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  1. Lou C

    Those darn blue VP drain plugs

    Dump that plastic garbage! I have the original metal plugs in my 35 year old OMC…
  2. Lou C

    4.5L Water in Oil, Bent Valve, O2 Hydrolock

    My engine had run in 100% raw water cooled in salt water for more than 20 years. No idea on the # of hrs. In our salt water use the blocks don’t usually rust through even after that much time but the cyl heads can get thin after that much salt use. I would up replacing the heads on mine due to...
  3. Lou C

    Quit My Job . . .

    Congrats Ted! I worked for a school district for 30 years, retired 6 years ago. Right after I retired they hired me to work part time in their alternative high school program. Did that till Covid. Then about 6 months ago got offered a position in a private school part time so I’m doing that. The...
  4. Lou C

    1992 Four Winns Horizon windshield

    Hard to say the boats look similar but the older style (1988-1992) were longer & narrower than those that followed. Might try asking F/W if they know or the manufacturer of the windshield
  5. Lou C

    Typical Engine Temps 350 Magnum

    My boat (not Merc but same temp thermostat) will idle at 160* and it stays at that temp at low speeds. At higher speeds on plane it may run a little below 160; however after coming off plane it will temporarily rise to 175, and then after idling or low speed use will drop back down to 160...
  6. Lou C

    Oil change interval, synthetic or no, curious what we all do

    My 2 vehicles only accumulate about 5,000 miles a year. So I do a yearly oil change on both. The 07 Jeep with 5.7 Hemi gets Mobil 1 5/20 and the 98 Jeep with the 4.0 gets Valvoline Max Life 5/30 (syn blend). In the boat (4.3 V6) I recently switched to Quicksilver 25/50 syn blend; gets changed...
  7. Lou C

    how does one flush out rust from block?

    What causes the rust (iron oxide) is the oxygen. So how much 02 is in salt water vs air? Engine restorers of classic cars usually store them with AF even when not running them or else the engines suffer bad internal corrosion over years of storage
  8. Lou C

    how does one flush out rust from block?

    When I start up after winter storage I see no rust in the exhaust water after the AF washes out. Still running the OE intake manifold which as we all know tend to rot out right under the stat housing. Discussion with local marine mechanics suggested that raw water cooled cast iron blocks rarely...
  9. Lou C

    Chap Quality Control is gone

    BTW Just for fun I went to price out the current version of my old boat (200 Horizon) the cheapest 20’ boat they sell, starts at $60k, with normal options it hits almost $70k. The 2020 Chap bought by a relative went for about $38k it was a year old with less than 60 hrs in it. I did not want...
  10. Lou C

    Chap Quality Control is gone

    Those faults sound like they are using under trained & under supervised workers. Final QC inspection should catch those issues so someone’s not doing their job.
  11. Lou C

    oil change

    The Topsider pictured above is $62 on Amazon. I’ve had it 20 years used it on the boat, diffs & auto trans on our Jeeps. All I did was change the plastic hoses when they get old & stiff (once) the all metal construction seems very stout.
  12. Lou C

    Chap Quality Control is gone

    A family member has a 2020 21’ SSI with the 4.5 Merc I/O. Nice boat assembly quality is actually pretty good. Engine access, well anything but the oil filter oil fill & water drain are tough to get at. Even batteries; the way they installed the battery switch you can hardly see 1, Both, 2 or off...
  13. Lou C

    oil change

    this is the Topsider vacuum pump, all metal construction, very durable, I fabbed up a garden hose adapter you can see in the pic, to make it easy, threads onto the top of the dipstick tube.
  14. Lou C

    2.3L OMC Carb Questions?

    Agreed that thing is filthy & had to come totally apart. That’s an old school Rochester 2GV style carb. Not hard to rebuild. Dis-assemble soak in carb cleaner blast out passages with compressed air, replace all gaskets needle & seat. Make sure float is not heavy with fuel. Set up according to...
  15. Lou C

    Has anyone actually seen ethenol ruin anything?

    I have run nothing but E10 (nothing else available here) since 2004/5 and the only thing I saw was red gunk in the filter that first year, I guess that was the cleaning out of the fuel tank. I have had my Quadrajet apart a few times and posted it here as well, it was pristine inside. And, the...
  16. Lou C

    Can’t get boat to plain 1987 Glass port omc cobra

    You should be starting with the outdrive trimmed all the way down then when the boat gets up on plane you can trim up a bit to get the bow up slightly.
  17. Lou C

    Best Boat Style for The Great South Bay off Long Island?

    For those waters I’d be looking at a 24’ Walkaround with a 250 hp outboard
  18. Lou C

    Weight distribution hitch didn't fit trailer rails

    Try contacting the people who sell The Equalizer WD hitch; it is made to work with surge brakes & boat trailers often need a special adapter to make the whole system work.
  19. Lou C

    Oil pan drain hose

    However the garden hose set up is much faster at least in my experience, having done it both ways.
  20. Lou C

    how does one flush out rust from block?

    I’ve thought of this over the years but never used anything to clean out the rust other than just flushing with water at the end of each season. I have filled the engine & exhaust with the best PG antifreeze I could find. Did that help? I think so…
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