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    neutral safety switch

    Having a hard time find a neutral safety switch for a 1976 Fiberform with Volvo engine and outdrive. The controller is built by Morse but has long been discontinued. Teleflex says it's "obsolete" so they offer no support. I bought this switch...
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    Replace wheels when replacing tires?

    Have automotive tires on the trailer and the load rating isn't high enough for the boat and trailer weight. I'll be replacing the tires with the correct rating but wondering if people normally replace the wheels as well. There are the white wheels with blue and red pinstripes that you see on...
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    New Nike commercial

    Seems like Nike is getting into the rehab business or at least psychiatric consulting. Next thing you know, you'll go into a sporting goods store and you'll see Lucy from the Peanuts comic strip in her booth with a sign that says "the doctor is in"!
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    What happens when good gas goes bad?

    There was just a tread here about using two year old gas. Water in the fuel and phase separation have been covered several times with the expected strong opinions both ways. I don't want to open up that issue but do want to ask about gas "going bad". What really happens? I hear about and have...
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    1984 Volvo Penta Outboard leaking.

    Re: 1984 Volvo Penta Outboard leaking. With the amount of water coming in, it's also possible that the exhaust pipe is cracked, loose at the flange, or the o-ring is missing. Here's a picture from inside the boat with the engine removed: It's thru bolted from the outside with 4 bolts. Here's a...
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    Good Samaritan Towing Regulations?

    Last summer I ended up towing someone back to shore after they were having engine trouble. This was on a freshwater reservoir and only towed them about a half mile. My boat is an 18' runabout and the other boat was about a 22' cuddy cabin. He tied off to his bow eye and I to a stern eye using my...
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    Is mixing grease types OK

    VP AQ130 with 280 outdrive. Reassembled the flywheel cover with new bearings last spring. Not knowing any better, used green waterproof grease when repacking the PDS bearing. I've heard that mixing grease types can compromise the characteristics of both. Do I ned to stay with the green stuff or...
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    Better mileage for a big block Ford

    My father-in-law has a 1995 Ford F250 with a 7.5L (460) with 83,000 miles. He hasn't done any maintenance other than having the oil and filters changed regularly and brakes and tires when necessary. I replaced the alternator, battery and thermostat for him last summer but other than that...
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    How many cracked blocks this winter?

    With the south in a deep freeze this winter, wondering how many cracked blocks we'll see when boating season gets going. I'm sure there were a bunch of folks caught off guard since they normally never even think of winterizing their boats during a "normal" winter. Also wondering if the...
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    Xmas iboats logo?

    I thought I saw the logo at the top of the page change last night to a version with snowflakes. I look today and it's back to normal! I promise, it wasn't the "adult beverages" :redface:. Am I the only one who saw that? Is this like the upside down thing on April fools day?
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    Price of prop rebuild

    I started looking around to get an idea of what it would take to repair the "beaver bites" in my aluminum prop and replace the hub. I was shocked to see that the price of repair can be more than the price of a replacement prop here on iboats. Prices vary from one shop to the next. For example...
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    How do I know if my carbs have gone bad?

    I rebuilt the Solex carbs on my older Volvo AQ130 earlier this year. At the end of the season, I was having problems with cold start and some stumbling on acceleration. First guess is that the floats are sticking, bowls are draining down, the valves are shot, or the accelerator pumps aren't...
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    Michigan wheel numbers

    I bought a prop on ebay but don't know the specs. It matches the diameter of my existing 14", 15 pitch propeller on a Volvo 280 outdrive. The numbers on the prop are: SMC 288. I can't find a reference sheet to match the numbers to a pitch and diameter. Visually, the pitch seems to be the same as...
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    Which bilge blower style - bullet or squirrel cage?

    My blower broke apart this weekend. Dang thing separated at the motor and blower bolts. The bolts are still attached to the motor with the plastic from the blower mounts still there too. So which type do I go with as a replacement? The bullet type blowers seems less expensive although I imagine...
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    Intermittant low voltage at selonoid

    Once in a while, getting a "click" at the selonoid. Try it a few more times and it'll crank. Motor is a Volvo AQ130D. This doesn't happen all the time, just once in a while. Measured the voltage at the seloniod start connector and voltage is 12.5 when it cranks and around 7 when it doesn't...
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    Tuning changes for altitude?

    Will be taking the boat up to a lake at 6400' for a few days and wondering if I should change anything to help it run a little better. Motor is an AQ130D with twin Solex carbs. The only carb adjustments are idle mixture and idle setpoint. I know I'll be running rich but wondering if it'll be an...
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    Inacurate speedo on fishfinder

    edited - too much sun & not enough alcohol!
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    Can't get suction through outdrive!!!

    Engine is a Volvo AQ130D and the outdrive is a 280. Just put the motor in the boat and reassembled the lower and intermediate housings. I hooked up to the muffs and no water flow inside the boat. Disconnected the hose going from the transom plate to the strainer and no water at all from the...
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    4 cyl plug wires

    AQ130D 4 cylinder. Sierra doesn't make plug wires for this motor anymore. The closest I can see is to use the wires for the newer overhead cam motors (125, 131, etc.). The asking price is $107 for a set. When I look at plug wire sets for 6 and 8 cylinder motors, the price is 1/3 to 1/2 the...
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    frozen bolts on VP 280 gearbox

    Can't get the capscrews that hold the clamp ring to the gearbox housing loose. Ended up stripping out the interior allen heads on 2 of the bolts but finally managed to get one loose with a 2 foot cheater bar. The allen wrench is the correct size and snug in the socket (or WAS on the two of...
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