Hello all, I bought an 1993 Rinker Captiva last month with 4.3 LX and 4 barrel endelbrock carb alpha 1 gen II outdrive. Engine serial number 0F018261. I want to go through the boat and make sure things are right. I spent last couple days doing a ton of work and have some concerns, especially low compression in one cylinder as I will describe below and appreciate any help as I am a relative newbie to boats, but have some mechanical experience.
I was able to do a lake test before the sale and then spent 6 days on Lake Powell for a shakedown trip visiting with friends on their houseboat where boat ran flawlessly. Seller inherited the boat from his dad 3 years ago. Seller's dad had a new v6 long block installed in 2007 due to a cracked block he knew about when he first bought the boat. Seller claims only 150 hours on the boat since the 07 long block (no hour meter). I got a good written history of repair receipts including the 2007 work that was done by a marine shop in Colorado Springs. According to the repair receipts of 07, the shop replaced the starter and alternator as they were frozen with rust and mentioned repainting pulleys due to rust and also flushed out fuel tank and some other things that made me think the original owner neglected the boat and let it fill up with snow melt/water or possibly sank it or something to rust out things(??), but who knows, boats rust.
I had time yesterday and today to replace the plugs, wires, cap, rotor, check compression, replace the thermostat, repaint the thermostat housing and figure out an intermittent no start as well as some other details and have a few concerns.
(1) not sure which thermostat I should be running as hard to find a merc manual and the ones I did find had conflicting info, 160 or 140 degrees (?). I choose the 140 kit as it seemed my vintage motor used the 140 (?). The thermostat housing and was a mess of rust so a few days back I cleaned it up and wire brushed it and applied a permatex rust preventative/primer and then some rust oleum black paint to the outside of housing. According to the receipts, the 2007 shop had installed a 160 degree thermostat so I am betting they must have been responsible for the black RTV sealer everywhere, on all the gaskets, the black O ring and on the threads of the 2 long bolts, one of which was partly stripped I discovered as I reassembled it today. They even had applied the RTV on the lower gasket which has the metal grommets that connect the ground from the housing/sensors to motor block. The temp gauge was not working I suspect due to the rtv blocking the ground. I was able to get motor started today and there is a small leak coming from top plate and bottom gasket where the long bolt had been stripped, it had some tension, but obviously not enough. I am hoping I can get next size longer bolts and find some good threads lower in the block, the bolts look short to my eye. And hoping I can get this to not leak without having to resort to a ton of sealer like the shop resorted to in 07. Any help with the correct thermostat and other solutions would be great to know? I have the housing with the 3 sets of hoses coming into it, the white plastic balls, I think it is called "standard cooling system design 1".
(2) Tune up: I installed OEM quicksilver cap and rotor, NGK plugs and sierra wires. I did a compression check (cold, but 80 degrees temp) before I installed the plugs as a baseline compression check. Pretty sure I had the original cap, rotor and wires as the rotor did not budge at all with all my weight bouncing on a 2 ft prybar and a 6x6 block as a leverage point. I read Merc glues the rotor on to the dist drive shaft for some crazy reason, mine was glued and rusted on and took an hour of a dremel tool and small chisel to carefully remove the rotor. Cap and rotor end had some corrosion and my feel is the boat really never got too much use, so these parts were never changed out. Shop in 2007 installed NGK plugs, but neglected to use anti-seize and it was another challenge to remove them without damage, but all good.
But the compression test was a let down as number 2 cylinder, the first one I tested, read 85 pounds cold on my old gauge. The rest were better: #1/112, #3/120, #4/115, #5/120, #6/130. I went back to retest the #2 hoping maybe it was dry and would come up to the others after I finished the others, but it dropped to 57 pounds, yikes! I squirted some motor oil in the #2 cylinder and retested, it stuck at exactly same 57 pounds. I am reading this to mean low compression is not due to rings, but likely in #2 valves. I did a cold test as I had not even started it yet after the tune up and thermostat replacement, so I am guessing all these numbers will go up some amount once warm. My 40 year old KD brand gauge might not be accurate?? But I have no idea why the compression on #2 would first read 85 and then drop to 57 a few minutes later??? I know the boat ran very well for 6 days in lake powell, so thinking I finish up with oil change, impeller and fuel system clean up and then go out for another trip this season and maybe some time on the water will help clean up something interfering with the #2 valves. Then recheck the compression before I winterize the boat and decide if I need to pull the heads for valve work this winter. I have always liked the BG products, maybe I run some of their 109 engine flush before I change out oil and add some MOA to fresh oil? I hate to take a chance and mess things up with the BG109 solvents, but maybe I change out oil twice on muffs to get it all out before a lake trip?? Any advice or ideas on what is happening here appreciated?
(3) Intermittent no start solved: Boat occasionally would not do anything when key engaged to start, but generally fired right up on 2nd attempt. Seller disclosed this problem and said he would jiggle the throttle remote control lever a tad and that seemed to always work. I figure it was the neutral safety switch going intermittent, so I have the part on order. Today after getting the hoses on and getting ready to do compression test with new plugs out,... no start. But this time no amount of key turning would get it to start. I had my electrician whiz friend over to help make the compression test easier, so he helped me trouble shoot the problem. No voltage at starter, ignition switch was fine and working good on his meter. So we found the neutral safety switch and bypassed the switch, but still no power at starter. We figured out the big black electric harness plug that attaches to aft side of starboard top of motor was the problem. It was loose, dry and a bit corroded inside, so some dielectric grease and plugging and unplugging it half dozen times was enough to get 12volts to the starter. Hope this helps someone else.
(#4) Other issues: I think the gas water separator filter I removed might be either original or from 2007 long block, it was rusty inside and chunks of rusty metal came out of it. The gas was a light brown color that I poured from the filter. I ordered a gas shaker siphon to siphon gas tank and already ran a can of BG 44K fuel cleaner while on my 6 day trip and am also adding the blue gas treatment to ethanol gas. I plan on running some non ethanol gas before winter to keep better gas in the carb, tank and lines for winter. I did not see any other filter in line to the carb, maybe I should install another small filter? The choke linkage is disconnected at carb on the 4 barrel endelbrock carb and guessing the 2007 shop that installed a new manifold could not figure out how to connect the choke, so have to figure that out. When getting distributor cap to go on, I noticed the distributor was loose and rotated a tiny bit. I moved it back where I think it was, but was not able to tighten down the distributor hold down bolt as it was tight. I suspect the hold down bolt is missing a washer and now will not totally tighten down. Not sure where my old timing light is, but I can find one. It took some cranking to start after the tune up work and sitting open over night, but I twisted carb a tiny bit clockwise a few degrees, gave a squirt of starter fluid and it fired right up. Maybe some links or hints on how to time it and I can find my light to get the timing right? Frigging old coil wire was RTV'ed into the coil, green with corrosion and took some time to remove the old RTV that had solidified into a thick putty like material. The new coil wire refused to stay in coil terminal, maybe cus I always glob some di-electric grease on them or maybe some RTV down inside still (?), so I used a couple huge zip ties to hold it down like I did last time I dealt with same problem on my subaru. Hoping I can get temp gauge to work after I get the thermostat housing to not leak. Temp gauge is fogging and I have a new one, but thinking it was not working as the metal grommets were blocked by RTV silicone. I was able to install a nice new front cleat today with an aluminum backing plate, stainless fasteners and 3m 5200 sealant.
(5) Yet to do/wish list: impeller kit, OD service, oil change, lube shifter and throttle linkage, figure out how to keep dash attached to brittle plastic, carpet removal, install EVA flooring, install pedestal captains chair, re-upholster and replace rotten wood on right side side board (rest of vinyl already done mostly), new receiver/speakers, buff and wax, inspect the risers and flappers for obstructions, finish trailer rebuild of new surge brake actuator, new bearings and drum brake backing plates, tires. Bellows and gimbal bearing done 3 years ago and throttle linkage as well. Anything else? Sorry for too much detail, trying to go through the boat and know it is good to go for a while and not get in trouble on the water.
I was able to do a lake test before the sale and then spent 6 days on Lake Powell for a shakedown trip visiting with friends on their houseboat where boat ran flawlessly. Seller inherited the boat from his dad 3 years ago. Seller's dad had a new v6 long block installed in 2007 due to a cracked block he knew about when he first bought the boat. Seller claims only 150 hours on the boat since the 07 long block (no hour meter). I got a good written history of repair receipts including the 2007 work that was done by a marine shop in Colorado Springs. According to the repair receipts of 07, the shop replaced the starter and alternator as they were frozen with rust and mentioned repainting pulleys due to rust and also flushed out fuel tank and some other things that made me think the original owner neglected the boat and let it fill up with snow melt/water or possibly sank it or something to rust out things(??), but who knows, boats rust.
I had time yesterday and today to replace the plugs, wires, cap, rotor, check compression, replace the thermostat, repaint the thermostat housing and figure out an intermittent no start as well as some other details and have a few concerns.
(1) not sure which thermostat I should be running as hard to find a merc manual and the ones I did find had conflicting info, 160 or 140 degrees (?). I choose the 140 kit as it seemed my vintage motor used the 140 (?). The thermostat housing and was a mess of rust so a few days back I cleaned it up and wire brushed it and applied a permatex rust preventative/primer and then some rust oleum black paint to the outside of housing. According to the receipts, the 2007 shop had installed a 160 degree thermostat so I am betting they must have been responsible for the black RTV sealer everywhere, on all the gaskets, the black O ring and on the threads of the 2 long bolts, one of which was partly stripped I discovered as I reassembled it today. They even had applied the RTV on the lower gasket which has the metal grommets that connect the ground from the housing/sensors to motor block. The temp gauge was not working I suspect due to the rtv blocking the ground. I was able to get motor started today and there is a small leak coming from top plate and bottom gasket where the long bolt had been stripped, it had some tension, but obviously not enough. I am hoping I can get next size longer bolts and find some good threads lower in the block, the bolts look short to my eye. And hoping I can get this to not leak without having to resort to a ton of sealer like the shop resorted to in 07. Any help with the correct thermostat and other solutions would be great to know? I have the housing with the 3 sets of hoses coming into it, the white plastic balls, I think it is called "standard cooling system design 1".
(2) Tune up: I installed OEM quicksilver cap and rotor, NGK plugs and sierra wires. I did a compression check (cold, but 80 degrees temp) before I installed the plugs as a baseline compression check. Pretty sure I had the original cap, rotor and wires as the rotor did not budge at all with all my weight bouncing on a 2 ft prybar and a 6x6 block as a leverage point. I read Merc glues the rotor on to the dist drive shaft for some crazy reason, mine was glued and rusted on and took an hour of a dremel tool and small chisel to carefully remove the rotor. Cap and rotor end had some corrosion and my feel is the boat really never got too much use, so these parts were never changed out. Shop in 2007 installed NGK plugs, but neglected to use anti-seize and it was another challenge to remove them without damage, but all good.
But the compression test was a let down as number 2 cylinder, the first one I tested, read 85 pounds cold on my old gauge. The rest were better: #1/112, #3/120, #4/115, #5/120, #6/130. I went back to retest the #2 hoping maybe it was dry and would come up to the others after I finished the others, but it dropped to 57 pounds, yikes! I squirted some motor oil in the #2 cylinder and retested, it stuck at exactly same 57 pounds. I am reading this to mean low compression is not due to rings, but likely in #2 valves. I did a cold test as I had not even started it yet after the tune up and thermostat replacement, so I am guessing all these numbers will go up some amount once warm. My 40 year old KD brand gauge might not be accurate?? But I have no idea why the compression on #2 would first read 85 and then drop to 57 a few minutes later??? I know the boat ran very well for 6 days in lake powell, so thinking I finish up with oil change, impeller and fuel system clean up and then go out for another trip this season and maybe some time on the water will help clean up something interfering with the #2 valves. Then recheck the compression before I winterize the boat and decide if I need to pull the heads for valve work this winter. I have always liked the BG products, maybe I run some of their 109 engine flush before I change out oil and add some MOA to fresh oil? I hate to take a chance and mess things up with the BG109 solvents, but maybe I change out oil twice on muffs to get it all out before a lake trip?? Any advice or ideas on what is happening here appreciated?
(3) Intermittent no start solved: Boat occasionally would not do anything when key engaged to start, but generally fired right up on 2nd attempt. Seller disclosed this problem and said he would jiggle the throttle remote control lever a tad and that seemed to always work. I figure it was the neutral safety switch going intermittent, so I have the part on order. Today after getting the hoses on and getting ready to do compression test with new plugs out,... no start. But this time no amount of key turning would get it to start. I had my electrician whiz friend over to help make the compression test easier, so he helped me trouble shoot the problem. No voltage at starter, ignition switch was fine and working good on his meter. So we found the neutral safety switch and bypassed the switch, but still no power at starter. We figured out the big black electric harness plug that attaches to aft side of starboard top of motor was the problem. It was loose, dry and a bit corroded inside, so some dielectric grease and plugging and unplugging it half dozen times was enough to get 12volts to the starter. Hope this helps someone else.
(#4) Other issues: I think the gas water separator filter I removed might be either original or from 2007 long block, it was rusty inside and chunks of rusty metal came out of it. The gas was a light brown color that I poured from the filter. I ordered a gas shaker siphon to siphon gas tank and already ran a can of BG 44K fuel cleaner while on my 6 day trip and am also adding the blue gas treatment to ethanol gas. I plan on running some non ethanol gas before winter to keep better gas in the carb, tank and lines for winter. I did not see any other filter in line to the carb, maybe I should install another small filter? The choke linkage is disconnected at carb on the 4 barrel endelbrock carb and guessing the 2007 shop that installed a new manifold could not figure out how to connect the choke, so have to figure that out. When getting distributor cap to go on, I noticed the distributor was loose and rotated a tiny bit. I moved it back where I think it was, but was not able to tighten down the distributor hold down bolt as it was tight. I suspect the hold down bolt is missing a washer and now will not totally tighten down. Not sure where my old timing light is, but I can find one. It took some cranking to start after the tune up work and sitting open over night, but I twisted carb a tiny bit clockwise a few degrees, gave a squirt of starter fluid and it fired right up. Maybe some links or hints on how to time it and I can find my light to get the timing right? Frigging old coil wire was RTV'ed into the coil, green with corrosion and took some time to remove the old RTV that had solidified into a thick putty like material. The new coil wire refused to stay in coil terminal, maybe cus I always glob some di-electric grease on them or maybe some RTV down inside still (?), so I used a couple huge zip ties to hold it down like I did last time I dealt with same problem on my subaru. Hoping I can get temp gauge to work after I get the thermostat housing to not leak. Temp gauge is fogging and I have a new one, but thinking it was not working as the metal grommets were blocked by RTV silicone. I was able to install a nice new front cleat today with an aluminum backing plate, stainless fasteners and 3m 5200 sealant.
(5) Yet to do/wish list: impeller kit, OD service, oil change, lube shifter and throttle linkage, figure out how to keep dash attached to brittle plastic, carpet removal, install EVA flooring, install pedestal captains chair, re-upholster and replace rotten wood on right side side board (rest of vinyl already done mostly), new receiver/speakers, buff and wax, inspect the risers and flappers for obstructions, finish trailer rebuild of new surge brake actuator, new bearings and drum brake backing plates, tires. Bellows and gimbal bearing done 3 years ago and throttle linkage as well. Anything else? Sorry for too much detail, trying to go through the boat and know it is good to go for a while and not get in trouble on the water.
. . . anyway the older design calls for either the 140 or the 160 T-stat and the newer design calls for the 160. Not sure it makes a ton of difference for a carbureted engine . . . See which works out the best and stay with it. Fuel injected engines are more picky about the t-stat and engine temperature, since the fuel injection is computer controlled according to the engine temperature. So, if you are running too cold, you will also be running too rich.