I have a 1997 Cobalt 190 that I bought used this April. It has a 205hp 4.3L Mercruiser with 225 hours. On memorial day I took a reasonably hard turn to stop and go skiing and then turned off the engine relatively quickly. For the first time since I owned it, the engine ran on for several seconds so I shifted into neutral to give it gas to stop the run on. Upon the attempted restart I got a couple of clunks before the starter began whining like it couldn't engage the engine. It was towed to a mechanic who replaced the starter. This temporarily fixed the problem. However, yesterday, the exact same fact pattern as above reoccurred.<br /><br />In a June 3, 2003 post by Cadet Member 19783, a similar problem was discussed by someone who mentioned that GM starters use cheap plastic gears that break easily.<br /><br />Any ideas on how I should deal with this problem mechanically or operationally. It seems there might be a flaw in the design of this engine and that it may be prone to happening again. I am a new boater and new member of this forum and greatly appreciate any expert advice you might have on this subjest.
Have you checked for water intrusion into your cylinders? Quick shut offs like that can gat back flow of water. Suggest you pull spark plugs and turn it over a few times. Don't forget to ground the coil. If you see water, the best you can do is change your oil, but first get all of the water out as best you can, asap... And run it alot to evaporate any residual water. Check closely for milky stuff on rocker arm covers and in oil. It may take several oil changes. When they look clean the water should be out........J
