I have been reading my Seloc Repair manual, Merc Operator's manual, and comparing to what is in my boat (1997 Bayliner 2050CL, 5.7L 2-barrel carb). While the Seloc manual gave me the impression that there was a good deal of changes between the 1997 and 1998 models, from what I am finding, it seems that some of the 98 changes were possibly phased in 1997. I welcome any comments or clarifications on these engine changes.<br /><br />Here are some things I found:<br /><br />Seloc manual shows, for 92-97 Alpha seawater system, a 6 hose thermostat housing, while what is on my boat is a 4 hose housing which looks like the 98-01 picture. The two "missing" hoses went to the exhaust elbow/risors. <br /><br />Seloc manual has 8 degree BTDC timing, but my engine decal and ops manual says 10 degrees. The Seloc shows 10 degrees for carbed 5.7s in 98-01. I am assuming that the right one to use is 10 degree. <br /><br />Seloc manual shows in 98, that Merc went to new plugs, and larger gap. (.035 vs .045) Mine does have what the Seloc manual says for 97. I suspect that this was driven by a coil change (high output). If this was just a coil/plug/plug wire change, if my coil ever went, I might consider to upgrade to this. <br /><br />Please Note: I am not having any issue at this time, just learning about what I have, and becoming familiar with what types of adjustments/tune-ups I might have to do in the future. Thanks.
