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  1. Lou C

    Starter help!!!!!! Omc cobra 4.3

    there are a lot of different aftermarket starters for these engines and the bolts MUST match the starter, if they are too long they will allow the starter to shift and can break off causing a major problem. Make sure that the bolts will bottom out on the starter mount before they bottom out in...
  2. Lou C

    Single point drain winterization

    The way they do it they recirculate the AF to keep it hot, which is difficult for the backyard mechanic to do (though not impossible) that's how they do hundreds of boats without a failure. It is simpler, if more work to simply drain and back fill with the correct antifreeze. The suck up the AF...
  3. Lou C

    Single point drain winterization

    if you can post up a schematic of the system you have, then some members here might be able to advise you as how to disconnect it and use conventional drains.
  4. Lou C

    Single point drain winterization

    There is no other way around it. Use conventional drains that are fool proof and try to improve access to them. This is why after their first boat many people buy outboards. Put the motor down and it drains. If you replace an engine, add closed cooling, then you can use the winterizing tank...
  5. Lou C

    Volvo Penta 4.3 gl-a stalls without throttle

    If the engine runs well and doesn’t stall at idle after warming up then you may not need to clean out and rebuild the carb. What you need to of is observe the choke system for proper operation. The Holley carb uses an electric heated choke. This requires that the choke spring inside the black...
  6. Lou C

    Single point drain winterization

    Well if you don’t drain it first and the thermostat doesn’t open fully guess what can happen? This is a risky method, that should not be used on raw water cooled engines. It can be used on engines with closed cooling. You are basically gambling that the engine gets warm enough long enough to...
  7. Lou C

    Carburator frustration

    Perhaps Carter's finest moment with Chrysler was when 2 of them sat atop a cross ram manifold for a 413 Wedge or 426 Wedge and later on the 426 Hemi.
  8. Lou C

    Single point drain winterization

    Agreed the best set up is a simple dog house with jump seats on both sides so you have total access. Mine has the big sun pad and full size rear seat. What I did was use a 2 piece rear seat instead (actually two 36" pontoon benches) that can be removed as needed and I made the wood partitions...
  9. Lou C

    Winterizing Power Steering Cooler

    It depends on how they are mounted on the engine and how the hoses are plumbed. The ones on OMCs and some Volvo’s are mounted on an angle to help it be self draining. I put the outdrive down and then pour -100 marine AF in the raw water intake hose. This pushes out the water in the cooler and...
  10. Lou C

    Carburator frustration

    nope completely different than a QJet see above
  11. Lou C

    Carburator frustration

    NO, the Edelbrock is simply an updated version of a square bore Carter 4bbl that was used on a lot of Mopars back in the old days. Carter....Weber/Merc....Edelbrock....all closely related The Quadrajet is different in that while it uses metering rods like the Edelbrock, it is a spread bore carb...
  12. Lou C

    Single point drain winterization

    STANDARD COOLING SYSTEM(DESIGN I) - 1990 Mercruiser 5.0L [ALPHA] 450B100CS | Crowley Marine Here's a pic of what their cooling system used to look like before they "improved" it. About the same number of hoses as an OMC Cobra or Volvo Penta SX and conventional drains.
  13. Lou C

    Single point drain winterization

    I think it can work in freshwater, but in salt? More often than not I've had to poke the old fashioned drains with a pick or small screwdriver on mine to get them to drain. Just for reference you should be getting almost 5 gallons of liquid, maybe a bit more from a full drain. That's how much...
  14. Lou C

    Single point drain winterization

    I’m not sure what year they started with this but look at any on line Merc catalog start about 2000 or so if that has it then go back a few years.
  15. Lou C

    Single point drain winterization

    It’s amazing the lengths Mercruiser went through to avoid making closed cooling standard and in that process overcomplicated a previously simple raw water cooling system to a point that is almost unbelievable. Take a look at a recent Merc parts diagram and see how many hoses, plastic couplings...
  16. Lou C

    Cracked exhaust manifolds

    You know you can simply disconnect the feed hoses at the front of the manifolds to drain them? Also there is a drain plug that is on the forward edge of the intake manifold on the Vortec models that needs to be removed so the water passage under the thermostat housing can fully drain. This was...
  17. Lou C

    Cracked exhaust manifolds

    No do not do that, it can put water right in a cylinder. Get new manifolds & elbows and save the engine. Why did you not drain the manifolds?
  18. Lou C

    bad 4.3 omc engine gonna replace but want more horses

    Agreed the late model 4.3 Vortec will give you what you’re looking for with a few modifications. You’ll have to add an electric fuel pump with oil pressure activated safety switch; and toss the old one piece exhaust manifolds and upgrade to the later OMC/Volvo 2 piece exhaust system. I did this...
  19. Lou C

    Are surge brakes always a PIA?

    If you always have to bleed each season you have a leak or a bad master cylinder in the actuator. I have the same Tie Down actuator in mine since 2004 and have replaced the wheel cylinders on the drum brakes a few times over the years. I figured out a way to make them more water resistant and...
  20. Lou C

    Riser Extension Blocks - Full Closed Cooling ???

    Good thing you caught that. My old aluminum coupler parts from my original exhaust are hardly corroded at all (replaced them with the new center riser system 5 years ago) and the Y pipe still looks good, hopefully yours is too. That's not a fun job to change....salt water never sleeps....
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