at what point do you just put on a new carb

[Jdm89supra]

I have ben working with my carb 4160 holly. I have adjusted floats made sure everything was exactly how holly recommends. fuel mixture screws set and still having problems. my timing is set to 10 btdc. just put new plugs in and when i put my boat in the water it will fire first bump of the key. it has never done that sense i have owned it. runs great no hiccup or anything. the problem inlys that at idle i still have fuel on the water out of the exhaust. if i turn the air mixture screw in a 1/4 of a turn the engine will start popping as running across the lake and the exhaust is not near as bad but still their with the fuel. if i leave it it will run great but have unburnt fuel in the water and a really bad fuel sitting on the water. it will start hot or after i let it sit. at what point do you thow it in the trash and buy a new one or brake it all down and rebuild it. also to me it kinda idles a little rough but that might be its a v8 in an older boat. any and all sugestions are apeciated

[Jetlink]

Can you take a video of it running under various conditions? That might help us a little bit. Personally, I ditched the holly for an edlebrock and have been happy this far.

[Salty87]

dumped the holly for an edelbrock too. new carb wasn't that much more than paying someone to rebuild.

[wotan2525]

Just dumb luck, but I've only owned vehicles with edelbrocks. My mechanic friend comes over and tells me to throw them away and put on holleys every time I have a problem. You go online and edelbrock vs. holley is like chevy vs. ford. I think they both work if properly built and adjusted.

I just did a complete rebuild on my first Edelbrock and it was really easy. I'll be doing the same thing to the boat this spring as a preventative/tune-up thing.

I wouldn't hesitate to do the same thing to a Holley. I'm sure the rebuild kit comes with decent instructions.

http://www.jegs.com/p/Holley/Holley-Carburetor-Rebuild-Kits/743712/10002/-1

As far as taking off what you have and throwing it away? I wouldn't do that. Unless this thing has been involved in a fire or explosion, it can be rebuilt and run like new again.

[Ptownkid]

I'm glad you posted that link. Many people would just buy it from skidim for more than double the price.

[jasun]

I have never been real mechainal and had carb issues with my 4160. My brother in law kept telling to replace the whole thing, but for <50 bucks I thought it was worth it to try and rebuild it. I bought the rebuild kit and did it. it was alot easier then i thought it would be. I took pics the whole way and then just followed them backwards when putting it together. The guy I bought the boat from said he had it rebuilt in the spring. When I rebuilt it I found one of the seats was plugged:

http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/ad38/jasunderland/Johnson-20120929-00094.jpg

Turns out there was no fuel filter in the canister so even if he did have it rebuilt, it is not a wonder it got plugged up again.

[wotan2525]

I'm glad you posted that link. Many people would just buy it from skidim for more than double the price.

Indeed. And I've found my local Napa and Oreilleys to be less than Jegs/Summit for those kind of "standard" parts.

[Jdm89supra]

OK after an hour on the phone with Holley tech line I am boxing my Carb up to send to them to be fully rebuilt sense I just put a rebuild kit in it and didn't fix anything. Also the cool news is it is only costing me shipping. They figured I have already spent the time and money on rebuilding it and is still acting up now it is their problem.

[wotan2525]

I'd say that is a pretty big thumbs up to them!

[sybrmike]

Wow, customer service in this day & age - didn't know it still existed. I hope they solve your problems.

[mapleleaf]

this has been exactly my experience with my 4160.... great thread.. Salty is so right, from what ive found in Toronto replacing is real competitive vs. rebuilding at a carb shop.. My Query there is if the Carb shop has a great reputation, is there a chance they might get it better than factory???

[rideevol]

My 89 Mariah also has a Holley. When I first got it the new looking Holley carb would load-up and run rich. In my case I could see the secondaries dripping during idle on a warmed-up engine. Dangerous, I know!
With the carb/floats set-up correctly I guessed that the engine tilt was allowing fuel to re-fill the secondary bowl. I incrementally kept lowering the fuel level setting of the secondary float until I obtained a controlled setting. Older Holley marine chapters in Pleasurecraft engine manuals state that the secondary float is set a bit lower, by 1/16 or 1/8 ". Note that the wet setting gauge that these older service manuals refer to is no longer available from Kent, so trail and error was used. Spark plug readings look good at this setting. Boat starts and runs great.