I've seen it happen. It's a shame as the engine has about 7 hours on it. I'll run it till it blows as he eventual plan is to put on a 13HP Predator.
The engine has 7 hours on it, was it rebuilt? If it's been apart I would definitely check the timing and the valve clearances. I've had issues with both of the above when someone has brought me an engine that has been apart before but is extremely hard to tune.
No, never been rebuilt. Friend bought it years ago but never used it but once. Sat around for several years till I got it. I suspect just a bum engine. Can't complain, it was free. I'm loosely guessing 7 hours, but it definitely is less than 10.
I was singing their praises when buying one for $12 helped me fix my pressure washer.
Then it started leaking at the float bowl bottom center hole. Ordered a genuine float bowl and it was too large, did not seal at the top. Ordered a cheap one hoping that will fix it, haven't tried it yet. If not, will drop $60 for the genuine article.
Then it started leaking at the float bowl bottom center hole. Ordered a genuine float bowl and it was too large, did not seal at the top. Ordered a cheap one hoping that will fix it, haven't tried it yet. If not, will drop $60 for the genuine article.
I so love/hate $15 Chinese carbs.... I still keep the originals in a bag, but why??? Good rebuild kits, if you can find them, are more than a new carb or two. I just feel a bit dirty after installing one 
I recently took apart my 1 year old Toro snowblower's carb and picked the gum out of the jet and put it back together. Took time, but it was therapeutic, and only cost a can of carb cleaner. Glad I did it instead of succumbing to the scourge of cheap and easy carburetors
