Aftermarket carburetors

[SwampFox]

OK guys. The main nozzle in my OEM carb is broken, need a new carb. In going through the threads OEM vs aftermarket there are any number of comments about the aftermarket carbs being junk and stick to OEM.
Unfortunately in none of them do the posters give a specific reason the aftermarket carbs are junk. So I want to know if that is just a opinion, is it based on having used an aftermarket carb, and what exactly is wrong with the carb you used.
Mikuni, who can make a good carb can also make junk, at least design wise. OEM's buy aftermarket, repackage and sell as OEM.
Please don't need statements like China made carbs are no good, tell me why.
What broke, what didn't hold up?

[Cartmaster]

Not specific to cart carbs, but i have found in many instances of Chinese and other copy carbs, the (poor) material the body is made of, weakens and corrodes over time, having said that, the drillings for the jets and fuel/air runs can be contaminated and bits of swarf can be found inside the carbs. So if longevity of life is not too important, get a cheap one and strip it down and clean it out thoroughly and you should be fine for a few years. If longevity of life is your main concern then it's OEM all the way.

[cgtech]

Fuel never starts flowing. fuel never stops flowing. None of jets are correct for their "jet size" number (keep that garbage out of your carb parts drawer). Throttle blade will never adjust to full closed position. Just "General poor quality control" stuff. It's not the same part on every one, they just "aren't good".

[Lochlin]

Personally, I just go ahead and use the Chinese stuff. There is no doubt that they aren't anywhere near the quality of the original. I have already installed a China carb only to have to take it off and throw it away and replace it with another China carb. That being said, assuming you get a good one they work ok. Are they going to last? Probably not. Are you better off rebuilding the OEM? Maybe. Still, those China carbs are literally like 5% of the price of OEM. To me that makes them pretty much disposable. When one goes bad you throw it away and get another one.

Just one guy's 2 cents.

[Spicyunicorn]

They are very hit and miss as some run good some don't hardly run at all the quality just isn't there that's why I would rather rebuild oem but in your case this isn't an option so you may get lucky and first one runs good or it might take a couple of trys biggest issue people have is they don't clean them before the toss then on sometimes there is some material still left in passages from the manufacturing process

[mckittrick.joe]

Someone brought a g2 to me to fix.It had a new carb on it.It would only run a few seconds.all I had to do was adjust the screws then it ran good.

[CAMPERCART2013]

Try to find used original and rebuild itmy 2 cents

[SwampFox]

Got the $20 e-bay carb in, checked everything compared it to the oem Mikuni. Had to do a very slight carb adjustment and then the cart ran great. We'll see how long it lasts. I'm a mechanic so maintain my stuff. I also didn't spend $5 for carb gaskets, used outboard gaskets of the same size.

[BrewCityMusic]

Originally Posted by SwampFox

Got the $20 e-bay carb in, checked everything compared it to the oem Mikuni. Had to do a very slight carb adjustment and then the cart ran great. We'll see how long it lasts. I'm a mechanic so maintain my stuff. I also didn't spend $5 for carb gaskets, used outboard gaskets of the same size.

I've installed literally dozens of the Chinese carbs for all makes and models, the key is to break them down and clean them thoroughly first, like You said, once shined up and adjusted they generally work just fine.

[sho305]

Some have best luck putting the original jets in the new carb.