had to have my 1st tow at sea

[gold-n-rod]

We were entertaining our neighbors on the Mach One last Sunday. Since I replaced the fuel pump, it's been running like a champ. We ran her hard, stopped at the sand bar for a couple of hours, restarted (albeit a little hard) and headed for the launch. As I approached shallow water, I cut the throttle. It stumbled and died. Despite much cranking, it wouldn't restart. I fully opened the throttle and it almost caught, but no luck. Of course, it reeked of gasoline. We ended up getting towed the last 100 yards by a PWC. :frown:

Here's what I am thinking. The boat is 14 years old and the carb's never been touched, other than to replace the inline filter at the carb. I'm thinking I have a bad needle/seat or it's just time for a rebuild job. IIRC, that carb is Merc specific, whereas, this might be a good time to upgrade to a marine Holley. It's a lo-po 454 (330 flywheel/300 propshaft horsepower).

Your thoughts?

[GKricheldorf]

14 years and no card rebuild? That's not bad. I would have it rebuilt and see what happens, cheaper then a new Holley. Is that a Quadra Jet carb? That is what i have on my Z w/454

[Cuda]

The Merc should be a Qjet.

[DonziDave]

Rebuilding a Q-Jet is a piece of cake. While chasing a WOT fuel/stalling problem recently, I tore into my carb. My boat is also a 1986 18C with the 350 Alpha 1 setup. Kit is about $30.00 and it took me about an hour to tear down, an hour to clean, and an hour to reassemble. I have a Mercruiser Clymer manual and just followed the instructions and pictures. Use the spray can carb. cleaner with the little straw that goes in the tip. It allows you to clean out all the little orifices under pressure. Dipping the carb in cleaner will remove the black paint on the outside and will really gum up the works. Be sure to get the correct kit by getting the number off the brass tag under one of the bolts. Lots of little springs, clips, and balls, so remove and layout all the pieces in order. Reassembly is just the reverse of teardown. However, my carb was not really dirty, but at least I know it's not the problem.
Good luck with your problem....
Dave