470 Mercruiser Engine Advice *Edited

PondTunes

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
387
*Note* Edited because im a moron, the engine is a 470 NOT a 140.

Myself and a buddy have picked up a 1980ish Caribbian bow rider with a 170 merc & alpha 1 drive. From what research i've done on here these engines seem to have a bad rep. Thus far we've cleaned up the boat (the floor is rotten) & checked the oil in the engine.

Upon connecting the battery we found that most of the electrical was working, lights, bilge pump, electric fans. I couldn't get the tilt/trim to move in either direction (didn't mess too much with this yet figured it was probably electrical)

I don't have an actual key for the ignition switch so I'll be contacting the PO and see if i can pick it up, otherwise i'll just change switches. I did try jumping the solenoid and getting it to crank over but when I did this All I got was what sounded like the solenoid clicking over and nothing else. (the battery was low) I've since put the battery on charge overnight to see what we get tomorrow.

What common things go screwy with these engines and what do I need to look for when checking it over? I'll grab a copy of the manual as soon as im sure what year she is.

There are quite a few photographs at : http://www.pondtunes.com/dwb/ if you care to take a look there are some engine photos at the end. As far as the engine goes we will probably be pulling it and the drive to replace the stringers & supports as this boat had a lot of rot in it.
 

chiefalen

Captain
Joined
May 18, 2008
Messages
3,598
Re: 140 Mercruiser Engine Advice

Re: 140 Mercruiser Engine Advice

I don't know where on this forum you read people dissing the 3.0/140 motor.

In my own humble opinion i believe it to be of sound design and has been around for a 100 years or more. And i have seen 40 even 50 year old motors still on boats going strong.

Now to your problem, pull the drive, pull the plugs shoot some pb blaster in each cylinder and try cranking the motor again then post the result.
 

TilliamWe

Banned
Joined
Dec 21, 2004
Messages
6,579
Re: 140 Mercruiser Engine Advice

Re: 140 Mercruiser Engine Advice

1st and foremost, change the title of this thread to "470 Mercruiser Engine Advice". Cause you have a 470, not a 140. As Chief said, the 3.0 4cyl 140 is a fine engine.
Yours is not. Since you are doing motor mount and stringer work anyway, put a V-8 in the boat. You'll be WAY better off than trying to mess with that engine. Good luck.
 

PondTunes

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
387
Re: 470 Mercruiser Engine Advice *Edited

Edited the title to reflect that im a moron. Yes it is a 170 not a 140 the 170 or 470 is the engine that people say are problematic.


A V8 Swap is interesting as im sure it would turn this little boat into a bullet. Is there anything worth keeping off the 470? I would prefer to check this engine out and if it's salvagable at least get it running so I could sell it for a few bucks to offset some of the cost of a swap.

So back to the original question, on the 470 merc what are the common things that I should check on this engine?
 

Bondo

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Messages
71,082
Re: 470 Mercruiser Engine Advice *Edited

Ayuh,...

Just at the top of this thread, it says Search,...
Click on that buttom,+ Search this forum for "470",...
That's where you find your Answers...
It shouldn't take you more than a few days to read what's Already been said about the 470...
 

JustJason

Vice Admiral
Joined
Aug 27, 2007
Messages
5,321
Re: 470 Mercruiser Engine Advice *Edited

I gotta say man.... if you have a boat with a rotten floor and a 470 engine... you should really just cut your losses and dump the boat.
If your floor is rotten, you most likely have a rotten transom to.
 

meesh

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 24, 2008
Messages
256
Re: 470 Mercruiser Engine Advice *Edited

I gotta go with Jason. After looking at your pictures your going to need some deep pockets to get her back out on the water. I was lucky, I did'nt have near that much rot and my floor was gone but my transom was OK. I have a bad feeling that your not going to be that lucky with that boat, but if all you have invested in it is time then finish tearing it out and see what you have. But your looking at a ton of time and money just in the hull. And then you will spend plenty on the mechanics of the boat as well.
 

jy118lfd

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 18, 2004
Messages
497
Re: 470 Mercruiser Engine Advice *Edited

Remember the most expensive boat you can own is a free boat!!!
 
Top