Quadrajet Replacement Options

[TruDaddy]

1989 SeaRay 200BR
4.3LX
Alpha One
Rochester Quadrajet Carb

My boat haa been sitting and recently discovered I need to replace my carburetor. Not rebuildable anymore for many reasons irrelevant to this thread.

I am curious about options to replace and any considerations. Many claimed replacements exist in the typical channels but I would like a more or less plug and play option...something that will fire up and need basic tuning. Also, how do I know I am getting a legit marine version carb vs automotive? Does it matter...meaning can I get an auto carb and make alterations to make it suitable for matine application? Is that work cost/time prohibitive?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Edelbrock marine

Yes, there are differences between auto carbs and marine

There are calibration kits you will need for your 4.3. there is no such thing as a "plug - n - play" carb. They all need tuning

Additionally, unless the old carb is physically damaged, rebuilding it is the best option

 

[Mc Tool]

The Q jet is a good carb ,its biggest problem is that there are precious few who know how to fettle them .
I do recall Holley We're offering plug and play for certain cars ,it may be worth a look at their wares being that the 4.3 is firstly a car engine .
A vac sec Holley could be the go . If your engine is still stock they should be able to offer a solution after all thousands of those good Q jets have been binned in favour of the Holley . Not sure about the mounting bolt pattern , may need an adaptor too .......so probly allow an inch for that ..
I found this one ( among all the Chinese ones
)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/186995172691

 

[Scott Danforth]

The Edelbrock is as close to the original Rochester carbs as you can get. The 1485 calibration kit for the 1409 carb are about as close as you can get for "plug-n-play"

I personally would go with a Holley 4150 650 cfm vac secondary

 

[JohnSz]

The Edelbrock is as close to the original Rochester carbs as you can get. The 1485 calibration kit for the 1409 carb are about as close as you can get for "plug-n-play"

I agree, and you will still need a spread/square carb adapter or different intake, throttle cable bracket, and metal fuel line. As stated earlier, staying with a q-jet would be the easiest. I know nothing of this supplier, but seems like they are still obtainable Rebuilt Q-Jet

 

[Lou C]

Since you have a Merc rigged engine and Merc used the Weber 4bbl after Rochester quit making Quadrajets keep in mind the Weber & the Edelbrock are functionally the same. In fact I read somewhere that Weber actually makes the Edelbrock for them. Meaning that adapters for the throttle linkage might be easier to come by going with the Edelbrock vs Holley. Volvo used Holley after the Quadrajet ended production so if you had a Volvo rigged engine of that vintage I’d saw go with the Holley. In the end basically any carb not original to the engine will need some tuning. It’s the nature of making carbs that can be adapted to a wide variety of engines. I was lucky in that my original Quadrajet is still in good shape and just needed a good cleaning and rebuild with good quality parts….

 

[ROY WILLIAMS]

1989 SeaRay 200BR
4.3LX
Alpha One
Rochester Quadrajet Carb

Carb maintenance OF the cleaner up , rubber up , of the electrical spray !
Carb spray NO! RUBBER NO !

 

[jimmbo]

The only Plug and Play Carb will be a used on from an Identical Engine(model and year), or from Mercrusier(not likely viable), otherwise it is Plug and Pray.
Personally I wouldn't touch a Carter/Weber/Edelbrock carb, but that is me. I like Q-jets and Holleys

 

[Lou C]

You know I tried a brand new Holley 4160 on mine (the specific one that is jetted for the OMC and Volvo 4.3) when I thought that the Qjet was too old to rebuild and had no end of trouble with it. Rich running, fouling plugs, not matter what adjustments were done.
Pulled the Qjet out of the garage in disgust and carefully cleaned it and put it back together with a marine rebuild kit from Cliff's. And it ran GREAT. Months later I took that cursed Holley apart out of curiosity. The only thing I found that looked amiss was that the clutch bolts for the rear metering plate were loose. I guess it is possible that the secondary side of the carb was metering in too much fuel for it to run right, because on a Holley some fuel is always metered from the secondary system to keep the fuel in the bowl from going bad. Did not swap the carbs to test that theory though, Qjet is still runing well.

 

[TruDaddy]

Thanks all. I personally liked the Q jet. For those wondering, plug and play for me means very little need for additional parts accessories. Tuning is always necessary. Its a carb, it is as much science as a lost art of tuning.

My carb is physically damaged. I am debating going the Q jet remanufactured route as it appears to be the most plug and play. Unless someone knows of a post where one of the other carbs has been retrofitted and lists the needed parts.

Has anyone tried one of the upgraded EFI options out of Michigan?

 

[Lou C]

Thanks all. I personally liked the Q jet. For those wondering, plug and play for me means very little need for additional parts accessories. Tuning is always necessary. Its a carb, it is as much science as a lost art of tuning.

My carb is physically damaged. I am debating going the Q jet remanufactured route as it appears to be the most plug and play. Unless someone knows of a post where one of the other carbs has been retrofitted and lists the needed parts.

Has anyone tried one of the upgraded EFI options out of Michigan?

I suggest you head over to Cliff's High Performance Quadrajets and join that forum and ask there. He's one of the recognized Q-Jet pros and what he usually says is that the reman Qjets that you can find online, are often "franken carbs" which is a collection of parts that don't work together well, pieced together from several different carbs. I'm not saying you can't ever get a good one but it sounds like a crapshoot. If you look at the specs of a marine Quadrajet you can see that while the body of the carb is similar to an auto version there are a lot of differences in the jetting, accel pump, mixture rods etc. That's besides the safety changes like the fitting for the overflow hose, and other safety changes.
If I were in your situation I'd probably go with the Edelbrock. I tried a Holley and it wasn't a good experience. Wasted money and time.

 

[JohnSz]

My experience of tuning Q-jet and Edelbrock was on a 350 Mercuiser. I found the Edelbrock a little easier. The primary jets and rods can be changed without pulling the carb. There is a good tuning guide by Edelbrock. I think I only made a slight rod change.

Back when I made the conversions, was able to find used Mercruser parts for the fuel line and throttle bracket. You would have to go thru the Mercruiser 4.3L schematics to find the part numbers or fab your own. You probably can find a car throttle bracket that would work.

 

[bajaman123]

put an Edelbrock Performer carburetor and intake manifold on and light that 4.3 up! The stock jets will more than likely be perfect for you, but they include others for gnat's azz tuning.

 

[Scott Danforth]

put an Edelbrock Performer carburetor and intake manifold on and light that 4.3 up! The stock jets will more than likely be perfect for you, but they include others for gnat's azz tuning.

the performer carb is not a marine carb

 

[JohnSz]

If running salt or brackish water with raw water cooling, don't want an all aluminum intake, either. Need one with bronze water passages.

 

[ROY WILLIAMS]

Thanks all. I personally liked the Q jet. For those wondering, plug and play for me means very little need for additional parts accessories. Tuning is always necessary. Its a carb, it is as much science as a lost art of tuning.

My carb is physically damaged. I am debating going the Q jet remanufactured route as it appears to be the most plug and play. Unless someone knows of a post where one of the other carbs has been retrofitted and lists the needed parts.

Has anyone tried one of the upgraded EFI options out of Michigan?

fuel gasoline carb water / salt !

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075TZQ8LD/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?smid=A1JUJG04D2ZIIW&th=1

 

[bajaman123]

the performer carb is not a marine carb

Yeah...it absolutely IS...get the 1409. I have personally done this in the past...

 

[Lou C]

fuel gasoline carb water / salt !

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075TZQ8LD/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?smid=A1JUJG04D2ZIIW&th=1

a better fuel filter is good, but you can't use that model in the bilge of a gas inboard, the bowl has to be metal.