Mercruiser 165 hp IL6 on a 76 Glasstron

[santana21]

Hello,

Not sure if this is the correct place to ask this but here goes.

I am considering purchasing a 76 Glasstron with a 165 hp Mercruiser IL6 motor. The following number is on a sticker on the valve cover 4438213. The tag is silver and reads Mercruiser Stern Drive serial number.

Is this the serial number for the engine or the drive?

What is the opinon of this setup? Good motor, runs forever, prone to problems ect. ect?

What should I be aware of before purchasing a boat with this setup? The motor is clean and looks to be all original. The hour meter on the boat reads 685 for what thats worth. 1 owner.

Thank you in advance,

Jim

 

[DukesFin]

Re: Mercruiser 165 hp IL6 on a 76 Glasstron

What is the opinon of this setup? Good motor, runs forever, prone to problems ect. ect?

Well, I've got the L6 and I love the motor. Most people tell me it's built really well, (not a mechanic), but it's nice to hear anyway.

Runs forever? NOTHING lasts forever, but that question goes along with the next one about being prone to problems...

MAINTENANCE is the key to longevity. Now, you might be a maintenance freak, but was the previous owner?

Anyway, I know I'm not much help but I thought I'd throw in my two cents and get this bumped back up to the top for you.

Good luck no matter what you do!

 

[ziggy]

Re: Mercruiser 165 hp IL6 on a 76 Glasstron

The tag is silver and reads Mercruiser Stern Drive serial number

i'd think that its the drive serial number since that's what it says it is. why it's on the valve cover, i can't answer. it should be on yer drive. + the seirial # would be under the 165 sticker too i think. yer engine seriel # would be above the starter on the block.

What is the opinon of this setup?Good motor, runs forever

that sums it up. it seems to be a tried and proved setup.

before i got mine, i had a compression test done on the engine, and a pressure vac. test done to the drive. also check the drive lub for anything other than lub. ie, water, metal flakes, chips etc. i did this prior to a test drive, + after. i wanted to see no difference. ya could check the rubber parts. they'ed be getting old and in need of replacement. this includes the bellows, shift cable, exhust bellows, (though i don't think the exhust bellows is as crittical as the other two which are very critical), ya can see the water hose going from the drive up to the boat too, see that it is servicable too... on a test drive, keep an eye one the temp. might give a clue as to if the impeller is doing its job. check anything that does work. ie try all switches, gages, trims, etc. on the test drive, give it a hard run. see what it does. issues may show up after a hard run.

lastly, i crawled underneath quite a few boats prior to buyin. you'd be amazed at what the bottom of boats look like. i even had one dealer thyin to sell me a cobalt that had a crack in the bottom of the hull.....i didn't get that one. the dealer wanted to know if i wanted a test drive it. nah thanks......

i've liked this set up and am on my second 165 hp mercruiser w/ a model 1 drive.

hopefully others will give ya better idea as to what to be checking.....

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Mercruiser 165 hp IL6 on a 76 Glasstron

Those and their 4-cylinder cousins are about as bullet-proof as you can get, as long as properly maintained. I would suggest a complete tune-up, fresh water pump in the drive, all new fluids, grease the gimbal bearing and U-joints. Also check for rot where the front motor mount lags into the boat, and thoroughly scrutanize the bellows.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Mercruiser 165 hp IL6 on a 76 Glasstron

Runs forever? NOTHING lasts forever

ya got me there df. that'd be true for sure.

MAINTENANCE is the key to longevity

yep, that'd be the ticket for sure as to makin it last as long as possible....good points df.....

 

[ziggy]

Re: Mercruiser 165 hp IL6 on a 76 Glasstron

Also check for rot where the front motor mount lags into the boat

that's exactly why i'm on my second boat..........

 

[santana21]

Re: Mercruiser 165 hp IL6 on a 76 Glasstron

Thanks for the comments/info!

I have researched the gimbal bearings and u joints. Does checking/lubricating these require the removal of the drive?

If the boat is not in water and hooked up to muffs is there any way to see if the bellows are watertight?

Jim

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Mercruiser 165 hp IL6 on a 76 Glasstron

Jim,

My dad bought a Mark Twain 18ft boat in 1966. (I was 13)

It had a Merc 150hp 230 cu-in GM L6 ( literally the same as the 165)

He never had the head off the engine since new.

The only thing that went wrong with it was the water pump... he didn't change the lower unit raw water pump for 10 years and in JUL 2005 I spun the coupler. (It had never been replaced....and the alignment hadn't been checked/set until I checked it!!!)

The head had never been off the engine from 1966-2005!
It's amazing that the engine still ran! It still had 120-140 psi compression!

The engine was getting a little low on oil pressure at idle though. Dad passed away in 1997. I used the boat from 1997 to 2005 when I got the Four Winns.

I f I had kept it I was going to completely rebuild/upgrade/trick-out the Inline 6. It's one of the best 6cyl marine engines out there.

It's also one of the longest run family of engines out there.

If you want more info on inline engines go here: http://www.inliners.org/


Regards,

Rick

 

[hoot]

Re: Mercruiser 165 hp IL6 on a 76 Glasstron

21, i have had this motor on a new 17.5 bowrider since 1978. it runs at 42-4400 rpms and gives me 40-45 mph. i have done my own maintenance, most of it easy to do. recently replaced all the bellows, gimbal bearing, and u-joints, not so easy to do. i don't think you can tell anything about the bellows on the muffs, but you can tell something about the gimbal bearing and u-joints. while NOT running, turn the drive and inspect the stretched side of the bellows for cracks and raise the drive and look at the stretched side. while running with the drive lowered, turn the drive and listen for a roaring sound. if there, could be bad u-joints and/or bearing. my unit has a grease fitting on the right side of the drive to lube the gimbal brg, but you have to pull the drive to get to the u-joints. if you get this boat, get a repair manual for the motor/drive, Clymer, Seloc, and Merc make them. The only thing that has repeatedly given me trouble over the years has been the ignition coil going bad. good luck.