Beginning restoration project on Concord LS7 with 454 Mercruiser Bravo 1 outdrive

T

timberattler

Cadet
Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Messages
6
Hello all, great site here I've already spent hours going over the forums and have found many great tips so far...only one issue.....so much info I'm spending hours looking for it and only receiving pieces at a time. SO i'm gonna lay out my questions and hope i can either get direct answers or a reference to a thread that has already provided the answer but I can't find (i'm not the best at searching forums). While I am new to boating, i am also an old drag racer so mechanical/engine/electrical tasks dont't scare me....you guys have a head above me when it comes to boats.

Boat is an 89 Concord LS7 with a 454 Magnum Mercruiser I/o and Bravo 1 Outdrive. the previous owner was nice enough to let the boat fill with water (uncovered in yard, under a tree so the hull could fill with leaves and plug the hull drain) enough that the engine and power tilt/trim unit became submerged and got water inside both the engine and oil reservoir on the tilt/trim unit. Here's what I've done so far - looking for what i should do next. The boat was taken from lake and properly winterized and fogged before storing (for 2 years) in yard. Previous owner reports all was good when last on water - engine running great, no tilt trim issues, no electrical problems.

- Drained engine oil and removed filter, i was able extract just a hair under 5 gallons of chocolate pudding from the engine.
- refilled with new oil and filter
- pulled spark plugs and injected auto transmission fluid into cylinders - let that sit overnight
- rolled engine over by hand shot some more tranny fluid in clylinders (used syringe and injector needle for injecting turkeys)
- there was a little water in cylinder #5 - but looks like water was above carb so have no reason at this point to believe that water didn't wither back flow in through exhaust valve (manifold for hoses that connect at thermostat housing were removed for winterization) or enter through carb and intake valve

Okay so I have an idea of what to do next, make sure all oil is oil and not nesquik, I'm good on corecting any carb/firing/timing issues - here's where i need your help

A- Steps for removing oil from tilt/trim
B- How to run an IN/OUT in the drive way, specifically, how to add water so engine won't overheat and what to look for (other than temp gauge) to make sure water is going in/coming out where it should be.
C- any other suggestions that may help me along - sort of a been there done that if you been down this road or rather up this creek

Thanks in advance - i already know from reading other posts the info I get will be invaluable.
Michael
 
ezmobee

ezmobee

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 26, 2007
Messages
23,767
Re: Beginning restoration project on Concord LS7 with 454 Mercruiser Bravo 1 outdrive

I'm going to move this to the I/O section as these are all powetrain question (so far :))
 
E

Eric.G

Cadet
Joined
Jul 22, 2011
Messages
19
Re: Beginning restoration project on Concord LS7 with 454 Mercruiser Bravo 1 outdrive

Hello,

Just went through the same thing you went through on the trim pump.
I went to a marine mech inquiring about rebuilding the rams since the fluid was milky.
He took me out back (one, to get away from his boss so he could talk freely) where the boat was and said water in the fluid was from inside the hull not outside (like yours) He said drain the plastic tank the best you can, then take the plastic tank off. Mine had a single screw on the bottom of the tank. Resist the urge to disconnect the pressure lines. Also note there are two screen filters on he bottom of the pickups. If they have been sitting in water, they may have corroded and need replacing, but in any case when everything is covered in muck, you may not see them and just lay the whole pump unit on them and crush them. Next clean your plastic tank out. there will probably be a lot of muck on the bottom.
Next what I did was to find a plastic cup like a paint mixing cup that is just wide enough to set the pump down into, fill that with the cheapest 30 grade motor oil you can find. I went through about 6 quarts of it. Set your pump into this cup and have someone else run your tilt for you. I found that one cycle up and down, change oil in the cup and repeat was good. Someone had run the tilt on mine with the water in the tank so I had the whole system to purge. If you know yours has not been run with water, it may not take much to purge.
Also, you probably would want to do its with the little filters off so as to not damage them by hitting the cup as the lines being attached makes everything pretty tight. The filters just pull straight off

I also bought a special cap for the trim pump that does not have the hole in the top. On the new cap the venting was through grooves cut through the threads so that air comes from under the cap. Rain water was dripping off the back of the transom right on the trim fill cap.

Hope that works for you
Eric
 
T

timberattler

Cadet
Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Messages
6
Re: Beginning restoration project on Concord LS7 with 454 Mercruiser Bravo 1 outdrive

Thanks Eric - followed your instructions and worked perfectly. Mine had not been run but i flushed about 10 times anyway just to be sure.

Thanks again for the great info!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top