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    Engine coming out for seals. Should I do main/rod bearings just in case?

    '72 Mercruiser 3.0 with 375 hours on it. I tend to overdo repairs of this type, thinking that as long as the engine is out and the pan is off, I might as well put in a new set of lower bearings. There's no sign that the old ones are going out and oil pressure has always been good. Should I leave...
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    140 Oil leak--What gaskets/seals to replace just to be safe?

    I have a pretty serious oil leak from my '72 140 HP. The oil ends up in the bilge. It seems to leak most when I rev the engine up toward WOT, but I haven't been able to find the leak. I'm assuming it's the main seals, and that the oil only comes out when the crank ends deflect at higher revs...
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    Picked up an old school Hyperlite at Goodwill. Can I learn on it?

    The board I picked up is a Hyperlite "Bigun" with three plastic fins in the back and old-style flat bindings with bungee straps that go over your heels. It was cheap, so I figured what the heck. Now I'm wondering if it's worthwhile to put modern bindings on it and trying to learn on it, or...
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    Stumbling anywhere below 2500 RPM. Driving me nuts!!

    This problem has been plaguing since half-way through the summer. '74 Mercruiser 140, Pertronix Ignitor ignition, Pertronix 3.0 ohm flamethrower coil, 1-year old plug wires, carb rebuilt last year. Good squirt from accelerator pump, solid idle. Idle adjust screws and idle speed set correctly...
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    Pre-Alpha Trim Pump Problem. Goes down, not up.

    '74 with 140. The "up" switch hasn't worked in years, so I've been using the trailer switch. It has worked fine up until today. Now, I press the center and top button and I can hear the solenoid click, but the drive doesn't move at all. When I press the bottom button, I can year the pump run...
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    Fuel Pump Installation Question for 140 Mercruiser

    Just got the correct fuel pump for my '74 140 Mercruiser. I want to make sure I'm installing it correctly. It looks like the filter housing should point down toward the bottom of the boat, but if I do this, the flange is upside-down compared to the pump I removed. Does this make a difference...
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    Is this a marine fuel pump? (Pics attached)

    '74 Mercruiser 140. Brief update--I decided to replace my fuel pump without the clear overflow line with one that had a fitting for the overflow line, just for the sake of safety. Now, I've got a number of problems specifically related to the fuel pumps. They are: 1) Is it possible that the...
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    Merc 140 runs for one minute then shuts down. Still fuel in bowl. (Solved)

    My ongoing saga continues. I got paranoid about fuel in the bilge and decided to upgrade my '74 Mercruiser's "drain to bilge" pump to a newer-model pump with the hose that drains to the carb. Since then, nothing but problems. I replaced the water separator cartridge and the in-carb fuel filter...
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    Installed new fuel pump--now gas flows out of overflow at shutdown.

    1974 Glassply, 140 Mercruiser. I decided to install a marine fuel pump, even though the boat originally had a pump that drained into the bilge. The new pump is a Carter M60601. I can't find any information on it through Google, but the parts store I go to had it in a catalog, listed as the...
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    What's involved in changing 74 single diaphragm fuel pump to new model w/sight glass?

    I'm getting a strong fuel smell from the engine compartment of my '74 140 Mercruiser, but I can't find the actual leak. It has an automotive-style fuel pump with no return line to the carb for leaks. I've checked the fuel pump and the diaphragm and everything looks good, but I'm thinking it...
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    Merc 3.0 runs rough below 3k, fine above 3k.

    This is a '74 Mercruiser 140 with Pertronix ignition. Timing is good. Up until yesterday it ran great, with the only problem being a bogging down when coming off of idle. Yesterday, it started running rough out of idle and all the way up to 3k. At that point, the engine will stumble for awhile...
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    Getting the rope out of the water--Skiing and Tubes

    I have a '74 19' i/o with a 140 Mercruiser. I finally got the prop pitch dialed in with a decent hole shot and we're ready for pulling. The problem I'm having now is that the tow ropes get bogged down in the wake. I have a ski pull mounted to the top of the transom, but the transom on my boat is...
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    Sneaky Mortgage Add-Ons. I'm Pretty Much Disgusted!

    OK, this one's a long rant. Yesterday, we get a call from our mortgage company offering us a re-fi which will lower our interest rate by .5%. This is one of the biggest companies in the country--you might say they're country-wide--and we're good customers. Well, actually too good, meaning we...
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    Older Speedo with sticky needle. Any advice on fixing?

    This speedo is on a '74 Glassply. I've swapped it out with another speedometer and found that it reads out at around 50% of what's accurate, and the needle sticks. I assume that water was blown into it by the pitot tube at some point. I've shot penetrating lube into it to try to loosen it up...
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    Visible signs of a spun prop--Hub splines have shifted?

    I've been trying to improve the hole shot on my boat--a '74 Glassply with a Merc 3.0 and a pre-Alpha. I bought a very used Quicksilver SS prop just to check out what the RPMs would be at WOT. The old prop was a 48-13700-19 which had been reworked to a 21 pitch with a lot of cup. The new one is a...
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    Rusty Stainless Prop. Also, Small Hole in One Blade.

    I just bought a used Quicksilver stainless prop for my Pre-Alpha outdrive. I'll be using it in fresh water on a boat that is trailered when not in use. The prop is in good shape, except for the fact that it has small rust spots throughout the entire prop, and one of the blades has a small hole...
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    Dog on a boat. Any pointers?

    We have a two-year-old Golden/Cocker mix who likes to ride in our boat. She swims well, and we've bought her a life jacket, but she's dumb as a post. She tends to like going up into the open bow and jumping onto the hull section that surrounds the seating area. She's very unstable when she gets...
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    Unravelling someone else's "creative" gauge wiring.

    I'm working on a '74 Glassply, Mercruiser 140 i/o. The gauges are pretty simple, but someone in the past rewired them with single-strand telephone wire, and it's starting to get brittle and snap in places. There are all kinds of voltage draws, minor shorts, etc. The problem is, I don't know what...
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    Prop designations driving me NUTS!

    I'm looking for a smaller-pitch prop for a pre-Alpha outdrive. I understand that on the older props, the 48 designation meant it would work on my boat. Looking on Ebay, I see some Mercruiser-compatible props marked as being 14 1/4 inches, some marked just 14 inches, and some even marked 14 1/2...
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    Does size really matter? 3" too short!

    OK, now that I have your attention--I'm trying to learn how to use a single slalom ski. I'm skiing behind a 19' Glasply with a Merc 140 I/O. I've never been able to get up on one ski. If I'm up on two, I can drop one and ski all day on the other, but on one ski, I just get pulled under. Current...
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