4.3 cobra I/0 on a 20 ft conquest boat. Sat for 5 years what should I do?

[andrewbabich]

4.3 cobra I/0 on a 20 ft conquest boat. Sat for 5 years what should I do? I can pick it up for almost free from my friend but I've never owned an inboard. It ran 5 years ago when he had it going.

Obviously I have to put new oil and try and flush all the old gas.

The battery has some juice to it surprisingly.

What about the seal between the engine and the boat. How do I know if I can put the boat in the water?

Do these have waterpumps like outboards?

 

[jeromeb]

Re: 4.3 cobra I/0 on a 20 ft conquest boat. Sat for 5 years what should I do?

I'm by no means a expert, (first time owner of a boat). I got mine as a mechanics special with a bad engine. Before I attempted any repairs, I floated the boat to see if and where any leaks were, (assuming it's on a trailer). If there are any repairs to be made to the engine involving removal, at least you'll have an idea what else there is to be done. Just peace of mind before you start investing cash and labor.

 

[andrewbabich]

Re: 4.3 cobra I/0 on a 20 ft conquest boat. Sat for 5 years what should I do?

good call, i'll probably try that. I just tried jumping it off a car and and all I 'd hear was a quick click everytime I turned the key. Click, thats it. Maybe not enough battery...

I think the battery was probably too weak to turn it even with the jumpers on. I tried to clean the cables and terminals with sandpaper the best I could. I'll go back with a wire brush and also put the battery on a charger overnight.

I'm also going to try to rotate the engine with wrench on the crankshaft. I crank it clockwise right?

Any other good tips?

 

[airdvr1227]

Re: 4.3 cobra I/0 on a 20 ft conquest boat. Sat for 5 years what should I do?

Before you try to turn it with a wrench remove the spark plugs and shoot some lube down each hole. 5 years is a long time.

 

[89-conv]

Re: 4.3 cobra I/0 on a 20 ft conquest boat. Sat for 5 years what should I do?

forget that, unless you in a hurry,, But yes in the least shoot some WD-40,, two-three times and set over night, then shoot it again,, WD40 will burn and You can get a fire started.. that is,, it'll start an engine..

However, the best bet is pour diesel fuel into the cylinders and any other place ya can get open.. set over night,,

and then,, don't fire that guy up unless ya work that engine several times,, after obviously having changed all fluids,, just turn it for as long as your Patience lasts, then go have a coke or pepsi,, and do it some more!! lol..

ya got to get lubrication in all those areas that ARE dry from setting all that time,, and HOPE, your valve seals did not dry or will take some lub and seal..

BEFORE ya blast carbon into it..


50 bucks, patence, 100 bucks, is plenty worth the chance and expence to save ya from having a fiberglass log [mosquito haven,] set in your yard forever.

A new engine is lubracated as it's assembled.. so ya fire and go,, sort of..

but when setting years,, HIGH odds every moving part above the oil pan is dry.... metal on metal at 2,000 RPM,, say good bye rod, camshaft, timming chain , crank,, bearings.. dried rubber seals,, etc ya get the picture?/

 

[Idlespeedonly]

Re: 4.3 cobra I/0 on a 20 ft conquest boat. Sat for 5 years what should I do?

If you are worried about the above, then pull the distributor and use a drill motor and a priming tool.

 

[andrewbabich]

Re: 4.3 cobra I/0 on a 20 ft conquest boat. Sat for 5 years what should I do?

Ok so I found out the engine has only sat for three years. And these are great ideas about spraying wd 40 down the plug holes or diesel, but i went back yesterday and tried cranking it before i read them...

Heres what I did.

Took the belts off and moved all the accessory wheels. All moved good. Put a rachet on the engine crankshaft bolt. Very stubborn for a while but eventually moved. It must of been seized in place a little like you guys said.

Then it started moving a lot more free.

Next I determined that turning the key was pushing the starter into the motor, but not signaling it to spin.

When I jumped the starter solidnoid terminals with need nose pliers it would spin the starter. I had a helper turn the key to engage the starter then I'd jump the soliniod with the pliars would crank the engine.

The engine cranked and cranked (we had it jumped off my buddies 2500 series diesel truck).

We even thought it was about to run as we got a little combustion. But it never caught.

Then it would just crank and no combustion was going on. We sprayed starting fluid down the carb. Still no combustion. We did not see a choke either on the boat.

I know on outboards they won't run on old crappy fuel but i figured the car motor on an inboard would be ok to at least start on old fuel. Do i need to get it fresh fuel.

I'll pull the spark plugs next and look at them. I would think I'm getting spark.

 

[Bondo]

Re: 4.3 cobra I/0 on a 20 ft conquest boat. Sat for 5 years what should I do?

Do i need to get it fresh fuel.

Yes..

 

[Lou C]

Re: 4.3 cobra I/0 on a 20 ft conquest boat. Sat for 5 years what should I do?

4.3 cobra I/0 on a 20 ft conquest boat. Sat for 5 years what should I do? I can pick it up for almost free from my friend but I've never owned an inboard. It ran 5 years ago when he had it going.

Obviously I have to put new oil and try and flush all the old gas.

The battery has some juice to it surprisingly.


What about the seal between the engine and the boat. How do I know if I can put the boat in the water?



Do these have waterpumps like outboards?

Get the tank cleaned out
Just get a new battery
Pull the drive and check the bellows, gimble bearing and u joints. IF you see cracks in the bellows replace it. the Cobra has a very easy to replace impeller, under the plastic cover at the rear end of the upper gear housing. See the plastic housing in this pic?

But first, do you really want an OMC boat?

 

[andrewbabich]

Re: 4.3 cobra I/0 on a 20 ft conquest boat. Sat for 5 years what should I do?

Great pictures thanks.

What exactly is an omc boat? I have a 1972 50hp johnson that is also omc. Is omc bad news?

What is the easiest way to get the gas out of this boat. The tanks gauges says half full so I assume theres about 15 gallons in it. I have one of those cheap siphon tubes with a ball on it but I 'm not sure if its long enough to get down into the tank.

 

[Lou C]

Re: 4.3 cobra I/0 on a 20 ft conquest boat. Sat for 5 years what should I do?

Well they have been out of business since 2000, Bombardier bought the Evinrude and Johnson outboard lines, but the sterndrive division (Cobra and Stringer) not fully supported. All the parts are not still available. I have been able to get everything I have needed for my Cobra, but there are things you can't find that you might need. There are a lot of OMC parts in the aftermarket and used parts, but not that many mechanics know how to work on them. Mine has been very good reliability wise esp considering its age and salt water use, but I have an excellent mechanic I can go to when I need drive work....check around...if no one works on OMC where you live, I would not put any money into that boat....

 

[Bridar]

Re: 4.3 cobra I/0 on a 20 ft conquest boat. Sat for 5 years what should I do?

OMC (Outboard Marine Corporation) was the original manufacturer of Johnson, Evinrude, and OMC sterndrives. They were in existance from 1929 but unfortunately they went bankrupt in 2000. See this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outboard_Marine_Corporation.

BRP (Bombardier Recreational Products) bought the rights for Evinrude & Johnson outboards and continues to produce outboards bearing those names. OMC sterndrives, however; are now obsolete. Major parts such as gearcases & transom mounts are no longer available (except for used). Other parts such as gearsets, bearings, seals, gaskets, impellers, etc are available from a number of suppliers including BRP.

If you're the type of person who likes a challenge, has plenty of patiences, knows how to search the web for parts, then you may be okay with an OMC. If you're going to do any amount of work on it, find a (genuine) OMC service manual (ebay is a good source).

I'm not familiar with your 20' Conquest, but many boats have an inspection cover or panel to access the tank. If not, you can always use the fuel line from the tank to suck/siphon out all the old fuel. Flush in a gallon or so of fresh fuel, then suck/siphon it out as well. Be sure to drain all the old fuel from the fuel lines, fuel pump, filter canister (replace the filter), and carburator. An engine will not fire on 'rotten' gasoline. It may be well worth your time to pull the carb and dissassemble it, to clean any gummed up old fuel from the float bowl, jets & passegeways.

Spin the engine with the starter with the spark plugs removed, so the cylinder walls & rings can re-lubricate from the WD-40 and/or diesel you sprayed into the spark plug holes. This will also circulate the (new) engine oil throughout the block. You may want to do a compression test at this point. A compression test will tell you the general condition of the engine, and you can decide where to go from there. Just remember, once you're ready to start & run the engine, use the 'muffs' connected to a garden hose to keep the (dry) raw water impeller from burning out 5-10 seconds after the engine starts.