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New here and to boating have a few questions

joey1117

New member
hello all i just got my first

hello all i just got my first boat and im new to the boating world i have been on jet skis for a long time so the mechanical part is nothing new but the boat is a 17' sea sprite with a 140 mercruiser i/o my questions is can someone tell me some of the basic things i should check out like the oil/gear lube in the outdrive or just somethings to look out for and basice maint. this is the third boat i have owned in three weeks (bought all out of faith that the seller would not screw me ....was wrong)boat one was a bayliner jet boat had something wrong in the transmission nerver got it on the water sold it for half of what i paid for it boat two was a hydro-sport bass boat guy said needs a new floor so i spent count less hours putting in a new floor then put it in the water and at half throt. the motor almost came off ....transom was bad took it to a dealer to find out it was a 3000 repair sold the boat (told the buyer the problem) lost bad on that deal so now i have this boat took it to the water and everything seems ok but i would like to check things out before i put my family on it the guy i got it from said the boat was in really good running cond. and it never got above 145 deg. on the temp. let me know how to check the oil in the o/d please and anything else that may halp a new guy out. almost thinking i was not ment to own a boat ;)
 
"Welcome Joe:

I am in Hamil


"Welcome Joe:

I am in Hamilton, OH. You know that we have courts in Ohio for just what has happened to you.

Get boat insurance for the STATED VALUE and not the BOOK VALUE of the boat. If you paid $5,000 for it, insure it for BOOK VALUE and the NADA book says it's only worth $2,500, that's what you'll get if it's a total loss. If it's insured for the STATED VALUE, you'll get that minus any deductible. Split the value of the boat and trailer at 90% boat and 10% trailer if it's 10+ years old.

The 140 is a decent 4 banger. Treat it like a car engine; keep an eye on the gauges and don't ignore them, give it good service and care and she'll run well.

The outdrive has 2 screws for gear oil. The drain is on the port (left) side, looking at the rear, down low towards the front of the bullet nose. The vent screw is near the top on the same side. Remove it w/the drive in the down position; the oil level should be just to the bottom of the opening. Stick your baby finger in the hole and if it has oil on it the level is good. The oil is good if it is not creamy; that's water infiltration that needs immediate attention before you use the boat.

The same goes for the engine oil. If you check the engine oil today and it is at the full level and then check it again after a day on the water and it is a quart too full; that's water infiltration that needs immediate attention before you use the boat.

The engine temp. should ALWAYS remain within a few degrees of the thermostat rating. If it rises above the temp, let's say above 143 F., more than 5-10 deg. at hot idle or at WOT Wide Open Throttle and stays there or keeps getting hotter, the outdrive water impeller probably needs replaced. Don't let it go; fix it now or overheating will cause all kinds of problems.

Before starting the engine, run the blower 3-5 mins. to purge any explosive fumes from the bilge. Run the blower continually while the engine is running.

Make sure the bilge pump works. If you run the boat on the water all day w/o raining, there should never be more than a pint of water in the bilge. If there is more than a pint but less than a quart of water, look for leaking hoses. If there is more than quart on a regual basis, there may be a leaking bellows that will split wide open and sink your boat.

The bellows are under the outdrive and protect the drive shaft, the shift cable and one is for exhaust to go thru the prop hub; that one won't sink you. Look at them w/a flashlight. They should be smooth and not checked, cracked or dry rotted like a tire. If they are in that condition, get them ALL replaced ASAP. The engine water inlet hose is under there w/the bellows so the same goes for its condition.

Never fuel the boat w/passengers on board and always run the blower 5 mins. after fueling.

Go on eBay and look for that engine year and model Operators Manual. Engine and outdrive service is another list of DOs and DON'Ts. Get a factory service manual for that year for more info.

Grand Lake and Indian Lake are shallow and full of tree stumps. Watch the depth gauge and trim the prop up as needed. Happy boating."
 
"hello and thanks for answerin

"hello and thanks for answering some of my questions,i know we have courts but i believe you get what you sow i took the first two as a big learning curve in this boating world.i had a guy email me the manuals (thank you very much)for the motor and a few outdrives im not sure what od i have as that id tags are missing .also not sure what temp term. i have i guess i could buy a new one so i would know.the motor has no water in it i have checked that working on the only problem i have found on the boat so far ,the trim gauge does not work but after some reading on here i found how to trace it down and found the wires to limit switch is all broke so i am going to replace that and see if that fixes it
thanks again
joe"
 
"If the wires are broken outsi

"If the wires are broken outside the boat then it's major surgery; removal of outdrive and bell hsg. You may be able to patch them.

How the trim/tilt works

Before you tear anything apart or replace wiring and switches, test it out; first by visual inspection by pulling back and forth on the wires while operating the switches and then test with a meter. At the commander switches, the red wire will always have 12 volts. The green wire gets 12 volts when the trim toggle is held down. The blue wire gets 12 volts only when the toggle is held up or the trailer switch is pushed in. The purple wire is part of the limit switch circuit.

If the switch voltages are as they are supposed to be then go to the trim/tilt pump assy. and make sure the purple wire connector (single wire) and the blue wire connector with two blue wires on one side of the connection are not corroded or loose. These are the trim position and limit switch wires. Pull them apart and inspect; they should be clean and tight; reconnect them. If necessary, trace the wires to the front of the engine near the slave solenoid. One wire is grounded near there and the other is connected to a terminal. If you don't get a voltage reading at the terminal junction, apply 12 VDC to see if the trim gauge moves. If it does, check for voltage back at the trim pump connections. If no voltage there, apply 12 VDC there to check gauge movement.

Next check the three wire connector (RED, BLUE & GREEN) at the pump assy. This plug can vibrate loose and cause your problem. Pull it off and see if the pins are clean and not corroded; reconnect it.

The RED wire in the plug sends 12 volts from the pump assy. to the toggle up/down and trailer up switches. The BLUE & GREEN wires bring 12 volts from the toggle trim/tilt and trailer switches to the two solenoids on the pump assy.

The GREEN wire goes to the DOWN solenoid while the BLUE wire goes to the UP solenoid.

Did you check the switches with an ohmmeter? The trim/tilt switch is a 2-way switch and will show continuity only when it is toggled in each direction between two of the wires.

Up toggle connects the RED wire to the BLUE wire. Down toggle connects the RED wire to the GREEN wire. The TRAILER UP switch also connects the RED wire to the BLUE wire.

The OD trim limit switch will only send voltage to the trim/tilt switch in the upward toggle position if the OD limit switch is below the adjusted trim limit that keeps the OD being out of the water.

To test the limit switch circuit, lower the OD to the down position and slowly raise it with the trim toggle up until it stops. Then measure the distance between the trim cylinder attaching bolts. If the distance is approx. 22 +/- 1/4 inches, then the trim limit switch is adjusted properly and the commander trim toggle switch is working in the up/down mode.

Go to the trim/tilt pump assy. and make sure the purple wire connector (single wire) and the blue wire connector two blue wires on one side of the connection are not corroded or loose. Pull them apart; they should be clean and tight; reconnect them.
Next check the three (RED, BLUE & GREEN) wire connector at the pump assy. The RED wire in the plug sends 12 volts from the pump assy. to the toggle up/down and trailer up switches. This plug can vibrate loose and cause your problem. Pull it off and see if the pins are clean and not corroded; reconnect it.

The BLUE & GREEN wires bring 12 volts from the switches to the two solenoids on the pump assy. The GREEN wire goes to the DOWN solenoid while the BLUE wire goes to the UP solenoid.

Disconnect the trim/tilt assy. wires from the battery and then check each of the nuts and studs on the solenoids for clean and tight fittings. Each solenoid has three wires and the buss bar connected to it. The bases of them have a black ground wire and a small blue wire to one and a small green wire to the other.

On top of each solenoid, the large BLUE wire from the pump motor attaches to a large copper stud with the solenoid that has the small blue wire at the base while the large GREEN wire from the pump motor attaches to a large copper stud with the solenoid that has the small green wire at the base.

The other copper solenoid studs are connected together with a copper buss bar. One of the two studs will also have a funny looking 110 amp fuse attached to the bar. The large RED wire from the battery connects to the 110 amp fuse. This large red wire is the power for this buss bar. A small RED wire attached to the bar stud sends 12 volts to the switches which in turn sends the 12 volts to the solenoids which turns on the pump motor.

Important: if the studs on the either solenoid are dark and not like a clean penny, especially the BLUE wired solenoid, this solenoid is failing due to age and/or a loose bottom copper stud nut. The dark color comes from heat generated inside of the solenoid by the contactor because it is arcing like welding similar to points wearing out. Change the solenoid.

Cleaning Trim Limit Switch & Trim Position Sender

For the trim/tilt problem you are experiencing, if the wires from the limit switch (port side) and trim position sender (starboard side) are in good condition, they (Switch or sender) can be disassembled to clean out the old hardened grease. SCRIBE the sides of each one and the OD for a reference mark before removal. Clean out the old grease and pump fresh Mercruiser 2-4-C grease thru the zerk fittings before reinstallation. Clean the small brass contact points with solvent and a pencil eraser until shiny; repack w/ 2-4-C grease and reinstall by aligning reference marks."
 
"ok i think i have found the p

"ok i think i have found the problem im sorry i dont know the names of the parts yet but i will try my best to discribe them. on the o/d one each side of the motor there is a round part that you can adjust i took them apart and i would say that they are some kind of limit switch as ther are two brass contactsinside (i think they round part covers the gimble bearing?) anyhow those wires are gone they are held in the brass parts with set screws so i put new wires on and now im not sure how to get them back through the transom. are these for the trailer up switch?the tilt up and down work great just no idea where it is at because the gauge does not work , i have read what guy posted and trying to follow it (thanks for the info)but the wire that are missing needs fixed they were there but all dry rotted and the bare wires were touching each other. were could i get new parts (what ever they are called)
thanks
guys this forum really helps out alot
joe"
 
It requires a magician w/o rem

It requires a magician w/o removing the OD and bell hsg. They come in sets; rt. rear (starboard) is trim indicator and left rear (port) is trim limit. Setting procedures are in my last post. BUY a manual.
 
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