What causes reed plates to blister ? I just took my boat to the mechanic to have a new regulator, boysen reeds and a few other items done. He called me when he tore the carbs and reedplates off to replace the reeds. He said my plates were blistered and needed to be replaced. He showed them to me and sure enough the rubber was cracked out. What would cause this ? Its on a 94 limited edition 3.0 liter and 3 years ago when the motor was rebuilt they were good. He told me more than likely it was caused by age and bad fuel.