What is the HP of the 4.3L X? And a few other questions.

[leviwynnyk]

I just purchased a 1996 Glascon Ultra180 HO with a Merc 4.3 LX Alpha Gen+ motor. Now I was told by the previous owner that it had 205 HP but on the net some say it's 205 and others say it's 180. Is there any way for me to tell for sure?<br /><br />Also the speedometer gauge on it climbs really fast from 0 to 20 then continues on to 80 MPH. Now I am going to be using the boat for sking, boarding and tubing so I will usually be around the 18-25 mark, plus the boat only goes around 45. Can I replace the gauge with one that is more accurate at lower speeds? Where does one get one? Also the gauge for the Voltage seems to be off. I tested it with a multimeter so i know it's the gauge and not the battery. can these be purchased and replaced easily too?<br /><br />Thanks to everyone who offers advice!

 

[Richard Petersen]

Re: What is the HP of the 4.3L X? And a few other questions.

Check the speed with a hand held GPS to get the true speed. Have some marina temporarly attach a accurate tachometer to the engine to see it's speed at full throttle. At that point you know what needs changing. If anything. I love the 80 mph, leave that alone.

 

[craze1cars]

Re: What is the HP of the 4.3L X? And a few other questions.

I'm 95% sure that the 1996 4.3 LX was rated at 180 hp. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.<br /><br />Speedo and voltmeter are certainly easy enough to replace. Just remove the retaining bolts from behind and transer all electrical connections and the air hose.<br /><br />Air pressure speedometers are never extremely accurate, though it sounds like yours may be defective. Rather than invest in a new speedo, you might just buy a GPS unit. Do you have a depthfinder? A lot of depthfinders these days have GPS speedos built right in...very accurate.

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: What is the HP of the 4.3L X? And a few other questions.

2 barrel carb - 180hp @ the prop, 205 @ the flywheel. This could be where the confusion is. Also, VP rate the same motor as 190 @ the prop.<br /><br />4 barrel carb - 205hp @ the prop, 225 @ the flywheel.<br /><br />I think.

 

[leviwynnyk]

Re: What is the HP of the 4.3L X? And a few other questions.

Wow, thanks for all the quick replies. I think I was definitley unclear in my original posting. What I meant was the Speedo can measure speeds up to 80 mph, but the boat only goes about 45, so half the speedo numbers are wasted. It is accurate, but i would like to know if I am going 15, or 18 or 21, but now the difference between 15 and 25 is hard to tell because the numbers are so close together. So all I really want is a speedo that has "more numbers" in the lower speed range (10-25 mph) Do they make such a thing? I can take a pic to show if necessary.<br /><br />As for the HP rating, I have heard the same thing about the carbs. How do I tell if its a 4 barrel carb or 2 barrel carb (I am a newbie and have only owned the boat for 3 days)?<br /><br />Thanks again everyone.

 

[J.J.W]

Re: What is the HP of the 4.3L X? And a few other questions.

I have seen 60 MPH speedometers on the iboats store. http://www.iboats.com/mall/index.cg...ometer&**********=478713594&*******=883839749 <br /><br />You may even be able to find a 50 MPH one somewhere.<br /><br />Justin

 

[craze1cars]

Re: What is the HP of the 4.3L X? And a few other questions.

Take off the flame arrestor. It looks like a metal air cleaner held on by one or maybe two bolts on top of the carb....should have a big "mercruiser" label on it with your serial number, etc. Once it's off, look down into the holes. If you see 2 bores side by side, it's a 2 bbl. If you see 4 bores in a square fashion (two larger, two smaller), it's a 4 bbl.

 

[leviwynnyk]

Re: What is the HP of the 4.3L X? And a few other questions.

Thanks Craze1cars & Dunaruna for the advice, I took the cover off and low and behold, 2 barrels. I feel a bit ripped off cause the guy I JUST bought it off last week said it was the 205hp at the prop model. Do you guys think this will make a big difference in pulling skiers and my top speed? Also what will the difference be in gas millage, will it be noticable?<br /><br />Also, I noticed attached to the bar that holds the "flame arrestor" was two hoses leading to opposite side of the engine. The looked like they were just vent hoses to the engine or cooling system or something, anyways one was unhooked from the motor end. I plugged it back in. Could this have or been doing any damadge? It might have come out when I pulled the flame arrestor off, I am not 100% sure.<br /><br />Thanks again guys.

 

[rbezdon]

Re: What is the HP of the 4.3L X? And a few other questions.

The hoses are the engine breether tubes. They allow gasses from inside of the crank case to exit to the air. For basically pollution reasons, the makers put the hoses on the those gasses can get consumed by the engine and exhausted out of the boat through the engine exhaust. No harm would be done if one was disconnected. Worst that can happen is usually a little oil film can get on the engine where the hose should have been.

 

[craze1cars]

Re: What is the HP of the 4.3L X? And a few other questions.

Those hoses routinely come loose. Stick them back on. I've even hose clamped them before to help them stay put.<br /><br />Your 4.3 on an 18 foot boat will be more than sufficient to pull skiers and you should have no problem getting to around 45 mph top speed.<br /><br />For comparison, my 18 footer has a 3.0 (the smaller 115 hp version, no less) and it does an adequate job for skiing and tops out at 35 mph. Definitely could use more juice though to help old fat guys like me get up faster on one ski, but I can do it. So I'm sure your 4.3 will be fine.<br /><br />Keep it well tuned, and make sure it's propped correctly. Did that flame arrestor have a sticker that givs you an RPM range for that engine? If yes, you want your tach to read pretty close to the max RPM when you're at full speed, this will give you the best holeshot for getting skiiers out of the water. I'd guess it'll say 4,600 or maybe 4,800.

 

[leviwynnyk]

Re: What is the HP of the 4.3L X? And a few other questions.

yes, I think it's between 4400 and 4800. i am hoping to get it out on the water once or twice more before winterizing it (It gets cold early up here in canada. I will check the RPM's then. I know the prop is a 3 bladed 19p prop and is brand new. I will post with results.

 

[leviwynnyk]

Re: What is the HP of the 4.3L X? And a few other questions.

Took it on the lake and at WOT I had it at 4700rpm with the trim all the way down going about 43MPH, and at 4850 rpm with it up and going just shy of 50 MPH. I guess that ffalls right into the proper range for engine rpm's and I had great spped. I did try keeping it at about 18MPH for skiing and had a hard time holding that spped. Would a new throttle lever help things? Thanks again guys for all your advice to a newbie, I really appreciate it.

 

[craze1cars]

Re: What is the HP of the 4.3L X? And a few other questions.

Sounds like you're propped perfectly. Congrats.<br /><br />18 is a mighty slow skiing speed, in my opinion. That's probably barely a planing speed for your rig. In my experience, two-skiers usually like 20 to 23, and a slalom will want 28 to 34, depending on their skill level, weight, and length of their ski. And then there's wakeboarding....if that's your plan you want the nose high to the sky, plowing a massive wake all the way. Probably 10 to 15 mph will do that.<br /><br />As for keeping a consistent, specific speed with an I/O....good luck. This is extremely difficult to do, and you'll find it becomes much harder when you have a very strong slalom skiier behind you, who is capable of slowing the boat down almost 5 mph with each cut. It's like pulling a 2,000 lb yo-yo that's randomly flailing around behind the boat on the end of a bunjee cord. It's a unique feeling as a driver and you just have to experience it. There's a product out there called "perfect pass" that's basically a computer controlled speed stabilizer. For the paltry sum of $700 to about $1,300 depending on model, you can have "perfect passes" every time. Comes as standard equipment on many ski boats these days and is becoming a very popular option on new I/O's also.<br /><br />As I'm sure you won't be wanting to make that investment anytime soon, you just have to practice and learn where the sweet spot is for your throttle. And rely on your skiier to give you thumbs up and thumbs down until he/she is at a comfortable speed. You'll get used to feathering the throttle to bump it up or down a tad. Often I just "tap" it gently with the heel of my palm to inch it up a mph or two.

 

[ewenm]

Re: What is the HP of the 4.3L X? And a few other questions.

my old 1993 4.3LX alphai gen 2 4bbl was 190hp<br /><br />Ewen