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  1. Lou C

    Starboard exhaust manifold warmer and inspecting

    Thanks Chris, I might look into converting my OMC/Volvo exhaust to Merc dry joint if the angles etc will line up. I do like the superior design of the dry joint although I have not had problems since installing the later style OMC/Volvo 2 piece units (5 years ago) after using the old OMC one...
  2. Lou C

    Boat pick up gone wrong...

    but did they check/replace gimble bearing and ujoints, may be OK maybe not all depends on how long water was in there.
  3. Lou C

    Boat pick up gone wrong...

    well depending on the nature of the repairs needed, labor can be 2-3 times the cost of the parts...so are they saying, they cover parts and labor, or only parts? any wood rot repairs, the labor time goes into the stratosphere, those things take forever.
  4. Lou C

    Boat pick up gone wrong...

    This sounds like there are a number of ways this can go bad, I know the used boat market is crazy right now but given that the boat is 21 years old, you didn't really have an opportunity to inspect it which is the how people get in trouble with older boats. Leaky bellows = corroded gimble...
  5. Lou C

    Starboard exhaust manifold warmer and inspecting

    If installed 2.5 years ago and we see no sign of leaking from that joint I’d say you’re still good. Another check I do is I replace the plugs in the spring after burning off the fogging oil. Look at the electrodes on the old plugs for any sign of corrosion. Even if you wouldn’t normally change...
  6. Lou C

    Starboard exhaust manifold warmer and inspecting

    I would inspect every 5 years but more or less count on at least replacing the elbows then; removing the manifolds to do the acetone test and deck the sealing surfaces (especially with wet joint systems). If you have wet joint manifolds if you see any sign of rust trails coming from between the...
  7. Lou C

    Starboard exhaust manifold warmer and inspecting

    When the boat is on the trailer the lower side will be cooler and the higher side will be hotter if the trailer doesn't sit level. Even if the boat sits perfectly level in the water (not so common) due to the design of the thermostat housing the flow is not exactly even on both sides. In the...
  8. Lou C

    Starboard exhaust manifold warmer and inspecting

    yes you have the wet joint
  9. Lou C

    Is the vortec 4.3 the same short block as the early non-vortec?

    thanks!
  10. Lou C

    Is the vortec 4.3 the same short block as the early non-vortec?

    Just curious Rick were you able to use the pushrods from the pre Vortec or the Vortec? The Vortec heads usually come with non-adjustable rockers correct? When I did my top end overhaul, I thought of doing what you did but wasn't sure of the changes needed so just went back with the pre-Vortec...
  11. Lou C

    Water coming into bilge

    Perfect Seal, Evinrude gasket sealer or Permatex Aviation are all good for that application….
  12. Lou C

    Annual Maintenance

    When pulling the drive to check alignment, check the driveshaft bellows for water, and check it carefully for cracks, if you see small cracks forming it is time to replace it. Any sign of water replace it. If the gimble bearing has any roughness at all, replace. U joints, if loose or stiff...
  13. Lou C

    Mercruiser 4.3 Vortec running hot on one side

    Looks and sounds great.
  14. Lou C

    Thinking of upgrading to Sea Ray 210BR

    That does look good from what we can see
  15. Lou C

    Exhaust flappers for 2011 5.7 litre

    I don’t think they have used flappers in the exhaust Y pipe since ‘99 or so.
  16. Lou C

    U Joint bellows orientation

    For some things it just makes more sense to go OEM, for bellows & impellers, things you really don't want to fail. I have had OEM OMC/Volvo bellows last 10+ years, at that point you start to see small cracks starting, that's a good time to replace before you have an issue. The OEM ones don't...
  17. Lou C

    Quantity of Power Steering Fluid needed 2001 Merc 5.7 EFI

    If you're lucky you will have enough access if you ever have to do that job, on my boat I had to remove the seats (5 min job) and exhaust manifolds (20 min) then, was able to get in there. The part that makes it hard is: OMC/Volvos have 2 big cotter pins for the mount bolts on the transom mount...
  18. Lou C

    Quantity of Power Steering Fluid needed 2001 Merc 5.7 EFI

    When I changed the leaky actuator on mine last fall I had to add about a half a qt to make up for what leaked out when I disconnected the hydraulic lines on the actuator. They don't really hold all that much fluid. Check your actuator carefully for leaks, they are not easy to change due to it...
  19. Lou C

    Thinking of upgrading to Sea Ray 210BR

    If your choice is to keep the Stingray that nothing is wrong with vs a 24 year old boat why not keep the Stingray till you can justify moving up to a much newer boat, like less than 10 yrs old?
  20. Lou C

    How Far Can an Electric Truck Tow?

    And when it comes to towing you never want to be at the vehicle's limit. Our boat is about 5,000 on the trailer and that was the limit for our '98 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 six and it felt like it, struggled on hills, etc. The '07 Grand Cherokee 5.7 is rated for a max of 7200 lbs and it hardly...
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