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  1. Lou C

    mercruiser 4.3 thermostat housing

    https://www.summitracing.com/parts/arp-233-3701/make/chevrolet might be this.....
  2. Lou C

    mercruiser 4.3 thermostat housing

    What I did was use a vehicle model that this same engine came in, mine's a 1988 V6, so I used a 1988 Chevrolet Blazer S-10 to find the right ones. I like using a thread chaser, it is a safe way to really clean the threads, you can find thread chasers on Amazon. If you can figure out which age...
  3. Lou C

    mercruiser 4.3 thermostat housing

    https://arp-bolts.com/p/contact.php here is the contact information for this company, I can't recall exactly which kit I used for mine....
  4. Lou C

    mercruiser 4.3 thermostat housing

    If you can order from Summit Racing or Jeg's either one is a good source. I bought a set of ARP head bolts at a local speed shop. The bolts are not marine specific, basically the only marine specific parts on this engine are the head gaskets (to prevent corrosion with raw water cooling) and the...
  5. Lou C

    mercruiser 4.3 thermostat housing

    Yes that's the sending unit hole. Sealer isn't really necessary but you can use just a bit only on the threads, I think it is a taper thread type seal.
  6. Lou C

    mercruiser 4.3 thermostat housing

    Ok for the intake gasket question the front & back ledges of the block you are going to use RTV. The way I did mine was to use just a little Permatex Aviation sealer on the water ports at the front & back of each cylinder head. This will keep the gaskets in place while you apply the RTV. Then...
  7. Lou C

    2025 should have a bumper crop of freeze busted blocks come spring

    And the reality is, raw water cooled inboards where the drain plugs are way down low is just always a risk here. Bad way to save money. The better way to run one would be at least a half closed system with both an easy to drain heat exchanger and exhaust. Pressurized coolant with antifreeze is...
  8. Lou C

    2025 should have a bumper crop of freeze busted blocks come spring

    “I shoulda spent the cash on closed cooling!”
  9. Lou C

    mercruiser 4.3 thermostat housing

    Also leaking intake gaskets were very common in the first few years of the Vortec engines & that will put water or antifreeze right into the cam valley and into the motor oil with deleterious consequences for engine wear. So if going that route make sure to use good quality gaskets and follow GM...
  10. Lou C

    mercruiser 4.3 thermostat housing

    If you do be aware that the torque specs for the intake manifold are much lower that they were for the the pre Vortec (like 10-15 lbs vs 30-35 lbs for the pre Vortec) and I think the procedure for torquing the head gaskets may be different as well….
  11. Lou C

    mercruiser 4.3 thermostat housing

    I thought of doing that with my pre Vortec, I had to replace the cylinder heads 7 years ago because of previous overheat damage. However I just wasn’t sure of all the details of the conversion (such as could I use the same pushrods & rocker arms) and so to keep it simple & avoid problems I just...
  12. Lou C

    Deep Cycle Battery not good for starting??

    So what about the so called dual purpose battery? I have used these myself for over 10 years with good results. Main concern is my is moored all season although covered. Still I want to make sure that the bilge pump had adequate pose in case water gets thru the cover which is kind of inevitable...
  13. Lou C

    Deep Cycle Battery not good for starting??

    I think if a deep cycle has enough CCA to crank the engine it should be fine. BTW, people forget sometimes that bad starters that draw too much current and old corroded internally battery cables kill batteries. Bad cables also won't allow the alternator to fully charge the battery. I had far...
  14. Lou C

    mercruiser 4.3 thermostat housing

    Yep the Vortec heads are designed for more efficient combustion and add about 20 hp. The FIAT reminds me of the air cooled VW Beetles we all drove back in the 70s as broke college students….
  15. Lou C

    Deep Cycle Battery not good for starting??

    I have had good luck with Deka lead acid dual purpose gp 27s. Not too expensive and hold a charge well.
  16. Lou C

    mercruiser 4.3 thermostat housing

    The balance shaft was added a few years before they started using the true Vortec cylinder heads. To add to the confusion GM changed to these plastic valve covers that say Vortec on them even though they weren’t using the Vortec cylinder heads yet…….that could be a 1994 or a 1995 model year...
  17. Lou C

    mercruiser 4.3 thermostat housing

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/405197631651?_skw=GM+4.3+marine+intake+manifold&itmmeta=01JGYVX1RDZPYHRH0E716XV4ZF&hash=item5e57a930a3:g:E9wAAOSwhJ5m0Ea3&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKlIv6QiWjOvmfdKbXgZ4Ndh1zZooF9wn1y1yMoYWEPfvzH8zBVtedY2RlRpS5YyvjDZDtlK0b67GIFc3X2Zk1UuT%2B7922acJP7%2BXYi...
  18. Lou C

    mercruiser 4.3 thermostat housing

    keep in mind there are 2 different intake manifold designs for the GM/Chevrolet 4.3 V6. There is the pre-Vortec (up to and including 1995) which has 12 bolts holding down the intake manifold and has the exhaust crossover in the intake manifold. Then there is the Vortec (1996 and up) which has...
  19. Lou C

    mercruiser 4.3 thermostat housing

    When I replaced the cylinder heads on my engine like 7 years ago I put the restrictors in and it's been totally fine. Our summer temps are 80-95*F so the restrictor allows the auto choke to work properly but it doesn't get so hot that I had vapor lock during hot restarts. At the beginning of our...
  20. Lou C

    mercruiser 4.3 thermostat housing

    The exhaust crossover was used on the pre Vortec engines because these engines were originally designed for carburetor fuel systems. As such there was a need for a way to bring heat into the intake manifold to prevent carburetor icing and to provide heat to operate the auto choke thermostatic...
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