Introduction, 1987 Capri bayliner size, ford 2.3L with ??'s

[honda400ex2003]

Yup loud as hell!!!! This is the number one reason I am ditching the 2.3L for the 4.3L. I want to cruise at 30 and be able to talk to people or listen to the radio. You just cant do this with the 2.3L.

Very very true... at least im not alone in the noise. cant hear the radio, cant talk, but you can cruise around and enjoy the boat so thats what matters to me at this point at least.

i am going to get some marine sound damping material and add it under my back seats and such to see if that will help out, but i wont be doing that for a while. im not going to spend a ton on it, even if i could get a couple of dB out of it, that would be helpful.

i also got this odd short to ground lately, every now and again when i turn my key, it wont do anything. i have to go back and shake the battery and it works then... really odd, as i have checked all of the connections, they are all tight for all of the battery and starting components. not sure if it has anything to do with the extra ground i put on it, or not. i will see if i can duplicate it again next time it is on the water.

its always something, at least it floats and drives decent enough for now LOL

steve

 

[honda400ex2003]

thanks for the opinion on the prop too, it sounds like a 21 is way out of the running LOL it would certainly keep the rpms down though.

even the 19 doesnt sound like a good idea, so i will have to take that out of the running and get myself a 17 pitch possibly just for cruising. I wont be doing any towing with that what-so-ever. i can change it on the dock if i have to but i wont run it to tow after the impressive work that the 13 did with us this weekend.

next year will be a busy to fix the boat up... that will be a nice summer time change and makes summer a bit more bearable. I love snowmobiling in the winter so i look forward to that 365 days a year. sorry all you summer lovers!

This year:
finish the tune up (still have to get a dwell meter and a timing light and waiting for my points, if they ever come)
make wires since i have the build your own kit
winterize it, both by running antifreeze through it and draining all of the plugs after i run it


next year:
new prop in addition to what i have and fix the one that still has 3 blades on it LOL (then i will have a 13, 15, and a 17 pitch)
want to add damping material for noise
recover all of the seats and fix the rotting wood in back
wakeboard tower
find a wakeboard
may try to put some new speakers in it
find a decent boat cover
make sure everything in the back area is sealed up tight

i guess that is it... time to just work on it with many plans in place. that should be all of my questions for now.

I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL OF THE HELP FROM YOU GUYS! I learned a bunch from this thread, hopefully others with the same boat can too if they stumble across it. maybe i will try to do some documenting on the sorta-resto on the boat, i will see how it goes. i will probably end up getting married next year too... this weekend is going to be the big proposal. so i will see how much is left over for the boat LOL

stay floating!
steve

 

[Speak]

i also got this odd short to ground lately, every now and again when i turn my key, it wont do anything. i have to go back and shake the battery and it works then... really odd, as i have checked all of the connections, they are all tight for all of the battery and starting components. not sure if it has anything to do with the extra ground i put on it, or not. i will see if i can duplicate it again next time it is on the water.



steve

Check the engine wiring harness plug on the port side. I had that same problem, loose connection!! start there. Main battery ground goes from the battery to the side of the engine bell housing. As long as that is clean and tight, should not be a problem. Either way, make sure all connections at the battery and motor are clean, tight and corrosion free. Additionally, sometimes the battery cables get rotted inside. Hope this helps

 

[honda400ex2003]

Thanks for the tips, I will check it out!

Steve

 

[Speak]

The idea for asking about the prop is that I want to be able to cruise and get good fuel range with it when I don't plan to ski. Things like cruising lake superiors shoreline next year on vacation will be when it's nice to have the lower rpms at 25-30 32-3500 or so rpms would be ideal if bet. I would think i can save a $100 pretty easy in gas by just switching pitches and having some cotter pins in my box. That's what a prop costs anyway lol.

With the 17 I can cruise at 25-26 mph at around 3500-4000 RPM depending on how many passengers. When I pin the throttle the speed jumps up to 35 and climbs to high 30's and then will kiss 40 under the right conditions. But again, I don't try to hit 40 much, just seams to much on the motor. Just waiting for something to pop --POW ya know, would be a total bummer.

 

[honda400ex2003]

It certainly would, that's how I feel with the 13 too. It's really screaming wide open. I am cruising 25 at 4k or more and listening to it just scream.

Steve

 

[Speak]

It certainly would, that's how I feel with the 13 too. It's really screaming wide open. I am cruising 25 at 4k or more and listening to it just scream.

Steve

Me thinks the 4.3 will fix that! Lower revs, less noise and more speed - sounds like a win win - be the fuel will be the same if not pinned all the time

 

[honda400ex2003]

hopefully!

what do you think that will run? 45-50 mph?

steve

 

[Speak]

hopefully!

what do you think that will run? 45-50 mph?

steve

Probably - I had a friend with a 1991 VIP that did the conversion and I remember him in around 50-55. He did have a 4bbl thou

 

[honda400ex2003]

well, finally got the parts installed at least after it has been sitting in my driveway for weeks waiting for the temps to cool off.

it runs but without a dwell meter and a timing light i cant go any further. I set the initial gap to be 0.016" per the manual but it just isnt right without the correct tools to do the adjustments.

it is quite rich/poorly timed right now and fouls out once it gets warmed all the way. it loads right up if it idles or i let off then get back on the throttle again a couple of times. i dont think i am up to the task of doing the timing in my driveway and setting dwell nor do i want to spend the money on a meter and a light when an experienced boat mechanic can probably do it rather quickly.

it will either wait until spring now or i will take it in for winterizing and a tuneup at that time i guess... i still have a little time to decide if i want to take it in this year or not. it would certainly be a good feeling to have it all done for the year.

thanks again for all of your help guys! it certainly runs better now than it did even running rich.

steve

 

[Speak]

well, finally got the parts installed at least after it has been sitting in my driveway for weeks waiting for the temps to cool off.

it runs but without a dwell meter and a timing light i cant go any further. I set the initial gap to be 0.016" per the manual but it just isnt right without the correct tools to do the adjustments.

it is quite rich/poorly timed right now and fouls out once it gets warmed all the way. it loads right up if it idles or i let off then get back on the throttle again a couple of times. i dont think i am up to the task of doing the timing in my driveway and setting dwell nor do i want to spend the money on a meter and a light when an experienced boat mechanic can probably do it rather quickly.

it will either wait until spring now or i will take it in for winterizing and a tuneup at that time i guess... i still have a little time to decide if i want to take it in this year or not. it would certainly be a good feeling to have it all done for the year.

thanks again for all of your help guys! it certainly runs better now than it did even running rich.

steve

Steve, I know i might get roasted for saying this by others but here goes. I never checked the dwell on my 2.3l Heres why. I far as i understand it the dwell is the time the points stay open and this time needs to be accurate to a degree so as to not overheat the coil. again from what i was told by others or what i have read. So with my 2.3L omc, just like yours, i would replace the points each year and set the gap. An then i would run her. Never had a problem in 4 years. I believe the dwell is more important on engines larger that 4 cylinders. The more cylinders the more that is going there......Just my opinion and what i did. This does not make it right. So please take it with a grain of salt. but just speaking from experience. As for you rough run when warm, make sure your choke is not stuck closed and that the carb is clean.

cheers,
stu

 

[honda400ex2003]

ah the choke, that is a good idea, the choke actuator doesnt work at all but i could have jammed it possibly too. i will have to check that out one more time as i didnt take the breather back off of it again after i got it started the first time.

After reading and thinking about the choke, it may be that as well... I had to adjust the arm twice to keep it running. im not sure if it was getting "wore in" or what but it was pretty annoying to have it die in front of my house and have to paddle it back to the dock from the middle.

thanks for the info! there is still hope of using it some more this fall.

steve

 

[bruceb58]

Steve, I know i might get roasted for saying this by others but here goes. I never checked the dwell on my 2.3l Heres why. I far as i understand it the dwell is the time the points stay open and this time needs to be accurate to a degree so as to not overheat the coil. again from what i was told by others or what i have read. So with my 2.3L omc, just like yours, i would replace the points each year and set the gap. An then i would run her. Never had a problem in 4 years. I believe the dwell is more important on engines larger that 4 cylinders. The more cylinders the more that is going there......Just my opinion and what i did. This does not make it right. So please take it with a grain of salt. but just speaking from experience. As for you rough run when warm, make sure your choke is not stuck closed and that the carb is clean.

cheers,
stu

First of all, it's the degrees the points are closed. It is very important to measure with a dwell meter. If it's too short, the coil won't saturate. If it's too long, the coil can overheat. You also need to reset the timing once you set the points.

A timing light and dwell meter are cheap.