my first boat and I need some help

[ericb269]

ErHello guys so I finally got a boat. Its not a beauty by any stretch but it is mine and it floats lol. I have a 1979 Bayliner admerality with a 470 mercruser and a 3.7 motor. I took it out for the first time and it ran great for 15 min then it started to get hot. I immediately shut it down and put it back in the trailer. After reading a bit I pulled the outdrive off and found the water pump was worm out. No big deal I'll replace it but the question I have is when I pulled the outdrive there was water in the main shaft area where the bearing is pressed in the boat. What should cause water in this area and how do you lube that bearing up. Also the other question I have is there is a small amount of water in the oil... I have also read up on this here is why I am confused. I have checked the cooling system and it is my losing water nor is there any fluid coming from the weap hole on the engine water pump. Can you guys help me shed some light on both f these issues.

 

[Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1]

Re: my first boat and I need some help

There is a grease fitting (zerk) on the starboard side of the gimbal housing (outside the boat) at approximately the 4 O'clock position.



Some newer gimbal bearings are sealed units and you can not grease them. I like to grease it while the drive is off, so you know when to stop pumping.

Read this older thread on the water in the bellows issue:
http://forums.iboats.com/mercruiser...-u-joint-bellows-bellows-not-torn-308956.html

 

[achris]

Re: my first boat and I need some help

Just to add a little 'enlightenment'... The engine is the '470'... It's 170 hp 4 cylinder 3.7 litre. The drive (if it is still the original first installed in the boat) is a Mercruiser '1' drive (known as an 'MC-1' for short)... The label on the drive that says '470' is the engine designator. When Merc ship engines they came with a packet of decals (they did in the old days, not any more, cheap bastards!).... The decals are the engine size, and the engine serial number. These are for the installing mechanic to put on the drive (indicates engine size that is in front of the drive), and in the owners handbook (serial number decal)....

Mercruiser have, over the years, used engines from Renault, Ford, GM, Hino, VM and a few others (and even made their own, your 470), from 60 horsepower to over 1,000 horsepower. They also produce drives to suit the various engines and special applications. Something like 30 different drives, all this various different ratios.

So, when you post we do ask to tell us as much as you can about the engine/drive you're working on. It's a bit like calling a mechanic and asking him to fix your Ford. First thing he's going to ask is 'Which particular Ford are you referring to?'

The thing you can do to help us help you as quickly as possible it to include the following in your opening post in any thread you start...

Engine is 470, serial number (xxxxxxx); drive is MC-1, serial number (xxxxxxx)...

Cheers,

Chris......
For more information go to the 'stickies' at the top of the forum and have a look though some of the wonderful information provided over the years by Don S....

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: my first boat and I need some help

Sorry, but the gentleman you bought the boat from sold you the boat in bad faith. He knew it had problems.

I too had a 470 that dropped a thrust bearing into the oil pan. I never reassembled mine.

The 470's run fine when they're in good condition, but there have been serious problems with seals, cooling and the stators. Due to these engines having so many earth shattering engineering changes, they're just not easy to get right.

And you cannot just buy a used 140 engine and drop in your hull. It's 470 or nothing. The engine, outdrive and transom are all exclusive to this one motor.

Sorry for your misfortune.

 

[achris]

Re: my first boat and I need some help

Sorry, but the gentleman you bought the boat from sold you the boat in bad faith. He knew it had problems.

No argument there... Good people don't sell 470s in bad shape without giving the buyer a 'heads-up'...

I too had a 470 that dropped a thrust bearing into the oil pan. I never reassembled mine.

The 470's run fine when they're in good condition, but there have been serious problems with seals, cooling and the stators. Due to these engines having so many earth shattering engineering changes, they're just not easy to get right.

But, once they're right, they're pretty damn good...

And you cannot just buy a used 140 engine and drop in your hull. It's 470 or nothing. The engine, outdrive and transom are all exclusive to this one motor.

Ah, you see this is where I disagree with you... (in the nicest possible way )

The 470 ran from 1976 to 1989. During that time Merc made a change to the inner transom plate design, at the start of the 'R' drives. The rear engine mounts were 14" apart up to 1982. In 1983 the new transom plates had a rear engine mount spacing of 10" (and still do).

If we talk apples and apples (anything pre 1983), then any Mercruiser engine would fit onto the rear engine mounts (and that was the main criteria). Of course going from an in-line engine to a V engine would also require side mounts in the hull, but that's a hull issue, not an engine issue. The only thing that really varied was the exhaust pipe and the drive ratio. The drives were all the same apart from the upper gears and that was to obtain the different ratios. The 470 series of engine (there were about 7 different variants!) ran with a drive ratio of 1.84:1. You could quite easily fit a Mercruiser 165 (6 in-line) up to that transom plate and it would bolt up perfectly. and as long as you changed the exhaust pipe, no problems running it with a slightly larger propeller. The 165 ran a 1.65:1 ratio. Same with one of the V8s, as long as you changed the exhaust pipe (in this case to a Y-pipe) and were able to find a propeller with a higher enough pitch, no problems. Or you could also change the drive-shaft housing (or just the gears inside) to give you the correct ratio and everything would be fine. The 5.7l V8 ran 1.50:1 and the 5.0l V8 ran 1.65:1... The only other exception for the V8s was the input yoke. The in-line engines ran a different length to the V engines (and I can never remember which way it goes One is 8" and the other is 9-1/2")

Now, exactly the same applies for any combination of drive, engine and transom plate for 1983 and on .... The bonus here is that the 4.3l V6 ran the same ratio as the 470, 1.84:1. So as long as you got the exhaust Y-pipe with the engine, it's a 'drop-in' replacement... Even a Gen II era engine will bolt straight onto an '83 to '90 inner transom plate. There might be a few small 'gotchas' but nothing 'show-stopping'....

Chris.....

 

[ONEGA]

Re: my first boat and I need some help

Chris, this is a good piece of info about pre and after '83 transom plate I haven't heard of before.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[stonyloam]

Re: my first boat and I need some help

changing the impeller on a regular basis (every couple of years) is an important part of 470 maintenance. Your water intrusion is likely due to a leaking driveshaft bellows. Raise the outdrive all the way up and look for cracks in the large upper bellows. See if you can determine if it is water or antifreeze in the oil. Water could be condensation, antifreeze would be more of a problem. Since this is a new to you boat, you should do a compression check and cooling system pressure test (borrow the tools from autozone) to check the headgasket. Locate the weep hole in the lower starboard side of the engine waterpump and make sure it is clear. If that hole is plugged antifreeze can leak into the crankcase.