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  1. Rick Stephens

    Ran outdrive without lube! Bad sound.

    These kind of posts, while somewhat tragic at first glance, crack me up. Same class as "I ran my motor without belts for 2 days, can I save it?" Or "three years ago the boat sunk in salt water, what is the cheapest way to fix it without buying any new parts?" Trolling at its funniest.
  2. Rick Stephens

    Ideal Mercruiser 350 cu.in. running temperature?

    Reason for being under 160ƒ with seawater cooled is that around 170ƒ plain water under atmospheric pressure will start to form bubbles on the walls of your cooling system. These bubbles significantly lower heat transfer from passage walls to coolant and the engine suffers spot overheat...
  3. Rick Stephens

    Pressure test 1990 Alph1 Gen1

    I had trouble finding a leak on Alpha 1 once and dropped it in a water trough. Quickly showed itself as a teeny trail of tears.
  4. Rick Stephens

    2.00 ratio Alpha one gen 2

    Of note, it isn't very hard to pull the top cap off and mark/count teeth counts. Also notice the gear change that Chris mentioned.
  5. Rick Stephens

    Mercruiser 4.3…Milky oil coming from timing cover.

    Tell more here. You pulled the drain plugs after bringing it home but before running it? Did water come out? Or you pulled the drain plugs after last season running it? What did 'pulled the drain plugs' mean?
  6. Rick Stephens

    Mercruiser 4.3…Milky oil coming from timing cover.

    Whatever you do, don't disassemble it until a pressure test of the block cooling system. Once you start pulling it apart you no longer can pressure test and you will always wonder where and what might be cracked. Most common places for 4.3L V6 to have cracks is the lifter valley under the...
  7. Rick Stephens

    Mercruiser 4.3…Milky oil coming from timing cover.

    If there is water behind the timing cover, there is water in the pan. Might pull a breather tube off a valve cover and see if there is white foamy stuff on the underside. Note that the dipstick will not see water - oil floats and water is at bottom, so when you pull the dipstick it will look...
  8. Rick Stephens

    How does the Mercruiser Shift Switch work?

    Shifting into gear, and shifting either into or out of gear while not in the water, should not move the shift interrupt cam at all. The only time that should move is in gear, in the water, where the propeller turning has the gears under load. Because it is moving and the lower cable is not...
  9. Rick Stephens

    How does the Mercruiser Shift Switch work?

    If the engine dies when shifting into gear then the most common reason is a sticky lower cable.
  10. Rick Stephens

    How does the Mercruiser Shift Switch work?

    When working correctly, pressing the switch grounds the ignition.... I don't get your first statement that the switch is bad because the engine dies when you press it. Somehow I am missing the point.
  11. Rick Stephens

    How does the Mercruiser Shift Switch work?

    https://forums.iboats.com/threads/how-to-how-the-shift-interrupt-system-works.283168/
  12. Rick Stephens

    Water inside Mercruiser gimbal housing

    So OP has already said he intends to stick a gasket on it and just slap a different drive on. So his/her list is a little shorter since hopefully the replacement drive is sealed up and u-joints are good. - There is certainly a lot more than only a gasket and an o-ring needs doing before it just...
  13. Rick Stephens

    Vibration at low speed

    So even with a balance shaft the motor wriggles around? Yuck. (My morphodite 4.3 has no balance shaft) What happens if you add fluid mounts to that setup?
  14. Rick Stephens

    Water in oil Lower unit

    If you get enough water in the u-joint bellows it will inevitably intrude into the drive. The yoke seal on the drive input side has lips only facing in a direction to prevent oil from escaping into the bellows. It has no opposite direction capabilities when water is highly agitated and spun...
  15. Rick Stephens

    Mercruiser 4.3 Water in Oil

    Very first thing to pressure test is the block itself. Plug everything else off and pressure test it. Need to reinstall the intake.
  16. Rick Stephens

    Alpha one gen 1 questions

    Too big refers to pitch. Diameter is somewhat mushy topic and usually matters little except whether the prop clears your drive - performance from various diameter props depends on how any given prop, manufactured by whoever, and how aggressive the cup, progressive the pitch, and many other...
  17. Rick Stephens

    Alpha one gen 1 questions

    I like the answer.... but respectfully I submit, over time an older boat gets heavier, the hull gets dirtier with scratches and wildlife stuck to it. It gets less efficient torque output from an older motor. It gets (sometimes random) stuff added to the inside. It is really tough to go by any...
  18. Rick Stephens

    Alpha 1 gen 2 lower unit (gear housing) drive shaft removal

    +1 to Bondo ↑ That retainer nut is seriously tight. You gotta have the tool. I made one up for an Alpha one and it was a pure deluxe beotch to get loose. I have a welding and machine shop and ended up buying an SEI when I figured out the cost of the tools, let alone parts.
  19. Rick Stephens

    3.0 mercruiser ran for 5 min good. Then Just died?

    Test is to stick a pressure gauge in the line between pump and carburetor.
  20. Rick Stephens

    PLEASE HELP NEW BOAT OWNER CRACK

    Depends on the insurance. Some will. A new SEI drive will come with 3 year no fault warranty, which does cover hitting something. You can also get no fault boat insurance. Pay the deductible and voila.
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