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  1. Lou C

    How to launch stern drive safely?

    Yes if it’s a stringer you must do as Scott says but if you have a Cobra (uses a gimble & trim system just like a Mercruiser), you back in till the stern is floating put the drive down about half way and then you can back off the trailer. With the drive half way down you can run in about 2.3-3...
  2. Lou C

    Will dealers still deal on new boats?

    By the time I get my boat in the water gas at the gas dock will be approaching $6.00 a gallon. That’s $264 to fill the tank, of a 20’ boat. That’s gotta affect sales!
  3. Lou C

    E15 and no REC gas

    I’ve run the boat (4.3 4bbl Quadrajet), 4 four stroke small engines and 5 two stroke engines and all have been run acceptably well on E10. However what annoys me is there really isn’t a choice. And there is really no benefit to the consumer of E10. None, at all.
  4. Lou C

    E15 and no REC gas

    There are 3 yes 3 gas stations on all 110 miles of Long Island that sell non ethanol gas.
  5. Lou C

    Might be buying an ‘88 Barretta Success 200

    That is actually a pretty common problem because the boat companies don't take the time to seal the raw wood with resin. If they took an hr longer to seal the opening and the 6 mounting holes, as well as the garboard drain fitting, the transom would last much longer. That and the owner not...
  6. Lou C

    Best boat trailer lights

    this brand is very good: https://tecniqinc.com/trailer/ I put a set on in 2015 and have not had to touch them since. Just make sure your connections are good.
  7. Lou C

    Will dealers still deal on new boats?

    I think if gas prices continue to rise as expected and there is no change in energy policy as expected I bet that the boating market will really start to slow down, despite the ramp up in it during the pandemic. When it's over 200 bucks to fill a 40 gallon tank on a small boat it will really...
  8. Lou C

    Might be buying an ‘88 Barretta Success 200

    boat looks good, the things I'd be concerned with are the condition of the deck under that carpet (I hate carpet in open boats, tossed mine in the trash when I re-did the deck on mine 15 years ago) and the quality of the job on the transom. Both should be checked out as much as you can looking...
  9. Lou C

    Velvo penta does on water

    What you can do is very carefully, remove the 5 bolts/nuts that hold the fuel gauge sending unit in place , lift it out and look inside the tank with a bright flashlight, you will see if there is crud in the bottom of the tank. If so it is best to get it professionally cleaned to avoid chronic...
  10. Lou C

    Velvo penta does on water

    If the carb was full of gunk, I would be surprised if the fuel tank doesn't need to be cleaned out. You should install a cannister style water separating fuel filter and a new anti siphon valve, at a minimum. I thought I saw a small cannister style filter on the starboard side of the engine, did...
  11. Lou C

    Velvo penta does on water

    OK your engine will run on land with no load on it, but the minute that you put a load on it (even just putting it into gear in the water puts a load on the engine) it dies. This suggests carb/fuel delivery problems. When you rebuilt the carb how did it look inside? Were all the jets blown out...
  12. Lou C

    E15 and no REC gas

    If you can get E10, you can use that but if you boat is older and never used E gas of any kind, expect it to clean out the gas tank and may clog filters. E10 is all we can get here and after the first year I didn't really have problems with it.
  13. Lou C

    Dies when key is released.

    I’d also check for power at the ignition switch terminals. B terminal = battery bolts, I terminal = ignition battery bolts when you turn ignition on, S terminal = start gets battery bolts when you turn the key to start. Make sure the I terminal is not losing voltage.
  14. Lou C

    Broken engine to outdrive - what am I looking at?

    Might have had water in the bellows which caused the ujoint failure. You can find those housings on eBay. You have to check part numbers and get one that matches yours. There are subtle differences from 1986-1993 and then again from 1994-1998. Or if you have a 94-98 then it’s the same as a...
  15. Lou C

    Tuneup question

    The marine distributor caps I use always have a rubber gasket not used on the automotive version and as noted the plug wires are longer to clear the bulky water cooled exhaust manifold. I like the AC marine spark plugs because they are very corrosion resistant I have never had one rust even in...
  16. Lou C

    Batteries status after winter storage

    I've been using Deka group 27 dual purpose lead acid batteries for a long time and I usually get about 7 years out of them.
  17. Lou C

    Batteries status after winter storage

    I charge them when I put the boat away and maybe once or 2x over the winter if there's no snow on the cover. Then before re-commissioning I charge them again.
  18. Lou C

    Pasty oil coming out the valve covers

    lol...my ebay spare....here in the salt pond they don't last forever...
  19. Lou C

    Pasty oil coming out the valve covers

    this is the underside of the pre Vortec 4 bbl intake, notice how the water passage is only up at the very front under the thermostat housing, the Vortec intake has a much bigger water passage under there. Maybe more places for water to hide....
  20. Lou C

    Pasty oil coming out the valve covers

    The OMC Cobra service bulletin came out way before the VP one did, a few years at most after the Vortecs came out. Can't find it, website where it was no longer has it listed. So who knows, it may be a rare occurrence depending on the angle of the engine, etc.
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