V4 Parts interchangability?

[reelfishin]

I picked up three motors today, one is a 25" shaft 135 hp V4 that has a bad miss and low compression on one cylinder, the other is a 20" shaft 115 hp in pieces, but with a new powerhead that caught fire due to an electrical short, and the third is a 25" shaft length 150 hp V6 that is tired but still runs.
My goal is hopefully to make one good 20" shaft length V4. The 135 runs but has a dead miss, the 115 had caught fire right after the new powerhead was installed due to a pinch wire and a fuel leak, and the V6 is just a well worn motor with an internal exaust leak, and several leaky gaskets. All are VRO motors, the 135 is the only one with a tag still on it. The 115 is an olive green in color. The 135 was originally white.
My question is if I reseal the 115 power head, can I use all the 135 hp bolt ons?
I need to end up with a 20" V4 motor, so I assume that I need to also salvage the mid section from the burnt 115?
Will the carbs and everything else work on the 115? I do plan to toss the VRO too. I prefer to premix for peace of mind, this boat's last motor died due to lack of oil due to a leaky hose.
The lower end on the V6 looks the same as the 135, but the 115 don't look as heavy?
The 115 has 155 psi compression on all 4 but I don't want to chance a leaky or burnt gasket from the fire. That motor burned pretty good and the power head is black and covered in soot. It doesn't appear to have gotten so hot that it damage the aluminum, but I don't trust the gaskets and seals. It actually looks like it would run as is if I replaced the wires and fuel hoses. The carbs, flywheel and starter are gone from the 115.

 

[rvrbum]

Re: V4 Parts interchangability?

hey im looking for a 20" lower unit if you happen to have a spare yer not planning on useing mine was on a 120hp v-4

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: V4 Parts interchangability?

You have an interesting task ahead. You can easily check the parts catalogs. I would determine the exact year of each engine and sit down on the Bombardier website and compare parts from their online catalogs. EPC.BRP.com. Or, just take everything apart and see what matches. If the base gasket is the same, you should have no problem swapping powerheads. You need to watch for everything else, like the matchup on the shifter mechanism under the lower carb and the number of splines on the driveshaft/crankshaft. The 135 has a mechanical shift lower. It is possible that the old green 115 is an electric shift lower. If that is the case, you will have to use the 115 control box. If you transplant the electrical system, make sure the 115 block has all the proper drilled holes and brackets to accept the 135 components. Neither were originally VRO engines. Some things from the 135 may bolt on: you won't be able to use the 135 bubble exhaust since your 115 block is not machined for it, but the heads and carbs may work fine.

 

[Dhadley]

Re: V4 Parts interchangability?

Lets start with model numbers of what ya got. There never was a 25" 135. There are some powerheads you can swap around but we need to be careful of what year powerhead and what year mid section they are.

On the V4's -- if there are no model numbers available start by looking at the lower pan mounts on the front half of the block assy. The mount on each side with a rubber mount in it. Are they bolted on or part of the actual casting?

 

[reelfishin]

Re: V4 Parts interchangability?

The 115 is not electric shift, it has cable hook ups just like the 135. The 135 looks to have the same lower unit as the V6. The actual castings of each power head look to be the same, my concern is performance wise, are they ported the same and all. I'll have to take the 115 apart to reseal the power head and the 135 mid and lower unit look to be in better shape.
Ideally I'll be able to just install the 115 power head onto the 135 mid and lower and use as much of the 135's bolt ons as I can. I can't read the tag on the 115, it's pitted up and unreadable, the 135 tag is there but is heavily painted over. The V6 is a 1985 (E150TXCOS). That motor runs but is a long shaft, and has only about 70 pounds of compression left. It also has lots of leaks in the exaust around the mid section and the VRO pump is leaking. I also don't care to run the V6, too much weight and too much fuel usage. The lower unit on that motor has just been overhauled with all new gears, bearings, and seals.
If I don't use any parts from the V6, I'll probably rebuild that one for future use as it is.
What are the main differences from a 115 and 135? The block looks the same, the electronis look the same, and the pan and upper housing are similar. The mid section and lower unit are beefier looking on the 135, that more resembles the V6 than the 115. If the block and cranks are the same, can I machine the 115 block to take and work with all the 135 parts? In other words, if their the same displacement and the samecasting, I should be able to match the machining on the 135? Or, is it just as easy to just overhaul the 135 itself and find the parts needed to repair the 115?

The 135 is longer than the 115, but not as long as the V6, the V6 measures about 26 1/4" from plate to top of bracket, the 135 measures about 23.5", while the 115 measures only 21". I had assumed that the 135 was a 25" motor since I had measured the transom that it came off of, which measured an actually 26", it appears someone had the wrong motor on that boat anyhow. I stripped that boat for parts, so that doesn't matter anyhow.
I need to end up with a running 20" V4 anyway I can, no matter what HP it ends up, I don't care about the power, only that it runs good and is reliable.

 

[Dhadley]

Re: V4 Parts interchangability?

On the V4's -- if there are no model numbers available start by looking at the lower pan mounts on the front half of the block assy. The mount on each side with a rubber mount in it. Are they bolted on or part of the actual casting?

Slow down, relax. We know what you want to do and it can be done but we have to know what you have.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: V4 Parts interchangability?

I have to soak the tag clean from the 135, it's coated in heavy bottom coating or paint. It doesn't seem to want to chip off and I don't want to ruin the tag.
The lower unit on the 135 looks new, it's white in color and has a new prop on it, too perfect to have been repainted. The rest of the motor is slathered in heavy black paint. When I went to look at the boat it came from I was told that the motor was trashed, but was supprised how well it ran to get back to the ramp where we loaded the boat. I had checked the compression when I first looked at it, and the right lower cylinder had only 70 lbs of compression versus the rest at 120 or so. I rechecked it today on the trailer here and that cylinder is back up to just over 100 psi. I did a decarb on it and got it up to about 115, with the other being 119, 121, and 124. I'm wandering now whether or not I need to tear it down or not. It runs smooth and seem fine now on the ears in the yard, I may try it out on the parts boat just to see what it does?
Either way, I will still repair the 115, hopefully I have enough parts here to make a complete motor. The carbs and a cover are the only thing I may need to find, depending on how they faired in the fire.

The V6 will be parts mainly because I don't have a use for a 25" motor and it should be able to donate a lot of it's electronics and internal lower end parts.
The other option would be to convert the 150 V6 to a 20" shaft and rebuild that motor?

 

[Dhadley]

Re: V4 Parts interchangability?

Once more -- what about the lower pan mounts on the V4's?

 

[reelfishin]

Re: V4 Parts interchangability?

Both are pan mounts are bolted to the block casting.

I have another dumb question, I have been assuming that the burn motor is a 115 simply since the guy that sold these to me said so. How can I tell which powerhead it is? The cover and tag are gone, this could be just about any of the V4's. Would I gain anything going to the 135 heads on a 115 motor or should I just regasket the 115 heads? I think what I will have to start with is first getting a gasket set in hand, then a complete tear down of each power head. Then I'll simply need to reassemble it using as much of the 135's parts as I can.
I just don't want to end up with a motor that won't run or idle right because it has too big a carb set or the wrong electronics or timing. I have a tank that I plan to fill and let the 135 run first, I want to run it at part throttle for while to see what happens to the compression. The miss went away after the decarb. I used something similar to SeaFoam.
If I can run it for a while and it seems ok, I plan to give it a sea trial on the donor boat to see what it does. If it survives a good long test ride I may just use it as it is for the rest of this season. I will then concentrate on fixing the 115 by rewiring and resealing it and using the 150 for parts.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: V4 Parts interchangability?

The model number on the 135 is 135683G, the serial number is J0003033.
The 115 is not power tilt, but the 135 has a single piston tilt unit that sits sort of off to one side, it's factory but nothing like the 1983 motor that was on my boat before. The 115 power head looks to be the same basic block as the 135, the mounts are the same or at least both bolt on. There are only one set of mounts attached to the 115, the ones on the cylinder portion are missing. Those are bolted ontop of the side cover on the 135. The lower unit from the 115 is in better shape but is ligher duty looking than the 135 which has a chip on one corner of the anticavitiation plate. The 135 has individual coils, the 115 has each of it's four plug wires coming out from under the flywheel.
The exaust plate on the 135 is huge and balloons outward and has less bolts than does the one on the 115. The former owner said he believes that the 135 was a 1973 or 74, and that the 115 was older, but he wasn't sure. Other than some burnt wires, the 115 power head looks new and is super clean. It was stored away with oil filling the cylinders. The 135 has an intermittent miss now, it comes and goes at times but it does run and has decent compression. It has 3 new coils and one older one, but switching the coils makes no change. I removed it from the boat and have it mounted on a stand for now. I can run it on the stand.

Can I swap out this older tilt bracket assembly for a modern one?
Can I use the one from the V6?
Can I use the electronics from the 135 on what I believe is an earlier 115 powerhead?