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  1. U

    Timing changed while running

    Finally took out the boat after replacing the engine with a rebuilt engine. It's a 4.3 with thunderbolt IV. I set the timing and it was running fine out of the water and in. I drove it around for a bit at a little higher than idle speed and everything seemed good. Then I tried to increase the...
  2. U

    oil leak near starter

    I have rebuilt 4.3, 2 barrel, on a 97 sea ray. original block was cracked. I noticed a small oil leak near the starter with also a small amount of smoke. It's seems like its spitting out a small amount of oil and smoke from this hole near the oil pan which I though would have been blocked off by...
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    4.3 will not stay running

    I have a 4.3 2 barrel which I recently installed but I can not keep the engine running. It will start up the first time and will idle for maybe 40s then it dies. I can start it up again but it will do the same. I thought it was dying when the chock was opening so I held it slightly open but it...
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    Port side manifold drains less water

    I'm running my new rebuilt 4.3 engine for about 3 min at a time doing some testing for another problem. I noticed that whenever I go to drain the manifolds I get very little water out of the port side. The starboard side drains for a few seconds much longer than the port side. Is this normal? I...
  5. U

    Should I replace this prop

    So I bought my boat with a cracked block, I'm pretty close to getting back on the lake but the current prop looks like so. Should I replace it? The edges are bent in a few places, looks like its been hit a couple times. If so I would like to get a prop which would get a decent wake. Future...
  6. U

    New engine, water in exhaust manifolds

    So I was in the process of setting the timing on my new 4.3 engine. I got it set but after about 5min of running it died. I started it again then shut it off after noticing a leak. The leak was coming from the gasket between the exhaust manifold and riser near a bolt hole. I bought the exhaust...
  7. U

    rocker arm adjusment for 4.3

    So I have a rebuilt 4.3 engine with balanced shaft. In the process of checking the rocker arms. The manual says to torque down the rocker arms to 20 ft lbs (valve lash is automatically set), but I've also read on here to use the 3/4 turn method. I tried the 3/4 quarter turn method and I am...
  8. U

    Thermostat sleeve - different sizes?

    So I am finally getting to the final steps of installing my new engine and I ran into a little issue with the thermostat. I have a 4.3lx with the 4 hose style thermostat housing. I bought this kit - SIE-18-3644 and I bought the sleeve too since that broke when removing - 23-806922 Problem is...
  9. U

    Corrosion inside exhaust manifold

    So I'm putting my new rebuilt engine back together in the boat, 4.3L, 97 sea ray. I finally got the engine aligned and the outdrive installed. As I was reinstalling the exhaust manifolds I noticed that one port had some rust inside more than the other 2 ports. The manifolds are the old style one...
  10. U

    Is this really how the alternator bracket is designed

    Almost done with my 4.3L engine swap but had forgotten about this problem with the alternator bracket. When I took it off of the original engine it was only held in place by one bolt/bracket and I guess the tension of the belt. one part of the bracket looks to have broken but it also looks...
  11. U

    Normal for oil drip down drive shaft when removing lower unit

    I'm in the process of changing out the impeller on my alpha gen 2, I have the outdrive off the boat and on a stand due to swapping out the engine. when I removed the lower unit a good amount of oil dripped down the drive shaft and into the drip cavity. Is this normal when removing the lower unit...
  12. U

    Thunderbolt IV ignition - distributor - sensor wheel

    In the process of putting my rebuilt 4.3 engine back together but had a question on the distributor installation. Following the mercruiser manual I would drop in the dist pointing to #1 lead. Now how do I know what the position of the cap/distr body should be, in theory I could have the...
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    oil pan torque specs

    I'm trying to find the torque specs for the oil pan bolts. I've got a 4.3 with cast aluminum oil pan, gen+. The service manual says 80 lb-in for the 1/4 bolts and 165 lb-in for the 5/16 bolts, gen+ engines torque to 18 lb-ft, but doesn't say which ones. the fasteners I have are all 1/2, there is...
  14. U

    Installing oil pump screen

    So after trying different methods I was finally able to fit the new screen tube into my new oil pump. tried looking around for the actual installation tool but I couldn't find any places which had one, and autozone had one but not the correct size. I ended up using a wrench over the raised part...
  15. U

    Cleaned inside of oil pan with Easy Off oven cleaner and now corroded

    So I was in the middle of restoring the oil pan from the old engine on my sea ray, bought it with cracked block, had finished sanding it down and cleaned it with easy off oven cleaner then used a pressure washer. Came back today and the inside looked like the easy off started eating away at the...
  16. U

    One trim cylinder extended futher than other

    So I'm in the process of doing an engine swap. I took off my alpha one gen+ outdrive a while back and today I noticed that one cylinder is extended further than the other. How can I match them back up? I'm not ready to install the outdrive just yet but should be soon. Is there a way I can do...
  17. U

    which impeller kit for alpha 1 gen+

    So I'll be replacing my impeller soon on my boat, I actually have the outdrive off due to an engine replacement but I figure I might as well do this too. Outdrive is an alpha 1 gen+, which from what I've read is a gen II. I found this kit below, but I've read were people say they have bought...
  18. U

    Outdrive off, too much grease?

    Finally got to work on the project boat again, in the process of replacing a cracked block with a rebuilt engine. Took off the outdrive yesterday and the inside of the bellows where covered in grease, is this normal? The ujoints look to be in pretty good condition, and the bellows have no tears...
  19. U

    97 sea ray 190 with cracked engine block

    New here with my first boat and boat project. Purchased a 97 Sea Ray 190, 4.3 LX gen+, The engine had water in the oil, tan in color. I'm hoping that I wont have to do any major fiberglass work but I guess I will see once I start taking it apart. My plans for the engine depending on the extent...
  20. U

    Repairing a hole in my just bought 97 sea ray 190

    Hi all, new here with my first boat, a 97 sea ray 190. It has a cracked engine block but I've worked on engines for a while so I'm pretty confident I can take care of that. I've never worked with fiberglass before so I'm hoping I don't get into too much trouble. The boat does have about a...
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