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480Mercruiser 180hp

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Larry Bush

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"I am looking at buying a boat

"I am looking at buying a boat. The man says it's a 480 Mercruiser, 180hp. Is there such an animal? I don't seem to find it anywhere. I know nothing about I/O motors. I know this is vague, but any help would be appreciated."
 
480 should be a 3.7l mercruise

480 should be a 3.7l mercruiser 4 cyl. 4bbl. I won't dog them as much as I'd like but they do have some known troubles and are very expensive to fix. Take it to a professional and have it thoroughly checked out before you buy.
 
"it has supposedly been recent

"it has supposedly been recently rebuilt, motor and lower unit.

also, I read about the "alpha and bravo" lower units..how do I know which it has?

the boat was built in 1984, I think. Would that match up to the engine year?"
 
The Bravo was never used on an

The Bravo was never used on an engine that small and did not come out until much later. Unless it has been updated you have a Gen I Alpha.
 
"out of curiosity, what are so

"out of curiosity, what are some of the "known" troubles. I'd like to be able to ask the man if he's had any of these troubles, and also what to expect or look for should I get the boat."
 
"Yeah. Make damn sure that go

"Yeah. Make damn sure that goof-ball alternator deal is working PERFECTLY. They sell conversions to "regular" alternator setups, but they aren't cheap.

Jeff

PS: What the hell was Mercruiser thinking when they dreamed up that insanity?"
 
"well, since I don't know

"well, since I don't know what you're talking about, I can't comment. I do remember the guy said it had a spare altenator that comes with it....wonder if there is a reason for that. What is on it, as opposed to a "regular" altenator? Maybe I can look and see which it has. The spare that goes with it was in his shop, I saw it, at a glance, but it looked like a regular altenator."
 
"If you see an alternator, it&

"If you see an alternator, it's been added. The other quirk is the coolant reservior/manifold. The integrity of the mating gasket is key to keeping that engine alive. If the gasket is compromised it leaks coolant into the cylinder, usually #4. Then it detinates. This is most likely why it was rebuilt the first time.

Rick"
 
"OK...now, with carrying on my

"OK...now, with carrying on my ignorance, and please forgive all of the questions, but ya'll are helping me alot...

This particular engine is a "V" engine. From looking on other locations trying to find information, it seems the other 3.7's are inlines. I'm getting really confused. Is there such a thing as a 480 and is it 180hp?"
 
"OK..I do know the motor is a

"OK..I do know the motor is a V6 because I have seen it. Now, from what I can tell so far, being a V6 it is either 3.8L or 4.3L. It seems, from what I have read, the 3.8 comes with a 4bbl and the 4.3L comes with a 2bbl. I didn't remove the breather so I don't know which it is. Evidently this gentleman doesn't know what he has, or I'm missing something in all my ignorance, which is highly possible.

I was wondering if the "problems" mentioned above were associated with the inlines and not the V's?"
 
"There was never a 480. They

"There was never a 480. They did make a 180 hp 488. This is the only 180 hp engine Mercruiser built in or around '84. It's the 3.7. It was later called a 180LX (87-89).

They also had a V/6 229 ci 185 hp in '83 and '84.

E-mail pics, we'll tell you what it is.

Rick"
 
"since the 488 was an inline 4

"since the 488 was an inline 4 and this is a V6, can I assume that it is not a "480 anything"? And since they don't have a 180hp in anything else, can I also assume it's not 180hp either?

I'm just trying to get to the bottom of this whole boat deal, and, I'd rather go "armed" with information than be ignorant and do something stupid. (not that I'm not capable of it)

Also, my mistake above...the boat is an '85, not an '84."
 
"If you can find the engine se

"If you can find the engine serial number that would help. If non of us can figure it out from there, mercruiser surely could."
 
Engine serial # will be locate

Engine serial # will be located on a tag on the bellhousing bolt flange of the engine directly above the outside starter bolt. Get me the # and I can chase it for you.
 
"Just an FYI, my father's

"Just an FYI, my father's boat, an 83 Glassmaster had the 480 inline 4 that was freshwater cooled and the FWC heat exchanger took a dump twice on him and he didn't use that much. That motor was notorious for that so make sure the FWC is OK too..his rotted out and got coolant inside the motor..ugh."
 
"As posted apart I have recent

"As posted apart I have recently installed the Smart Craft Monitor and although the instrument is going to be replaced because it gives a false alarm reading, the rest of the measurings work fine. RPM, oil pressure, fuel flow and used, engine temp. etc.

To my surprise the temp. reading on the SC screen shows 158° F while the old analogic instrument read 175° F.

Same thing happens with the revs - while the regular meter says 3000 the SC Monitor shows 2670 RPM
I believe the SC readings to be more reliable because the information is picked up directly from the computer that manages the fuel injection & other basic functions.

This is to say - don't trust too much the accuracy of analogic gages.

Maybe its a dumb advise but having your temp gage recalibrated might show that your actual engine temperature is below the readings you are now getting."
 
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