Re: 5.0 Mercruiser Alpha - 1993-130 hrs- What Preventative steps to take?
I am a novice boater/backyard mechanic myself. I have a Mercruiser 5.7 Alpha One. If you go through the forum, you'll see all of my questions. Here is what I have learned:<br />1. Change the impeller in the outdrive. Do it now. Don't wait. (Also replace the fluids in it with the good stuff) Outdrives are very expensive to replace, but relatively easy to maintain.<br />2. Every 5th thread on this forum is an overheat problem. Again, see my threads, as I am recovering from one now. Take off the risers. It's only 4 bolts (you'll need to get new gaskets). Inspect them for crud. There shouldn't be any. Take a look at the manifolds while there. Again, no crud.<br />3. Replace the thermostat. Again, you're not overheating, but change it now and you'll know its new. It's 10 bucks and about 15 minutes of labor.<br />4. Check all the cooling hoses.<br />5. Regular tune up stuff. Plugs, wires, rotor, cap, oil. If you use a pump to get out the oil, be careful not to overfill. There will be some oil left in the pan, I don't care how good the pump is.<br />6. Inspect the trim unit. Make sure its full with fluid, no leaks.<br /><br />I could go on for hours. But these are things I had to learn and wish someone told me to do last year!<br /><br />Hope it helps...Ted
