Running OMC 400 without being at the river!

[ryankonen]

Help!

This is my first time posting and I just joined iboats. What a fantastic site. You'll have to excuse me for my stupidity but I just bought my first boat last year. It is a 1980 Seaswirl with a omc 400 outdrive. Beautiful little 4cyl chevy motor. Everything ran perfectly last year except for the shaft breaking on the wormgear for the tilt drive. I am going to replace it and the 12 volt tilt motor. It's original and looks like it has had water in it.

Anyways, I want to tune up the motor and would like to run it at home to do so. I have a barrel with the top cut off and I was wondering if I should put the lower unit in it or if I can put those ears on it? The guy I bought it from said that I can't do that. Can someone please help me out. Thank you

 

[perna00]

Re: Running OMC 400 without being at the river!

The ear muffs work just fine for running the engine, but I'd recommend the barrel trick if you were trying to run it higher than idle for a while.

 

[Part-time]

Re: Running OMC 400 without being at the river!

If you can't run it with the muffs on it I'd be really curious to find out why...
I ran mine a few times for very short period of time like that and had no problems, maybe I was just lucky.
I was told never to start it with the foot up because it can cause an air lock.
And welcome aboard. Post a pic of your boat, some of us have short attention spans and really like pictures

 

[ryankonen]

Re: Running OMC 400 without being at the river!

Thank you. I will try the muffs. The inlet is toward the bottom where all the holes are right? Do you recommend taking the prop off?

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: Running OMC 400 without being at the river!

Ear muffs are only for flushing for short periods of time really at low rpm. If you have a way to lower it into a barrel and get good results, then do it.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Running OMC 400 without being at the river!

Muffs are a no-go on a Stringer. They won't sit properly on the outdrive.

On the pivot point of your drive there are some covers, and it was optional to have one of them with a port to hook up your garden hose (see third photo from the top HERE). That's where you'll wanna' hook into.

 

[ryankonen]

Re: Running OMC 400 without being at the river!

I don't have that connection on my omc 400 sterndrive. It's sounding like I should put the lower unit in a barrel of water to run the engine long enough to tune up.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Running OMC 400 without being at the river!

^^^^ yes, that'll work better than muffs on a Stringer.^^^^

You can look for that adapter on ebay. I think all you have to do is replace the cover on the pivot point.

There is also a way to add a input up in the engine bay too. I think Superbenk has done that on his boat, but I can't find the thread anywhere.

 

[120_i/o]

Re: Running OMC 400 without being at the river!

I dont know where, or why you people think muffs wont fit, or work? I have ran my 400 on muffs countless times with no problems at all???? Need evidence? Look at youtube, there are tons of vids with people running these drives on muffs.

Yes ryan, the inlet is where all the holes are, and No you dont have to take off prop.

 

[ryankonen]

Re: Running OMC 400 without being at the river!

Thank you everyone for all of the input. I am loving this website with these forums. My only problem is seeing me as only a cadet while all of you are Lieutenant's. I appreciate all the knowledge! I am already getting excited for boating season to get here.

So I have another question and I know I am in the wrong category here but I was working on my navigation lights and when I pull the switch out halfway my pole light comes on and when I pull the same switch out all the way only the navigation lights on the front come on. Shouldn't they all be on when i pull the switch all the way out? I think my switch is no good. I am having so much fun working on my boat, I know it's an old boat but it serves my purpose just fine. My wife pulled me waterskiing last year and my boys had a blast out on the river. If any of you have a good old fishfinder for sale, this cadet is interested. People tell me my old Hummingbird LCR4 is outdated. The transducer broke and I think I would rather just replace the whole unit.

THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE FOR YOUR ADVICE.

 

[120_i/o]

Re: Running OMC 400 without being at the river!

<--------CADET! lol

 

[southkogs]

Re: Running OMC 400 without being at the river!

...the inlet is where all the holes are, and No you dont have to take off prop.

Negative Ghost Rider. The water intake on a stringer is the screen area on the lead edge trim tab (just aft of the prop itself). You can get some water in the drive via muffs, but not enough to run on very much - mainly because of how the screens sit. You don't have to take the prop off ... but with a hose, muff clamp and a spinnin' screw, life might get a little exciting behind the boat.

I dont know where, or why you people think muffs wont fit, or work? I have ran my 400 on muffs countless times with no problems at all???? Need evidence? Look at youtube, there are tons of vids with people running these drives on muffs.

Easy there Tiger. YouTube is probably not gonna' override the manuals - no matter how successful folks are in the 5 documented minutes. If I understand the Stringer right, the impeller has to be submerged to draw water properly. Pumping water through the screens is not going to drive enough water up into the system to cool it for a substantial amount of time (manual says five seconds with no water can screw stuff up) because you can't get a closed flow - you lose too much water. Stringers came with an optional fitting to attach a garden hose up above the impeller. Shootin' the water in there allows the system to flow properly to the circulating pump on the engine. If you don't have the adapter - you can probably get one off ebay - or like I said, somewhere in this forum Superbenk has a work around.

Ryan - if you decide to dunk the drive in the barrel, that'll work as long as the impeller (basically on top of the lower unit) is under the surface of the water.

 

[ryankonen]

Re: Running OMC 400 without being at the river!

Wow,

Lieutenant Southkog

Sounds like you have your @!*% together! Okay so let me get this straight, I can either use the adapter which I have found one for sale or I can go with my first idea of putting the lower unit in a wine barrel full of water. I kind of like the wine barrel idea since I have a lot of them laying around from my business of building wine barrel furniture. wallawallawinebarrels.com

Anyways, I will make sure I have the lower unit completely in the water and keep it full. I think I will wait till spring though so I don't have to worry about winterizing it again.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Running OMC 400 without being at the river!

Sounds like you have your @!*% together!

You're kind ... but too easily impressed. Believe me, I've had to get to know the Stringer I bought over the last couple years. I'm not that mechanical and have had to learn from the folks on these boards and my manual. Lotsa' readin.

BTW - I wouldn't recommend to anyone to intentionally buy an OMC Stringer. But, now that I have one and have gotten to know it a little - I kinda' like the system. It's got a couple of unique features that are big plusses. But it will make a mechanic outta' ya'.

Okay so let me get this straight, I can either use the adapter which I have found one for sale or I can go with my first idea of putting the lower unit in a wine barrel full of water. I kind of like the wine barrel idea since I have a lot of them laying around from my business of building wine barrel furniture. wallawallawinebarrels.com

Anyways, I will make sure I have the lower unit completely in the water and keep it full. I think I will wait till spring though so I don't have to worry about winterizing it again.

Submerged should be fine. Hopefully Howard Sterndrive (listen to that dude, Superbenk and NWRedneck about Stringers) will pop in and confirm what I just said and that you're okay submerged. I like the hose hook up, but it's not the only gig in town. With winter in full flow, I'd leave it until after the thaw too.

BTW - Your site looks nice. I really like the stools

 

[120_i/o]

Re: Running OMC 400 without being at the river!


Ok, here ya go, page 50 right out of the manual I dug out today just for this thread. All it says is to use low water pressure, and no high rpm.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Running OMC 400 without being at the river!

View attachment 130640View attachment 130641View attachment 130642
Ok, here ya go, page 50 right out of the manual I dug out today just for this thread. All it says is to use low water pressure, and no high rpm.

Ah ... well like I said Ryan, you're too easily impressed. I stand corrected. That must be a difference in the 400's and 800's.

 

[ryankonen]

Re: Running OMC 400 without being at the river!

Thank you fellow cadet and don't worry Lieutenant southkogs we learn something new everyday. This thread is going to be really helpful to a lot of people in the future. This just confirms my idea of putting the lower unit in a barrel of water because they want low water pressure anyways, so it would work just fine at low rpm's as long as the lower unit is completely submerged.:redface:

 

[boobie]

Re: Running OMC 400 without being at the river!

If you can get that adapter, buy it and install it. It's the handiest thing you can have on a stringer for flushing and tune ups. I used them for quite a few yrs when I still worked on stringers. Just don't forget to put the cap back on when you're done as the mtr will over heat