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  1. nola mike

    Mechanic tricks?

    Seeing the "what tools are these" thread... Following up with a "tricks that old people know". I'll start: putting the closed end of a box wrench on a bolt, and using another box wrench on the open side as a breaker bar. Easier said than described. Ok, here...
  2. nola mike

    Can't sync my 2003 25 hp 2 stroke...

    I've NEVER had this thing adjusted correctly, have owned it for 12ish years. Came to me with everything out of spec. Every once in a while I try to adjust it correctly and fail. Another attempt the last few days. It's a remote shift, and the procedure is a bit different than the side/tiller...
  3. nola mike

    Dolphins

    Out on the water yesterday, going to grab a beer, and ran into a pod of dolphins. Our area is incredible, people get the wrong idea when they hear "river". It's really not like anywhere else that I've been before. A lot of them out this year, sometimes we'll get 100, swimming right around the...
  4. nola mike

    Any reason to fix my wiring kludge?

    My 25 hp '04 2 stroke had a hard time starting, then left me dead in the water. Short story, no spark. Took me a long time to trace it to a partial short in the engine harness connector, which was leaking 3v into the kill switch circuit. Thought it was in the key switch, since I had the box...
  5. nola mike

    Best way to fasten bow rails?

    My bow rails are treated as olympic grade gym equipment by my guests. They are not. OEM fastened with wood screws through the glass and into who knows what (if anything) beneath. They have ripped out more times than I care to count. Tried repairing holes with glass, epoxy, using embedded machine...
  6. nola mike

    Mercury 25hp throttle/shift cable replacement?

    I've had difficulties with the linkage/shifting/throttle on this thing since I bought it > 10 years ago. I never give it the love it deserves. Yesterday took it out for the first time this year. Ran great, but the idle cam would bind on the cam follower when trying to give it throttle, at the...
  7. nola mike

    Throttle cable replacement...

    Have had a sticking throttle cable that got annoyingly bad last season. Had a spare box/cable from the old donor boat. I pulled the panel that the box is mounted on, and saw sand/debris behind there from when the boat was dunked. Crazy that I'm still chasing things 4 (5?) years later. Barrels of...
  8. nola mike

    Ideas for planters/raised beds?

    My raised garden beds have needed to be replaced for at least 5 years. I never seem to get around to it in time. This year is no exception. I was looking for relatively cheap and easy containers that I could use that wouldn't lead to a divorce. I've settled on old canoes/dinghies or bathtubs...
  9. nola mike

    Almost there

    2 weeks ago (still cold), realized that I had already replaced all the hoses/plugs after winterizing (yay last fall me) and changed oil (yay again). No fuel stabilizer. Still haven't pulled lower unit or changed gear oil (boo last fall me). Jumped fuel pump, pumped throttle twice, turned key...
  10. nola mike

    TB V?

    Got a line on a cheap TB V module, P/N 861251-1. Anyone know if they were all knock sensor capable? Cheap enough that I'm going to grab it as a spare anyway.
  11. nola mike

    My block is drained, right?

    On a roll yesterday. Once again drained my neighbor's VP (I'm waiting for it to freeze so I'll get the boat for cheap...). Changed my oil in the fall! Also drained my 4.3, and didn't get a drop out of the starboard block drain. It was the last drain and I for sure got in there with a wire. PS...
  12. nola mike

    Best way to get to my boat?

    I have my lift maybe 50 ft from shore, stand alone. Currently I walk out to it, not usually a huge deal but getting to be less pleasant towards the end of the season. One of my jetties needs to be rebuilt, and I'm trying to figure out a way to incorporate something to get out there. 1. Jetty is...
  13. nola mike

    Source/question for a crossmember?

    Noticed my rear crossmember had some significant rot. it's a bolt on but I can't find the right size. I figure I can cut it down and drill a longer one but would be worried about the galvanizing. suggestions? anybody know if I can get a custom one made non local (guessing that won't be worth it)
  14. nola mike

    4.3 gxi run without water...

    so I winterized a friend's 2012 (again) last year in December after she kept saying that she was going to get it done... anyway, it was near freezing at the time, and I apparently left the plugs out and hoses off. this spring, I couldn't remember if I had replaced that stuff or not. short...
  15. nola mike

    Oil Pressure Sender failure modes?

    TL;DR: What would cause an oil pressure sender to fluctuate between reading correctly and reading zero? Been chasing an oil pressure gauge/issue all summer. Mercruiser, standard analog sender/gauge. It will run fine for long stretches of time, steady at 60 psi, then drop to "zero" (actually...
  16. nola mike

    Found some rocks with my prop...

    Like the title says, I found some rocks the other day. Going to blame my inexperienced crew member, since obviously it wasn't my fault. Generally not a ton of obstacles around me, this is my first ground strike in 16 years. One dent on one blade with a fairly small amount ground off. No...
  17. nola mike

    Cool day on the river yesterday

    Hope everyone had a great weekend! Not only did the boat work all weekend, but while swimming off the boat a pod of at least 100 dolphins decided to join us. We escorted them back towards the Chesapeake for about an hour/6 miles before heading back. Really incredible sight and a pretty good way...
  18. nola mike

    Spring replacement?

    Noticed that the springs on my trailer completely disintegrated, so I guess it's time to replace them. I don't know any of the specs for the trailer. The axle is 2" square, and it's 24" eye to eye with 9/16" bolts. Looked like there were 6 leafs, which seems like a lot. The boat is 19', ~2k...
  19. nola mike

    Prep before recoat/tips to keep from repeat mistake

    Trying to repair a gash in my keel. Plan was 3 layers of 7" wide biax outside, and a layer inside (ski locker) if I felt inspired. Nothing structural on the inside. I had reinforced the keel years ago, but storm pounded it pretty good on a jetty. So ground/sanded the old repair. I didn't get...
  20. nola mike

    What's behind this plug? 2001 4.3L

    Finally got the flywheel off on my slow motion RMS replacement. Found a plug just above the crankshaft that's ferrous (others on the block were brass already). I don't think its a water passage but want to make sure before I button it back up.
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