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  1. Lou C

    Sheared water plug on block

    With the metal drain plugs I always use a bit of OMC gasket sealer or Permatex Aviation on the threads, they never seize up that way even with salt water use. You really do have to ream out the holes sometimes though, I had a 90* fitting on my V6 on the side with the starter (to clear the old...
  2. Lou C

    MC-1 Back Together, Temp 175 Fahrenheit?

    Some muffs don't fit well enough to give the engine enough water, the best one I found were the Merc/Quicksilver round ones with the clamp to hold them on. The rubber is softer than the Tempo rectangular dual feed ones and they seal better. I had trouble with the Tempo ones, I think they made...
  3. Lou C

    Moving from IO to OB experiences?

    Yes lot of people in that part of the country never winterize. There were so many frozen engines it’s hard now to get a new long block if you wanted one.
  4. Lou C

    Moving from IO to OB experiences?

    Taking the rear seats out just to do an oil change and winterize just gets old! If you have closed cooling and a remote oil filter mount it makes this less of a nuisance.
  5. Lou C

    Moving from IO to OB experiences?

    When my brother bought a new boat this summer I REALLY tried to convince him to get the outboard instead of the Merc 4.5 200 hp V6. Yep it runs great a lot smoother than the old 4.3s but I look at it from a backyard mechanic view point. Changing a starter would likely be a four letter word job!
  6. Lou C

    Lack of cooling water flow at idle and low rpm.

    If these are SX drives there is a plastic fitting in the pivot housing that can crack and leak water. There is also a clean out under the plastic cover that covers the shift linkage so you can back flush the raw water intake hose. What you can do to test that fitting is to cover the water...
  7. Lou C

    Knocking 4.3 merc

    I’d do a leak down test but the questions asked may only be answered by dis assembly
  8. Lou C

    Knocking 4.3 merc

    before thowing in the towel, I'd check to see if you have an intake or exhaust valve on that cyl not seating, that can cause low compression as well. The low compression result doesn't tell you where you are losing the compression pressure.
  9. Lou C

    VP 8.1 Engine overheat and seize

    I see what looks like scoring on the last cyl, all the way to the right. If you clean the cyls get the surface rust off it may be easier to see. I don't see how they could be stumped. Here's why: when my engine overheated, the temp was off the chart (240*) but from the outside, the rubber...
  10. Lou C

    VP 8.1 Engine overheat and seize

    Another option is to get a mechanic to look at it see if they will offer an opinion on the failure. If they don’t send an adjuster to look at it I would not accept their decision
  11. Lou C

    91 four winns 285 express cruiser question

    Ah looked at the ad. Twin Ford 5.0s with Cobra drives but I don’t know if they are the cone clutch or dog clutch units. If you're going to buy do you have an OMC trained mechanic near by? At least it’s a fresh water boat, so less stuff will have to be replaced (manifolds & elbows). The dog...
  12. Lou C

    91 four winns 285 express cruiser question

    Next question OMC power or Merc? If OMC keep looking. I have one and know it inside & out but you have to be good at finding parts. Some (electronic ignition and EFI) are nearly impossible to find. Parts for the cone clutch drives also are hard to find. Parts for the old school points ignition...
  13. Lou C

    Towing with/without Overdrive

    Not towing in OD helps because it allows the torque converter to stay locked. In OD any added load might cause it to unlock and downshift.
  14. Lou C

    91 four winns 285 express cruiser question

    Probably a fiberglass cockpit liner not just carpet covered wood decking; which was standard in the cheaper boats.
  15. Lou C

    VP 8.1 Engine overheat and seize

    Ask the ins clowns how water flowed thru that oil cooler. It may have seized due to scored cyls. Since you have the heads off take pix of the cyl walls. I had a similar problem once (cooling hose popped off) and the engine overheated and seemed seized but once it cooled it cranked over normally...
  16. Lou C

    SX cobra out drive crack

    In fact if you don’t pull the drive for winter storage you should at lease poke that area with a small thin screwdriver to make sure it’s not clogged, or else you can have cracking there if it freezes where you are.
  17. Lou C

    Second Happiest Day . . .

    Congrats and that shows that people will really travel for the right one!
  18. Lou C

    Converting Mercruiser MC-1 to Alpha

    Agreed you are better off buying a rotted boat for the whole drivetrain and all the assorted bits that will nickel dime you on these conversions
  19. Lou C

    Converting Mercruiser MC-1 to Alpha

    Due to changes over the years you want there to be compatibility between the year of the drivetrain and engine. So if you are doing alpha 1 gen 2 then you want a 96 and up Vortec engine
  20. Lou C

    Moving from IO to OB experiences?

    As my old mechanic used to say we love our Chevy small block but better in a muscle car than a boat.
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