Frequently Asked Questions

ARCO makes OEM replacement parts for the following original manufacturers: Chris Craft, Chrysler, Crusader, Delco, Force, Hitachi, Honda, Marine PWR, Mariner, Mercury, Evinrude/Johnson Company, Pleasurecraft, Suzuki, Tohatsu, Universal, Volvo, Westerbeke, Yamaha, and Yanmar.

ARCO makes high quality replacement Alternators, inboard starters, outboard starters, tilt trim motors, solenoids, battery isolators, ignition parts, impellers, water pumps, voltage regulators, and rectifiers all for your boat part replacement needs.

OEM stands for "Original Equipment Manufacturer"; basically, the product originally installed by the factory. By saying that our parts are "OEM Quality", it means that ARCO's replacement boat parts can be swapped in for the original manufacturer's version of the same part YET meet and often exceed the quality of the original part at a fraction of the cost.

ARCO offers OEM Replacement Boat parts are a fraction of the cost of the original manufacturers because we manufacture, quality-test, and warehouse our products at our facility in Pensacola, FL. "ARCO’s product return rate is less than ½ of 1% – the lowest in the marine parts industry" -- so we're able to continue to produce high quality parts without delay.

While we try to troubleshoot issues that come in, ARCO Marine is a motor/marine part manufacturer, and our parts are meant to be installed by a Certified Technician. You can use our Dealer Locator to find one nearest you.
If you are looking specifically for Installation Guides, we'd recommend you look at the Factory Manual from the Original Manufacturer of your engine, but rest assured that using the ARCO OEM-Quality part in place of the manufacturer's version will yield a successful installation and save you money at the same time.

If you know the boat replacement part number or product type, you can use our "Cross Reference Tool" to easily find your part.

If you do not, ARCO Marine offers an advanced search tool called our "Application guide", which can look up by your Manufacturer name and narrow down by year, model, or you can pick from the list. Read our full blog on this advanced lookup feature, launched in December 2022.

When it comes to ARCO Marine's Warranty Policy, proper installation is key! Our Warranty protects you from materials or workmanship defects, but does not include freight damage; broken solenoids; broken mounting flanges or shafts; cut wires or dismantled units; broken nose housings, drive gears, or internal gears; nor parts where rust, corrosion, submersions or burnouts are evident.

Please see our Warranty homepage at https://arcomarine.com/pages/arco-assurance-warranty and a full write-up on Pg 22 of our Catalog, visible here.

Generally speaking, a starter is a device that turns over the engine/motor so it starts up. On boats, there are inboard starters which are part of an inboard motor on the inside of the boat, while an outboard motor is mounted on the outside of the boat.
ARCO offers starters for both of these types of motors, and since these are being used for boat parts, they have better seals and corrosion prevention than automotive starters do.

Generally speaking, a solenoid is a device that activates another device on the engine. It can operate the starter, some operate tilt trim motors, others operate fuel pumps. Marine solenoids are designed for a marine environment, including having better seals and corrosive resistant materials - they certainly take more abuse than their automotive equivalent but work in the same way.

Left Hand Engine Rotation: This is the most common engine rotation found on today's marine engines. This is the same rotation as automotive engines.
Right Hand Engine Rotation: This is not very common on today's marine engines. This is the opposite rotation of automotive engines. Another way to determine the starter rotation is to inspect the chamfer on the starter drive gear. The bevel will always be on the trailing edge.

See ARCO's full Tech Tip including charts to help you!

The two leading causes of starter failure are Water Intrusion and having a weak or dead battery. You can read our blog on water intrusion HERE and see the full Tech Tip on page 25 of our current Catalog, available HERE.