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    1957 Johnson 7.5 - It awakens!

    Hi All, I thought you might appreciate this. My grandfather left me his 1957 Johnson 7.5hp outboard. When I moved to New England, I put it in my shed and it has sat for nearly 20yrs. My grandfather was meticulous with record keeping. In an old box, I found an original service manual, the...
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    how to confirm a head gasket failure?

    Hi, I have been through all of the cooling system diagnostics and I'm down to, what I believe is now a head gasket failure. Can I confirm this with a simple compression test? 1991 4.3LX Mercruiser. Thanks, Dan
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    1991 4.3lx alpha overheat

    I'm tracking down a blockage on an overheating 1991 4.3LX Alpha. Everything is good up to the circulating pump. I'm still looking for the "aha! that's IT moment". I have had the boat one year. It was previously a freshwater only boat. A rebuilt engine was installed in 2001 and it is a good...
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    Want to confirm waterflow direction...

    1991 4.3LX alpha with check ball style thermostat housing... I want to confirm that I'm reading the cooling system flow diagram correctly. Is it true that warm water will only flow from the top of the t-stat housing to the bottom of the exhaust manifolds if/when the t-stat opens? Cold water...
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    Overheating: Water coming from outdrive

    I have been troubleshooting an overheating problem. Occurs at idle as well as running (naturally). Murphy's law has jumped into this a couple of times. For example, while running on muffs recently, I realized that water stopped (or nearly stopped) coming from my hose while I was running the...
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    Water circulating pump - how do you know when it is bad?

    1991 4.3LX I'm continuing to learn about the open cooling system on these sterndrive systems. I haven't seen anything in the manual or on the site to explain how to understand if one's water circulating pump is working properly. I know on my older cars, if the water pump wasn't leaking, it...
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    check ball style t-stat housing -what are the balls for?

    I have a 1991 4.3lx mercruiser. I'm troubleshooting an overheat problem. While poking around, I see I have the t-stat housing type that has the check-balls on the lines that are connected to the exhaust elbow. What is the purpose/function of those check balls? With the t-stat housing off...
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    Rust stain on upholstery/vinyl

    I forgot that I had left a small tool box on the rear bench seat of our boat. Naturally, the upholstery is off-white. After some rain, I see that my boat cover needs a new waterproofing treatment. The cockpit of the boat got wet and moisture got between the tool box and the cushion. The...
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    Mercruiser exhaust manifolds and risers: How do you know?

    See explanation below, but how do you know that the exhaust manifold/riser is clogged enough to replace??? 1991 4.3lx Alpha One outdrive (rebuilt engine installed in 2000 and relatively low hours since). Boat is a Cobia 19' bowrider and is new to me 1 year ago. Boat has only previously been...
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    4.3lx - Bad temp sensor or temp gauge?

    1991 era 4.3lx Mercruiser Alpha One (boat history shows a rebuilt engine installed in 2000 with only about 50 hours since). Boat is a 1991 Cobia Monte Carlo 198ES. Bought the boat spring 2008. In general, the boat is in great condition and runs well. I have only had the boat out once this...
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    12v trolling motor on 19' bowrider???

    I have a 19' bowrider that I'm looking to put a bow mount trolling motor on. I have been looking at 70 pd thrust 24v models, but then a friend approached me about selling me his for next to nothing (he took it off a boat that he no longer has). He has a 2 year old 54lb thrust 12v minn kota...
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    Minn Kota Trolling motor variable speed vs 5/3 speed?

    To us humans, is there a real measurable difference between a Minn Kota 24v SM series motor with variable speed vs the same model with 5/3 speed? The difference seems to be an extra 10lbs of thrust and an extra $200 for the variable speed model. Thanks
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    Alpha 1 outdrive won't trim up

    1991 4.3LX with Alpha 1 outdrive. Everything was fine in November. Today, I checked everything out, topped the charge on the batteries and put the hose on the drive. I found that the outdrive tilts down fine, but won't go up. I hear clicking from the solenoid when I hit the up switches...
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    Which oil for a 1991 Mercruiser 4.3LX?

    Anyone know what weight oil should be used in one of these engines? Thanks, Dan
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    preventing mold over the winter

    Each spring, I uncover the boat and find surface mold one the various surfaces of the boat interior. I want to try to prevent that this time around. Last year, I thought I had the problem licked when I covered the boat an opening on the transom end. I was thinking that this would allow air...
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    Smart tabs and outdrive trim control

    Hi, I'm about to pull the trigger on purchasing some smart tabs and removing the hydrofoil on my 19' Cobia bowrider. I'm interested in comments regarding the ability to control the running attitude of the boat with the outdrive trim controls after the installation of Smart Tabs. I...
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    stripped brake bleeder fitting

    So.....I moved a disc brake system from one trailer to another. In the final stretch, I bled the brakes by using the bleeder nipples on each caliper. On the last one (naturally), I unfortunately over tightened it and stripped some of the female threads in the caliper. Is there anything I...
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    Air-Tight hub kits

    Anyone use these on your trailer? I installed a set today and we'll see how they do. I decided to move a fairly new set of trailer brakes from one trailer to another. While I had everything apart, I intended to install an oil bath type kit, but couldn't find any locally. I saw the Air Tight...
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    Run hotter in salt water compared to freshwater?

    Is there any reason for an 4.3lx would run hotter in saltwater than it does in freshwater? It isn't overheating, but I do notice a difference (~20 degrees f).
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    Quick one: location of serial # on an I/O

    Probably a dumb question, but..... I have always owned outboards and the serial number is usually on the bracket. I need to get the serial # off of my I/O. Is this found on the outdrive or on the engine itself. I'm just thinking that these are different components by different companies...
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