mercruiser 190

[tinman565]

Hi...what can you guys tell me about the mercruiser 190 (224cid) engine? Please don't hold back....give it to me straight. ...lol. All info and opinions are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I believe this has the aluminum block.

 

[Bondo]

Re: mercruiser 190

Ayuh,... It's known far,+ wide as the 470... You Don't want it....

 

[achris]

Re: mercruiser 190

Hi...what can you guys tell me about the mercruiser 190 (224cid) engine? Please don't hold back....give it to me straight. ...lol. All info and opinions are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I believe this has the aluminum block.

Correct... The 224cid ran from 1976 to 1989. It had many different labels, 470, 485, 488, 3.7, 165, 170, 185, 190.

Essentially a 4 cylinder aluminium engine block with a Ford 460 cylinder head, pistons, crank and rods. It was freshwater cooled, because of the ali block, and different horse-powers were achieved by using different exhaust manifolds and different carbs.

They suffered many afflictions.

Mercury used an outboard style charging system with a stator under the harmonic balance and a water cooled voltage regulator. These were a problem because bilge water would damage the stator or the magnets in the balancer. Most people upgrade the charging system to a belt driven marine alternator.

The design included an integrated engine water pump, but the shaft seals on the end of the camshaft were prone to failure, and not easy to replace.

The original heat exchanger was a 3" unit, which only just kept the engine cool enough. Merc later changer it to a 4". Overheating was a problem because of the open deck design of the cylinder block. A lot of head gasket problems.

A lot of the parts are now NLA (No Longer Available).

Other than those items, they were a strong engine, with quite good fuel economy. If you find a good one, that has had as many of the design flaws removed as possible, they can be quite a good engine.

Chris............

 

[zbnutcase]

Re: mercruiser 190

Great engines-with a few minor quirks,charging system being the biggest problem area. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one-but I also work on boats for a living.

 

[stonyloam]

Re: mercruiser 190

I believe the 190 is the 4 bbl version. Quite hard to find, lots of guys would like to have that engine. Chris pretty much hit the nail on the head. Some new parts are NLA, but usually can be found on e-bay. I kinda like mine, but that's me.

 

[nola mike]

Re: mercruiser 190

i have one, and don't think you should be too scared, with a couple of caveats:
1. charging system. it's about $300 to upgrade to an alternator system. i'm still using the original system at 25 years. not unreliable, and really not a whole lot more to replace than an alternator. non-issue, imho.
2. shaft seals: haven't had to deal with yet. again, from what i've read doesn't seem like a huge deal.
3. parts: yup, a lot are NLA from merc, but i haven't run into anything that i haven't been able to find aftermarket or on ebay.
4. with a 4" heat exchanger, mine runs cool all day. i've heard issues with the 3", but again, it's easy to find a used 4" for $100-200.

i got mine for about $1k less (or 25% discount) over what a similar boat would have cost with a 4.3l. it was well cared for, which i think is FAR more important in a 20+ year old boat than what it's powered with--every neglected boat is expensive to repair. besides, keep in mind that even though the exhaust/intake manis/risers/etc are more expensive, you only have to replace one of them. plenty of power (my 19' 170 hits 50mph), great fuel economy (5-6 mpg cruising for me).

 

[tinman565]

Re: mercruiser 190

Ok..just curious about everyones opinions, thought, or stories. I personally havent heard a good thing about these motors. Seem like more trouble than they are worth. So whats the most reliable inline 4 ?

 

[Don S]

Re: mercruiser 190

The only 4 cylinder IO engine available since the early 90's is the GM 3.0L engine.
There are no others availble. All the others have stopped production.
Kind of narrows it down doesn't it.

 

[bomar76]

Re: mercruiser 190

Ok..just curious about everyones opinions, thought, or stories. I personally havent heard a good thing about these motors. Seem like more trouble than they are worth. So whats the most reliable inline 4 ?

The people stuck with them try to make up all sorts of excuses and stories about the wonders of the 470 in all it's evil incarnations.
Mercury Marine finally gave up the ghost on that abortion and moved on.
Your only 4 banger alternative is the enigine that both preceeded it and out lasted it....the 3 liter.

 

[stonyloam]

Re: mercruiser 190

havent heard a good thing about these motors. ?

OK here is a good thing, none of em cracked this winter.

 

[solar7647]

Re: mercruiser 190

OK here is a good thing, none of em cracked this winter.

That is the best thing!!!!

If you take care of them they work great!
I love mine...I was going to upgrade this year to 4.3L because the parts that are NLA, but decided to rebuild instead. The parts that are NLA can still be found pretty easy its just the cost is going up.

As listed...they have issues but every motor does and the issues can be fixed easy.

 

[crazyinkc]

Re: mercruiser 190

I had a 3.7l 170 in a 17ft Baretta and it was a fun boat. I hit 43 on the GPS with a 21p prop with me and my two boys (700lbs) plus a cooler full of pop and it was pretty good on gas. The main problem I had with it was the charging system. The regulator was shot and it dumped 18v to the battery. I found a bracket kit for the alternator and a new marine alt from that famous auction site. I now have a 140hp 3.0 in a 17ft tri-hull EBCO and it will do 39 with a 19p but I have to take the wife and 3 dogs with me now. I think the 3.7 had better torque out of the hole but I am happy with what I have now.