Please name the Best Years and Models of (older) Mercruiser Motors and Sterndrives

[1923waterbug]

The one that if you treat it right will run forever!

Is there a work horse of the Industry, a Gold Standard of Mercruiser that is the best one ever made.

I know that there are truck motors and car motors and transmissions that can be said to be the best thing ever built.

What about these Mercruisers?

I'm looking at the 120 and the 165 and I think it's Alpha One Sterndrive, -- I'm looking at the older models that I can afford.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Please name the Best Years and Models of (older) Mercruiser Motors and Sterndrive

Ayuh,... Just Avoid the infamous 470,+ you'll be Fine....

 

[cbavier]

Re: Please name the Best Years and Models of (older) Mercruiser Motors and Sterndrive

well I'm not going to brag but just state the facts.


1986 Mercruiser
V-6 185 HP
Alpha One outdrive
650 + hours and still going strong.

Always Professionally Maintained every year by same and selling Marina.
So they know the boat and me on first name basis. I'm the second owner'
and I have had the boat 4 years. Like anything else Maintenance is most
important.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Please name the Best Years and Models of (older) Mercruiser Motors and Sterndrive

hi wb. you probably already know my feelings, but state them anyways...

Is there a work horse of the Industry, a Gold Standard of Mercruiser that is the best one ever made

i've read more than once of over elated owners regarding their 160/165hp L6's. i'm probably one of them. i'm on my 2nd 165hp L6 and i sure do like them. you even used the key word. their a work horse.... only thing i'll say bad about the inline six is that they are what they are. there's no beefing them up into some race horse... but they sure are torquey and reliable if treated kindly.. i could be prejudice though...

bondo's probably got it right though. anything other than the 470 version engine and ya'll be ok.

 

[1923waterbug]

Re: Please name the Best Years and Models of (older) Mercruiser Motors and Sterndrive

hi wb. you probably already know my feelings, but state them anyways... i've read more than once of over elated owners regarding their 160/165hp L6's. i'm probably one of them. i'm on my 2nd 165hp L6 and i sure do like them. you even used the key word. their a work horse.... only thing i'll say bad about the inline six is that they are what they are. there's no beefing them up into some race horse... but they sure are torquey and reliable if treated kindly.. i could be prejudice though...

bondo's probably got it right though. anything other than the 470 version engine and ya'll be ok.

If that L6 is in fact a 250 Chevrolet, and I'm sure that it is, does that mean that a common 250 Chevrolet Motor taken from a truck or a car will mount in and you just put the manifold and carb and mounts and everything from the boat version on it?

If it does then my 1972 230 GMC L6 might do the same thing and if so how about the 292 L6 GMC for trucks, it's even better and stronger still but the peripherals won't mount on this one, I'm sure.

They can all be run wide open!

These are all exceptional motors, no small wonder that everybody is having such good luck with them.

I know the 302 Ford and 350 Chevrolet are great Motors in the V8 Class, as is the 318 Dodge.

Do all of these car motors convert to boat motors?

Is that Alpha One the best bottom or do others stand out?

I got I/O fever!

 

[JustJason]

Re: Please name the Best Years and Models of (older) Mercruiser Motors and Sterndrive

As Bondo says, they are all good except for the 470.
Just be aware that the older they get the more parts get NLA'd. I havent' been screwed yet by NLA parts, but sometimes you have to get creative and resourcefull.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Please name the Best Years and Models of (older) Mercruiser Motors and Sterndrive

does that mean that a common 250 Chevrolet Motor taken from a truck or a car will mount in and you just put the manifold and carb and mounts and everything from the boat version on it?

no, not just any L6 will do from the way i understand it. the difference is that some of the L6 blocks do not have a mounting tab on the starboard ft. side of the engine. hence no way to mount a ft. engine mount of a mercruiser. like i say, also i gather from reading that the car engines are less likely to have the mount point for the mercruiser ft. eng. mount. trucks are more likely to have the right ear on the block for mounting the ft. mercruiser motor mount.
also the cams in the trucks are about right from what i understand for marine use. the car cam would need to be changed out for either marine or a truck cam.
yes, ya just marinize these blocks. brass core plugs. proper cam, bolt on all the marine peripherals..
obviouslyi've never done this. but i have read about it for the day it comes to haunt me...

how about the 292 L6 GMC for trucks

i've never heard about why. but mercruiser did offer the 200 hp 292 for one year only. why i've no idea. but it musta been a bad idea or they'd have continued doing it... a real mercruiser pro will need to let ya in on why it didn't work out for mercruiser.

jj is right too. there are getting to be some nla parts for the 165 L6. one that i can think off hand that would be a real bummer would be the shift interupt switch is nla. it's a must have item.... side note, there may be a work around that switch to keep from scrapping the whole thing for a $20 switch.. it's where jj's creative and resourceful idea comes into play i'm sure...

 

[Polar_Bus]

Re: Please name the Best Years and Models of (older) Mercruiser Motors and Sterndrive

A little off topic, but there was an issue with the late 90's GM Vortec's intake gaskets leaking and allowing antifreeze to weep into the engines. Was this also an issue the the Mercruiser type Vortec's as well? Just curious..

 

[JustJason]

Re: Please name the Best Years and Models of (older) Mercruiser Motors and Sterndrive

but there was an issue with the late 90's GM Vortec's intake gaskets leaking and allowing antifreeze to weep into the engines. Was this also an issue the the Mercruiser type Vortec's as well? Just curious..

Yes and no. Yes there was an issue, but that issue was caused by Dexcool. The orange antifreeze. Mercruiser only uses ethylene glycol, (the green antifreeze) in their closed cooled engines, and never had a problem.