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  1. Lou C

    1998 4.3 GL Head Replacement

    This is one of the issues with raw water cooling on an inboard. In salt water you get flakes of rusted cast iron that can clog drains and even in freshwater you get sand and silt that can block drains. Rodding out those drains and making sure that everything drains is very important. I have a...
  2. Lou C

    Flooring Repair/Rejuvenation

    Well it can be done but it’s a LOT of work…when I replaced the deck in my boat 15+ years ago I threw that carpet in the trash since that’s what causes wood rot by holding in moisture if you are in a damp climate. I had a ‘glass shop gel coat the whole deck in non skid gel coat and it still looks...
  3. Lou C

    4.3LX & Weber Carb Service

    I think there’s confusion about what Weber carb is on this Marine engine…its was made by Weber for Merc and Edelbrock but it’s really just an updated old Carter 4 bbl design that was used in all manner of Mopar products for many years. Not a Weber on a high performance European car!
  4. Lou C

    1998 4.3 GL Head Replacement

    Sometimes the blocks crack on the inside, where you can't see it till the intake manifold is removed. You'll know more when you get the intake off and can see the block area in the cam valley. These engines were used in Chevy Blazers and S-10 pick up trucks so those heads should be easy to find...
  5. Lou C

    OMC 4.3

    Check ignition fuse in the fuse box. The old tabs & fuses get oxidized and then things stop working.
  6. Lou C

    1998 4.3 GL Head Replacement

    It’s just a Chevy 4.3 V6 (probably Vortec) cyl head nothing special. Remove the valve cover & get the casting number & visit a machine shop…
  7. Lou C

    4.3 LX water in the oil...

    Is it a Vortec engine (intake has 8 bolts instead of 12 bolts like the pre Vortec)? If so these had a bit of a history of bad intake gaskets leaking water or antifreeze into the cam valley. If so it’s a much easier fix than head gaskets.
  8. Lou C

    4.3 LX water in the oil...

    Any water in the cyls? Is this a full closed or half closed system? If no water in the cyls I’d be looking for bad intake manifold gaskets. That will put water or antifreeze right in the cam valley & motor oil. Head gasket leaks can be confusing to diagnose. One way is to see if you are getting...
  9. Lou C

    Awfull time launch & retrieve roller trailer

    Your bow stop has a hole higher up; try using that one…
  10. Lou C

    Awfull time launch & retrieve roller trailer

    Your bow stop is too low & you bow hook is probably catching on it. The bow stop should be centered over the bow hook and your strap should be parallel to the ground. I had a similar problem solved easily
  11. Lou C

    1996 Four Winns Sundowner with 5.0 Cobra engine and drive

    👍 I had a 1970 Ford Torino with the same engine many years ago. Ford small block V8s were very well regarded. Simple tough old school construction. Mine had a Motorcraft (Ford) 2 bbl carb, C4 auto transmission and Ford 9” rear end.
  12. Lou C

    1996 Four Winns Sundowner with 5.0 Cobra engine and drive

    Engine sounds good! No weird noises! Just a lil water leak just tighten clamp. Saw dipstick, you keep it in the safe area between the arrows. These dipstick tubes can give odd readings because the oil level in the tube has to equalize to read accurately. Best is to pull the stick out & wait a...
  13. Lou C

    1996 Four Winns Sundowner with 5.0 Cobra engine and drive

    Take a pic of your dipstick so we can see about cranking, I did a compression test last fall with all the plugs out, the ignition disabled, & throttle wide open and I don't think it varied in speed.
  14. Lou C

    New canvas bow cover rolling at edges, solutions?

    This happened to me once too, what I would up doing was wetting it with water & that allowed it to stretch back into shape.
  15. Lou C

    454 vibrating and breaking starter bolts

    Glad it was something simple! “Trust but verify”
  16. Lou C

    What is the part called that the power steering connects to?

    You might want to do some research on this, if I recall correctly there are some seals you can replace but some you can't, so it depends on where exactly it was leaking. There were also a few different design actuators used over the years. Also I forgot to mention the other pain with this job is...
  17. Lou C

    1996 Four Winns Sundowner with 5.0 Cobra engine and drive

    The way the cooling system works with raw water cooling on an inboard is that the engine and manifolds stay pretty much full once it is primed. The exhaust elbows will drain some out but the water level with the engine off is probably above the level of the joint between the manifold and elbow...
  18. Lou C

    1996 Four Winns Sundowner with 5.0 Cobra engine and drive

    What I'd do.... if your raw water pump runs off a belt, disconnect the belt, this way you won't burn up the impeller As far as bleeding out air, what I have done in the past to ensure there are no or minimal air pockets... Disconnect the large hose that goes from the front circulating pump to...
  19. Lou C

    aluminum wheels stuck to hub

    I haven’t found a stickier grease than Evinrude triple guard. I put that on the back of my galvanized trailer rims and on the hub face of the brake drum. Remove once a year to re-apply.
  20. Lou C

    aluminum wheels stuck to hub

    I have used antiseize on the hub area of aluminum wheels on our vehicles for years without problems, never had a rim stick on a rotor or drum. Now on the boat trailer that goes in salt water I use Evinrude triple guard grease instead. I had heard that antiseize could cause problems in salt...
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