Thoughts on Sierra carb rebuild kits

[dingbat]

Need new gaskets for a set of carbs (6) I swapped out last year. Got lazy and left the OE (black) gaskets in them.

Thoughts on quality of kit?
Worth paying additional $6 ea. for OE?

 

[tphoyt]

In my eyes it would be worth the extra cost.
But I also feel Sierra products are the next best thing. Just my thoughts.
Best

 

[airshot]

There are many things I woukd stay with OEM if possible, but a carb kit should not be an issue, however for 6$, for those couple bucks...I would go oem.

 

[harringtondav]

I like Sierra. ....sounds like heresy as a past Merc disciple.
I've never had a problem with their Merc parts, including carb kits. I've used their Alpha II lower unit seal kits, shim kits, prop shaft pinion needle bearings and gimbal bearings (same Torrington and Link Belt parts). Also Sierra prop shafts, engine coupler yokes, drive gear yokes, and lower pinion drive shafts.
I worked as a drive train mfg engineer before retirement, and I have a .0005" digital mic to prove it. Their parts measured up to OEM measurements and friction welding stds on the wet/lubed shafts. ...I always figured they sourced from Merc's source on these.
I had to replace a FWD gear set after a wing dam pile up. I went with Merc OEM. Spiral gear sets and their shimming tolerances have zero room for error.

 

[909]

OEM or nothing .

 

[Chris1956]

Sierra brand works fine. I have used them many time w/o issue.

I have found in one (one) occasion on one parts site, that my Johnny 60*V6 engine had the wrong kits listed, along with the correct kits, for that application. The wrong kits had one wrong gasket. It therefore pays to doublecheck the application for the kit. Not Sierra's fault.

 

[stresspoint]

the mercury stealers here in Australia sell sierra parts as OEM , don't ask me how they get away with that if you guys can get genuine OEM Mercruiser / Mercury in the USA. .

 

[harringtondav]

...afterthought once I slept on it. My 4.3LX carb was a Weber/Edelbrock 4BBL. Merc OEM wasn't OEM, but much pricier. I rebuilt my pal's 350 mag carb and mine with the same Sierra kit.
Merc doesn't make seals and bearings either. They just put their label and price tag on them. Bearings are catalogue Timken and Torrington. Unis are Rockwell. Sierra Unis are Koyo, and have the same bearing sizes as Merc/Rockwell.

 

[Lou C]

I’ve used their gaskets on my Cobra (between the drive & transom mount). They worked fine. I used a carb kit for my Quadrajet that was sold by BRP/OMC as OE but made by Sierra! That worked fine too. However the carb kit I bought from Cliff’s high performance Quadrajets was definitely better quality. Used that the second time I had it apart…the part that was notably better was the accel pump.

 

[Scott Danforth]

for the extra $36, go OE

 

[ONERCBOATER!]

I find sierra to be acceptable and functional and almost like OEM.
Then there are the amazon...ebay... no name trash....don't walk away from those RUN.

OEM is 1st choice....sierra a close 2nd.

Sean

 

[matt167]

For a carb gasket kit you could go directly to the carb manufacture. It won’t matter, but there is something about using oem parts

 

[Lou C]

For Holley carbs just use theirs

 

[Scott Danforth]

For Holley carbs just use theirs

AED and Quick-Fuel are also available (all Holley Brands)

 

[racerone]

For the V-4 / V-6 OMC powerhead to exhaust housing gasket the factory gasket is far superior , with wire mesh in it.-----Other stuff there sometimes is no difference

 

[kbait]

Sierra kits are excellent quality, but for some outboard applications they do not include float. My ‘84 90hp Sierra kits did not include floats and I re-used originals. All is fine.
So, if OEM kit comes with float, and Sierra kit doesn’t (for your application), go OEM.
Beware or cheap-o Chinese aftermarket kits.. REALLY cheap/flimsy gaskets!

 

[McGR]

Sierra kits are good quality, always worked well for me. Just stay away from the Amazon/China kits out there these days - complete garbage!

 

[clemsonfor]

I have used Sierra without issue. They are way, WAY better than the no name china kits off Amazon or eBay. But if $6 is not a huge percentage increase I might be tempted to buy that.

 

[racerone]

Wise man said-----" The bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten "

 

[909]

Don't budget on the one thing you rely on to get you and your family home safe and alive.

Budget elsewhere in your life.