WOT for 2.3l ford OMC

[jcoelho]

What is the suggested WOT for a 2.3liter Ford OMC (FourWinns Freedom 170)? I have a 17 pitch prop and it runs at 5500-5800 rpm at WOT. The tach only goes up to 6000 and sometimes the tach seems out of calibration - sometimes sticks at 3000 when I turn engine off. It once read past 6000 at half throttle...help is appreciated. Thanks.<br /><br />jcoelho@hotmail.com

 

[Boatin Bob]

Re: WOT for 2.3l ford OMC

Book says WOT RPM's should be 5200-5600. I would suspect either bad connection or the tach itself. It looks like for the 2.3 the tach pulses come off the negative side of the coil. If you could borrow or buy a cheap automotive portable tach you could attach it to the coil and see what you get.

 

[jcoelho]

Re: WOT for 2.3l ford OMC

Boatin Bob,<br /><br />thanks for the reply. I did find the WOT in my Seloc manual to read 5200 - 5600. I must have missed it before. I'll check out the tach as you suggested. Another question - my tilt guage gets stuck on up all the time even when the drive is lowered. Will the tilt input mechanism adjustment on the drive fix this? The book says to lower the drive, loosen the two screws on the "dial" located on the starboard side of drive, turn the ignition key on and rotate the "dial" until the guage reads down. Thanks for your help. What book did you discover the WOT RPM's? Where can I get the original engine owners manual?<br /><br />Jeff

 

[Boatin Bob]

Re: WOT for 2.3l ford OMC

Jeff...over the years I've changed that trim sender many times, it has a spring loaded arm on it that follows the drive up and down but it eventually leaks and the variable resistor inside gets corroded and then you get erroneous readings on the gauge. You can try loosening the 2 mounting screws but there isn't much adjustment there, you will most likely have to replace the sender to make it work. I have 1988 and 1989 original OMC manuals. You didn't say what year yours is but keep an eye on Ebay like this one 1986 Cobra for around $6...good deal Cobra Manual

 

[jcoelho]

Re: WOT for 2.3l ford OMC

Thanks Boatin Bob. 1989 FourWinns 170 Freedom with 2.3l Ford 4 cylinder, Cobra drive - in great shape. I adjusted the sender a bit and it appears to work better. If I need to replace, does it come apart and have wire connections inside or do I cut the wires..or replace the whole wire harness. Please excuse the ignorance (first boat). Also, where is the exhaust and "used" water supposed to exit the drive? The exhaust bellows looks good but warm/hot water is draining out and dripping on the underside of the bellows and upper drive unit. This may be due to not having the drive all the way lowered when using the muffs but just wondered exactly where the water is supposed to drain. She also idles at 1000 or slightly above in neutral. Is this normal or too high?

 

[Boatin Bob]

Re: WOT for 2.3l ford OMC

If you need to replace the sender, you remove those 2 screws, the wire actually goes right through the transom plate to a 2 pin plug of which you remove the individual wires from the plug as it will not fit through the transom hole.<br />The new sender will come with a molded in rubber grommet that seals the hole in the transom shield and then you just insert the wires into the connector. Exhaust on these normally comes out through the prop hub however some of the after market exhaust bellows actually have slits in the bottom to help with backpressure. 1000 RPM's in neutral is way too high, these things should be 600-700 in gear, too high will normally making shifting much harder and you should be hearing/feeling a big clunk when going into gear which is hard on the drive.

 

[gregs]

Re: WOT for 2.3l ford OMC

I also have a 1988 2.3 liter ford motor. Was wondering if you have a temp gauge with #s on it and if so, what does it read? Mine is like a fuel gauge. it rides toward the hot side. Its only got a 1/4 of the gauge and it would be right on the H for hot. I've ordered a new impeller. Even though my is missing like 2 1/2 of the vanes off of it, i would think the other 6 would push enough water to the intake to keep it cooler. I'm also needing to know if I have a thermostat and if so where is it. And one other thing. When I bring the motor up it sounds fine. But going down it kind of has a whinning sound. Is this normal ?

 

[tommays]

Re: WOT for 2.3l ford OMC

gregs<br /><br />you will get better help if you start you own post<br /><br />if you missing vanes i am supprised its not overheating badly and you need to find out were the vanes are because there going to block water flow<br /><br />tommays

 

[gregs]

Re: WOT for 2.3l ford OMC

Im sorry ,I was hoping to here back from the original post since he has same engine.