so, with the help of a friend, im trying to rebuild a 1983 S10 4 cyl. 4 spd. 4 wheel drive 2.0 liter, and trying to find the rubber seal between the carb and the intake manifold which is about 3/4 inch thick or so. a "carb heater" ??? It has a single wire coming off of it, with 3 bolts bolted to the manifold, and 4 bolts for the carb. Any sources for this, and / or what it is, or is there a kit or a way to bypass it?

 

wow i remember that thing. when i had my carb rebuilt on my 83 2.8 6cyl it had one of those goofy things too. the middle screen part on mine was burnt up and remembered autozone having one. but this was 10 years ago or so i dont really remember what i called it or anything but they do sell it. i was told that basically its supposed to heat up the gas on cold starts as it goes into the intake.

you probably could just bypass it if you can just find a thick gasket to replace it. i figured mine didnt work anyways cause it was burnt in half. but try a parts store where they are somewhat knowledgeable and see if they know anything about it

 

The 2.8 is a chevy engine and that preheater was bad about burning out. Aftermarket picked it up pretty fast but most guys just removed it and left it off.

The 2.0 being an isuzu is a bit more rare. Might luck out and the aftermarket has made repops. My buddy was looking for on a few back and couldn't find one local. The "gasket" looks more like something you would see on a 4 wheeler or motocycle.

 

hey, thanks for the help so far. after a little closer look again, there is a fourth bolt for the gasket, but still needs to be replaced in any event. the gasket is cracked and broken along to bottom edge letting gas flow out and onto the manifold. i have tried to locate this at all the parts dealers in town for a week or so now. a few know what im talking about but none are able to locate it. ive also called around to a few auto wrecking yards, and also with no luck. i'll keep trying though.

 

I didn't see where you are located. This might not apply if you are too far north.

The purpose of that heater is to warm the fuel/air mixture going into the intake, to keep the fuel vaporized, until the engine is warm enough to do it itself.

You can just get a sheet of the paper gasket material, make a replacement gasket and leave the heater off. You might notice that you need to let the engine idle a little longer on cold mornings, but other than that you will have no adverse effects.

If you are above the snow belt and cannot find a replacement, you could try scraping the old gasket material off of the heater, and then make new gaskets for each side. This is only worth while if the heating element is still good.