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It seems unlikely because it's much easier to drain the manifolds on most V6s and V8s than the block drains. After my first experience with winterizing mine years ago, I totally re-configured the back of the boat to make the seats easy to remove and the wood framework that supports the big sun...

It’s not salt water so much it’s the pain of getting at the drains on V6s & V8s, that’s what would stop me from buying another. You wait too long just one time and you’re done.

IIRC when Merc came out with their 25/40 mineral oil they also said that if it wasn't available you could use straight 30 in cooler temps, straight 40 in warmer temps and 20/40 or 20/50 but this is all for inboards. I agree if I had a modern outboard I'd just use what they advice, given the...

I have seen guys who are commercial fishermen out in my harbor with their boats....some are left out all winter, this year it was in the ice, etc, and they come out with a fresh battery, fire up the outboard and motor on. None of the nonsense that I/O owners have to go through trying to make a...

I have used the expensive Mercury/Quicksilver oil and gotten excellent oil analysis results on my old 4.3 that still has the original 38 year old short block. Here's a bit of info that pertains to inboards more than outboards, for others who might be interested: The 25/40 syn blend, is approved...

Low maintenance boat = outboard Raw water cooled I/O = unforgiving of even 1 mistake Closed cooled I/O is better but there'd still be damage I love Chevy small blocks but at 70 years old doing this over 20 years there's no way I'd have another raw water cooled I/O here. They are just an enormous...

If a guy can't operate a carbed boat with an electric auto choke, new carbs, etc, then maybe he should not be in command of a twin engined boat! Having been inside all 3 I think the Edelbrock, while not as tunable, is the easiest/least trouble to keep going, reliably. 15-20 year old marine EFI...

2 four-barrel carb manifolds 2 Edelbrock 4bbl carbs 2 simple low pressure electric fuel pumps from Michigan Motorz that would be my solution, no more sensors that can have intermittent problems, you will have the simplest set up that worked 65 years ago (when they were Carters lol) still works...

It will always be right where the fuel hose from the pump hooks up to the fuel pick up tube. Excuse the dirty fuel tank my boat is 38 years old and the tank is original. On this boat the whole fuel tank compartment hatch just comes up. Be careful with this valve, it is either brass or aluminum...

You can check for voltage at the yellow red wire for the starter either at the ignition switch or at the solenoid itself (switch will be easier) if there is no voltage on the yellow/red wire after you release the key, then I'd suspect a solenoid or starter drive problem. If there is, more likely...

That's what it looks like. I have the same thing.....flush system for drum brakes that trailer looks like it might need some work, springs are very rusty.

thanks for the follow up! Just filled up my boat with Sunoco 94 octane for its trial run next week....

Hard to say, the front and rear seals on my old 4.3 which has to have at least 1500 if not more hrs on it, don't leak, but on the other hand, I just had to have the rear main done on my 2007 Grand Cherokee 5.7 which has only 135,000 miles on it. When this one went, it was leaking like a sieve...

The gas that gave me fits last season, was only 8/9 months old, stabilized E10 (all we can get at the gas docks here) and looked totally clear. It didn't BURN right though and other than smelling like varnish, or having obvious debris or water in it, there is no way you can tell that. In fact I...

It's impossible to generalize because every boat is different, some have more than enough static water line height, some are marginal, if the driver is prone to rapid slowdowns, if a heavy swim platform is added, etc. all those are factors. If you REALLY want to know, learn how to measure the...

How old is the fuel in the tank, straight gas or E10? Reason why I ask is that last season, for the first time I had gas go bad on me. It was maybe 8 months old, stabilized 89 octane E10 which is what I have always used. Never had this before. BUT.....the only way I figured this out was to run...

I had to pull the outdrive to get the rest of the burned up flappers out they were in the exhaust passage, lucky the pins stayed where they are supposed to be. Not sure if this applies to the Alpha or Bravo drives but on OMC Cobras and Volvo SXs there are water tube grommets that will also get...

Well, it's hard to say, but if the static water line is just high enough with no safety margin it is possible to get water up the exhaust if you slow down quickly. They are there for a reason.... The pix I posted above are to show what happens during an overheat, vs a good flapper.

That job (actuator replacement) is one of those jobs that is such a pain on some boats, that the only saving grace of it, is that you solved a problem and the skills learned make you a better backyard mechanic. "you gotta suffer if you want to sing the blues" On my brother's 2020 Chapparal with...