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  1. Rick Stephens

    This Doesn't Look Right, 4.3 MCM Alpha 1 Gen 1

    Strip it down and start hogging out every bit of mushy wood. Big job, can be a lot of fun. The boat is not safe to operate otherwise and nothing will stay together mechanically if the underlying structure isn't solid. Been there done that. Here's a 'MINOR' rebuild from when I swapped the motors...
  2. Rick Stephens

    Shift rod sitting too low

    You left the washer off the lower shift shaft when you reassembled the drives.
  3. Rick Stephens

    Mercruiser 5.0 losing RPM

    Motor serial number is on the block right above starter.
  4. Rick Stephens

    Roughing In Front Motor Mounts Location Question

    Nope, the motor mount pads are 3.5 inches below CRANKSHAFT Centerline. The rear mounts are 1/4" above that. Better to be a 1/4" too low since you can adjust upwards over an inch, than to be too tall.
  5. Rick Stephens

    Roughing In Front Motor Mounts Location Question

    Based on the drawings that Chris gave you in post #3, and after mounting the inner transom plate, you can make a jig to set motor mount pad height. The drawing shows that the centerline of the motor is 13º down from the plane of the transom. Doesn't matter what angle the transom itself is, the...
  6. Rick Stephens

    Water leak through shift cable

    Those seals are designed where both face the same way and keep water out, so the spring/lip side faces down, All newer replacement bushings use a much larger seal since the old style that could be installed from the top was too small to last. Old version looks like the bottom one, new style the...
  7. Rick Stephens

    member rank and icons

    So you had me wondering why on some users I don't see the rank tab. Below is what I see for mine. Turns out to be a Brave browser thing. Only some users it is blank is the weird part. Hence I figured to point out the weirdness thinking a bug. Note, I manage another v-bulletin forum that got...
  8. Rick Stephens

    member rank and icons

    I have noticed a lot of users are stuck at kaydet when they have quite a few posts. And, many users aren't getting a rank icon below their name. Moi included. Just thought I would point that out. Thanks for keeping on.
  9. Rick Stephens

    Drive making roaring noise( beating noise)

    Some recommend not bothering with replacing that seal - we are talking about the one that sits in front of the gimbal bearing, I hope. That seal was supposed to keep grease from flowing into the bilge side of the gimbal bearing. Almost all gimbals these days are sealed and we don't use the...
  10. Rick Stephens

    Alpha One 1988 upper driveshaft housing oil seal question

    Damned if you ain't right. Been a few years since I did an Alpha 1. The Alpha 1 Gen 2 ihas them opposed, one up and one down. Alpha 1:
  11. Rick Stephens

    Nola Mike's 3.7/470 --> 4.3L swap thread

    I had to purchase individual top and bottom end Felpro gasket sets for my motor. I had a non-balance shaft block with Vortec top end. The OEM fuel pump is an Airtec model E1103. Nice part with using it is you can get the mercruiser mounting bracket, fuel line fittings and stainless fuel line...
  12. Rick Stephens

    Nola Mike's 3.7/470 --> 4.3L swap thread

    Like you, when I built my mounts my block was in the machine shop. Everyone said drop the motor in, take it out, drop it in, take it out. Etc. The drawings do not really say 4 inches. They do show center of crank though, and they do show its relationship to top of transom plate motor mount. We...
  13. Rick Stephens

    SEI 116 shift cable issues, help please

    I had a new SEI Alpha 1 and the shoe would not turn straight forward when in forward. Justin, the tech guy at SEI, said the drive was set up tight and I could either wrench it straight while attaching drive or he'd replace it. I used a small wrench and held the shoe straight, felt like I was...
  14. Rick Stephens

    Glassing in new motor mounts?

    I just used a framers square and double checked it with a machinists protractor. Just the <$10 protractor is enough. But the carpenters square is plenty easy. The outside row is degrees.
  15. Rick Stephens

    4.3 mercruiser sputtering and shutting down after running over an hr

    Personally I think the mechanical is easiest moving forward.... however, my block isn't even drilled for a mechanical, so electric is was and is. That is fine - use good stuff. One thing I did was use the Airtex OEM pump as doing so let me get the OEM brackets and fittings and even the OEM...
  16. Rick Stephens

    Mercruiser Carb Problem

    There is not a fuse unless there is a relay. I wired my pump in with a relay to provide power to the pump, the relay is switch by either the oil pressure switch or the starter. Normal wiring is the purple wire from the ignition switch goes to the electric choke, then from there to the oil...
  17. Rick Stephens

    Corrosion Help

    Limestone. Sitting in Lake Powell is gonna do that.
  18. Rick Stephens

    3.0L problems after impeller change

    Make sure the stainless steel washer wasn't left off the shift shaft before assembly. If missing, that allows the intermediate shaft to drop down and not engage the shoe.
  19. Rick Stephens

    Broke block drain on 1995 4.3 - threads still in block

    I use 1/4" solid brass ones from the hardware. There are two kinds of brass ones, solid and hollow. I broke one of mine once as well and ended up having to drill it out and retap it with a 1/4 pipe tap. Rick
  20. Rick Stephens

    Nola Mike's 3.7/470 --> 4.3L swap thread

    Layered plywood with PB and carved out a shape I thought looked good. I did not bolt into stringers. Just made darn sure I sanded down to the pink and then glassed in. The glass is where the structural strength is, not the wood. I probably way over killed how much glass I used, but better then...
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