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  1. Lou C

    First boat is it worth it?

    IF you can even find a shop that will do the work and do it right, and it will take a couple months to get done. To do this job right you are pulling the engine, outdrive, transom mount and gutting the interior. I did only a partial deck replacement.
  2. Lou C

    First boat is it worth it?

    The wood is underneath all the fancy upholstery and wrap etc. Fiberglass itself is not that rigid. To make it rigid, you have the hull reinforced with stringers (like floor joists in a house) that run front to rear, the transom is cored with 2 layers of plywood, the deck is all plywood on top of...
  3. Lou C

    First boat is it worth it?

    If you want I can post up pics of my deck replacement that was done 15 years ago and you can judge if you want to risk buying a boat that old and then one day you step on a part of the deck and feel that sickening crunch of a rotted deck. Now mine is still good but no more old boats for me. That...
  4. Lou C

    ANOTHER WATER IN OIL QUESTION

    I had no problems getting my shop (SK SpeedShop in Long Island NY) to magnaflux my old heads and it clearly showed the cracks from a previous overheat. I think they charged me $40 or so to check them out. And they found another shop that sells reman heads and I was able to buy a pair of pre...
  5. Lou C

    First boat is it worth it?

    Still too much given the risks in buying a boat that age with wood under glass construction
  6. Lou C

    Fried the 4th impeller kit? (OMC 2.3)

    Correct forgot to mention that.
  7. Lou C

    First boat is it worth it?

    If you’re married those 4 hotties will cost you your house forget about the boat! You’ll have to live in the cuddly cabin!
  8. Lou C

    ANOTHER WATER IN OIL QUESTION

    I think he should have magnafluxed the heads and you should always check the block for flatness. Use a precision straight edge and feeler gauges should be less than .003” variation. Also very fast important is to clean out out the cyl head bolt holes in the block with a thread chaser because...
  9. Lou C

    First boat is it worth it?

    It's a cool boat but my concern would be with the wood structure in the transom, motor mounts and stringers. That price is crazy high. For that much here in the US you could get a year old 20' with a modern 4 stroke outboard which would be a far better choice. So my recommendation is to pass on...
  10. Lou C

    ANOTHER WATER IN OIL QUESTION

    I had this same concern when I did mine, the block deck I cleaned up really well and looked at it with a magnifier and it looked good, so I took a gamble with reman heads and new gaskets. But unless you have a machine shop inspect the block and heads, there is always that element of the unknown.
  11. Lou C

    Replaced rubber impeller now won't shift to neutral??

    if you continue to buy I/O boats you will use it alot. Now for me, I am having only outboards in the future, but my brother just bought a 2020 Chapparal with a Merc Alpha and we can service that one ourselves the same way and save a lot of $$$. Been doing my own outdrive work for approx 15 years...
  12. Lou C

    Partial Power... Part of the Time!

    I must have gotten lucky with this one because once it was set up right, it has worked fine for 15+ years and I have not even had to replace the shift cable that was on it when I bought it 19 years ago. Shifts with 2 fingers still. PS what do you think of the Pertonix vs points? I have no...
  13. Lou C

    OMC Cobra water pump question

    well the hose is just to route the water flow down the exhaust so it doesn't look like water is leaking out of the upper gear housing. When replacing these I like to use some thick marine grease to hold the o ring gasket in place in the housing, so it doesn't shift out of place. Lube the...
  14. Lou C

    Partial Power... Part of the Time!

    However I replaced my original ESA with one from CDI electronics when the original failed about 7 years ago. These according to CDI can be used with points or an aftermarket electronic conversion like the Pertonix. So I could use that instead but heard mixed things about them too!
  15. Lou C

    Partial Power... Part of the Time!

    Kenny what about OEM or Sierra?
  16. Lou C

    Partial Power... Part of the Time!

    You need an advance timing light to check total timing advance. The specs for the OMC Cobra 4.3 were base timing 6* BTDC+12* advance at 3200 rpm for a total of 18*.
  17. Lou C

    Partial Power... Part of the Time!

    Do you have a points distributor? Last time points were done? Dwell checked? Total timing advance checked? Could the centrifugal advance be sticking? If you have the OE Prestolite all of these points should be checked. Always verify basics before looking for ghosts
  18. Lou C

    OMC Cobra water pump question

    Dump the one with the rock in the hole lol. You can use the other one which judging by the box is a Sierra. Better yet get a whole OEM OMC housing and impeller kit I’ve installed a number of these over the years and never had a bad one… For OE: marine engine dot com Crowley marine dot com
  19. Lou C

    Fried the 4th impeller kit? (OMC 2.3)

    I think I explained how to check for blockage in the lower unit water passages & the water tube gaskets but if not: 1) remove impeller housing 2) hook up muffs and turn on water Water should spurt out of one of the openings in the impeller housing. If not, hold the muffs tight to the lower unit...
  20. Lou C

    7.4GL temp sender info needed

    Also try taking a reading with the IR temp gun of the intake manifold right underneath where the thermostat housing bolts on to it. I have found that with the OMC/Volvo stat housing design this area seems to test closest to the gauge reading, about 10-15* lower than the gauge. The stat housing...
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