How bad is a 470, really?

[abj87]

Re: How bad is a 470, really?

mkast,
Gratifying to me was teaching my kids to ride a bike or watching my youngest win a spelling bee after we practiced for two weeks.
Fixing my boats issues has only ended the scraped knuckles and money spending. If it makes you or any other fellow get warm inside, power to you.
Different strokes for different folks.

Some have the skills to keep something running and some don't these that don't souldn't own something that needs a little "wrenching" from time to time (ANY BOAT). Me i love to work on things, either on one of my boats or my heavily modified Jeep CJ. You should pick up a wrench more often... its very satisfying fixing something your self, And in MOST cases you know more than the mechanic....

 

[windsors03cobra]

Re: How bad is a 470, really?

Congrats Mike it sounds like you got a nice boat, the half a 460 sounds interesting.

I sometimes call cars that have tricks to be used "one man horse's" and also describe some older cars that nickel and dime owners as "you need to be a mechanic to own/afford/use this auto"

 

[IVAZ]

Re: How bad is a 470, really?

Some have the skills to keep something running and some don't these that don't souldn't own something that needs a little "wrenching" from time to time (ANY BOAT). Me i love to work on things, either on one of my boats or my heavily modified Jeep CJ. You should pick up a wrench more often... its very satisfying fixing something your self, And in MOST cases you know more than the mechanic....

I do fix my boat myself. Only because I cant justify to the wife the money a real mechanic charges. I own an old Bronco and a 67 Chevelle that I fix myself for the same reasons. Its the product of wanting toys and not being rich. I do like my toys and the fact that I can keep them running. I only fix them myself for the sake of not spending extra money. Keep in mind I like to tinker with things when they are not broke (like lower gears for the Bronco or an intake for the Chevelle). But I hate to work on something because it?s broke.
Regardless, I hope the OP gets many hours in the water and the only wrenching he does is for regular service items.

 

[nola mike]

Got the boat, first trip out...

Got the boat, first trip out...

Well, so i got the boat. Loaded the trailer up, borrowed a pickup, set off for the 70 mi trip to the river...and the truck dies 30 miles from my house. Gotta tell you, after all the talk about the boat, i didn't see that one coming. Luckily my wife was driving separately; she drove back, borrowed ANOTHER friend's truck, drove back to where i was, and had the original truck towed back home. Undeterred, we made it to our destination 5 hours later and were on the water the next day.

As to the boat:
Fired right up, ran beautifully. WOT, 46-4700 RPM @ 50 mph (GPS and speedo agreed--surprised that the boat speedo was that accurate). Not bad. With the 4" exchanger, ambient water temps of 70-75', air @ 85', the needle didn't get much past 130'. Oil pressure 20-40. Charging sys working as well, 16v or so at start up, settling quickly to 14.

All told, took 2 trips, about 35 miles total. First trip of 15-17 miles used 3 gallons gas--which i would think is very good. Mostly cruising at 3k-3500 rpm with a few fun runs mixed in.

Only glitch that i ran into was that there seems to be a misalignment with the shifter; have to pull it slightly into reverse to get the forward gear to disengage. that was fun discovering during my first docking attempt. i'm assuming that this is an easy adjust, i'll look into it this weekend.

Overall, i'm pretty happy with the purchase so far--though i guess i'll be back asking for help on how to fix it soon enough, right?

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: How bad is a 470, really?

Don't jinx yourself!

Have fun with it...one day I'll get around to fixing my 470. But for now, my 3.0 boat does the job....

Happy boating!

 

[stonyloam]

Re: How bad is a 470, really?

Congratulations, I have been driving one since 91. One thing though, your waterpump cam seals WILL go bad, it is not a matter of if, but of when. Locate the little weep hole under the circulation pump on the front of the engine, and check it EVERY time you take the boat out. At the first sign of leakage get the seals replaced! OH! All of those "cracked block" posts... just ignore them cus we got antifreeze in there. Have fun!

 

[bamadave]

Re: How bad is a 470, really?

I wish I got 15 to 17 miles on 3 gallons at 3500rpm.

 

[jdmac]

Re: How bad is a 470, really?

BE AFRAID , VERY AFRAID. This engine will not take well to over heating. they are very expensive to repair & parts are getting rare! However if you do not push it hard , it will probaley serve you fine. Check the impeller @ the first sign of the temp gauge rising above normal

JD MAC
PROFESSIONAL MARINE MACHANIC

 

[deerslayer303]

Re: How bad is a 470, really?

You know for the life of me I can't understand why all of you say "Parts are Rare and very hard to find" Well I've been here on iboats shopping and really can't think of anything I can't find for the 470, internal engine parts can be easily found on various websites.
Ok maybe you can't go and find a brand new 4" heat exchanger or a brand new 4 barrel manifold, but most other parts I find no problem.

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: How bad is a 470, really?

You know for the life of me I can't understand why all of you say "Parts are Rare and very hard to find" Well I've been here on iboats shopping and really can't think of anything I can't find for the 470, internal engine parts can be easily found on various websites.
Ok maybe you can't go and find a brand new 4" heat exchanger or a brand new 4 barrel manifold, but most other parts I find no problem.

Agreed!

And..aftermarket 4" heat exchangers (new) are out there!