Recent content by thegodown

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    Fiberglass protection from leaking fuel tank

    I recently discovered that one of my fuel tanks was leaking gasoline. The tank is aluminum and fits inside a fiberglass tub designed (I assume) to contain the gas in the event of such a leak. Somehow, the gas penetrated the fiberglass tub and ended up in a sealed bilge compartment below the...
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    7.4 Mercruiser Low manifold vacuum?

    My buddy Bob has a 1991 Sea Ray 225 bow rider that he purchased about 5 years ago and has never used because of a long standing mechanical issue. When he purchased the boat it had a rebuilt 454. The previous owner spent about $8k on an engine rebuild. After returning to the mechanic multiple...
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    Drive Shaft packing leak after replacement

    Gentlemen. I had my port drive shafts repacked last November with TEFPACK shaft packing. Over the winter we put less than 4-5 hours on the boat and only had short 30 minute runs at cruise speed. We used the boat over Memorial day weekend and after our return run from the Island (about 2 hours...
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    Overheated thanks to a plastic bag

    This past Saturday I had the boat out for its shakedown cruise for the start of the season. I was no further than 3 minutes out of the harbor on plane with the engines running at roughly 3500 RPM when I noticed a funny smell, looked down and saw that my starboard temp gauge was ½ way into the...
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    Trim Cylinders won't retract completely

    Mercruiser Alpha 1's.<br />So, I put my starboard outdrive back on the boat this morning after a full service, and now the trim cylinders won't retract the last inch. I disconnected them from the drive which goes all the way down smoothly. What is really weird is that both stop at exactly the...
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    New Coupler not true

    I just replaced both couplers in my 270 Sundancer. I aligned the port engine, but once I turned the crank 180 degrees the alignment went way off. Do I have a bad coupler? Can I get away with finding the mid-point and keeping my fingers crossed that the coupler will not fail again? Any...
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    Aquagard II Outrive anti fouling

    Does anyone have any experience with this product? The manufacturer claims you don't need any surface prep other than cleaning off lose material. It's not cheap at $40 per can, but the alternatives (Primocon and Trilux) are not much cheaper.
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    Mercathode and/or Zincs

    Last year I installed a new pair of mercathode systems on my twin Alpha Sundancer. The kits included plastic caps that are intended to replace the zinc anodes on the bolts that extend through the transom plate.<br /><br />I did not replace the zinc anodes with the plastic caps. I've also...
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    Mercruiser engine removal tips and advice

    I'm pulling both engines tomorrow to replace the couplers. Is there anything that I should be checking specifically while I have the engines out of the boat. She's an 85 270 Sundancer with 185R Mercruiser engines.<br /><br />Any and all of your expert advise is greatly appreciated.
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    Alpha Vacuum Test

    I'm in the process of replacing gimbal bearings, couplers, u-joints, yokes and a few other misc. parts in my twin V6 1985 270 Sea Ray. <br /><br />Last year I replaced the water pumps in my Alpha drives and they pressure tested with no problems. This year I found oil in the starboard bellows...
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