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Engine replacement in searay 200 sport

D

Dieter

Advanced Contributor
I'm in the process of purchasing a 2005 sea Ray 200 sport that has a cracked block due to lack of winterization by previous owner. 20 ft boat dry eight approx 3200#, current engine is 190 hp , 2 bbl 4.3 l V6. I think the 190 hp will be under powered, so weighing options between going back in with a 4.3 upgraded with a 4 bbl or upgrading to a 5.0 as replacement engines are about equal cost.

My my goal is to have a fun, reliable boat that can tow a skier, tube, or just cruise -that is an upgrade from my curretnly owned 1991 Sea Ray 170 w 3.0 (love the reliability, fuel efficency, and ease of maintenace but really underpowered).

Any advice on if the 4.3 w 4 bbl (assume approx 220 hp) will be enough or upgrading to 5.0 is worth the effort is greatly appreciated. If anyone has first hand experince with 4.3 to 5.0 swap and can comment on needed changes that would be great. I'm a very experienced boat/automotive and industrial mechanic, from what I can see to 5.0 would require:

moving front motor mounts forward (there is room)
gear ratio swap in alpha one gen II
new prop pitch


will exhaust risers mate up to the y?
throttle linkage problems
wiring harness.

Thanks
 
I would go with a 5.7 liter if you are willing to go up to a V8........I also believe the V6 and V8 motor mounts are in the same location.

Craigslist has full drop in motors from time to time.......
As long as the current motor is carbed and NOT efi then no changes in the wiring harness.......just switch the setting on the tachometer as they typically will work for 4, 6 and 8 cylinders buy changing the setting switch on the back.

If you have the money try to find a alpha one gen II upper gear case with a 1.5:1 or 1.47:1 ratio and just swap the upper to get the proper gear ratio.

If not then change prop pitch....

V6 and V8 use different manifolds but the "risers" Elbows are the same.

Throttle linkage should work if the same style carb is used but if you go from a 2 bbl to a 4 bbl then additional mounting hardware (mercruiser specific) would be needed. Again a complete drop in from another boat would be best.
 
Agreed. More power--properly propped--means BETTER gas mileage. A 350 weighs the same as a 305 yet has lots more power.

Jeff
 
That's 'cause you needed to add some prop pitch.

Jeff

PS: Those over-powered muscle boats get fantastic gas mileage IF they cruise at low speeds (low being 20 mph). I've seen 6 mpg achieved on some!
 
Of course not............and for the record it was a typo he meant 4.3 not 4.7..........Bondo was making a joke........


Way back in the day.... 250, 283, 302, 307, 350, 383, 409, 427, 454, 502 etc... they did not use a metric measurement.........
 
Way back in the day.... they did not use a metric measurement.........
Click to expand...

Ayuh,...... In the US of A,......

Just think, if the US of A had gone metric back in 1963, when my teacher said it was gonna happen,.....

I'd probably have 1/3rd to 1/2 as much of My money, invested in Tools,....... :rolleyes:
 
Gents,

Thanks for for your input and replies. I agree with the rational behind going back in with a 5.7, but in the interest of keeping it simple I think I'm going to stick with a 4.3.

I'm considering either a reman or newGM long block from either Jegs, Center State Engine, or Michigan Motorz. Any feedback on these suppliers? I think all three offer a reman with a bigger cam that claims 262 hp with a 4 bbl. cam specs are as follows
Lunati Hydraulic Flat Tappet
Duration @ .050'' Lift: 218 Intake / 218 Exhaust
Lift: .457'' Intake / .457'' Exhaust
Lobe separation: 108
anyone have experience with this cam or 262 hp engine. I don't want to sacrifice hole shot as prime interest is in water sport towing , top end speed is of secondary consideration. Plan was to use an Edelbrock Performer intake and 1409 600 cfm carb. I know this will need to have jets and metering rods tweaked ( was reading .089 jets on primary and secondary, .068 X .057 step up rods work well) , any other install hiccups with this set up or comments ? Thanks again for for your help!
 
I assume that's an aluminum intake? If so, you MUST have a closed cooling system or corrosion will eat things up.

That cam is pretty mild, so it should not be an issue.

Jeff
 
I didn't realize the aluminum intake would get eaten up ? Is this a problem in fresh water lakes as well? If so would probably just stick with the cast iron intake then. Thanks for the advice
 
Not so.. the marine aluminum manifolds have bronze inserts where water passes thru.....recently did some research on this....marine specific aluminum intake manifolds....the vortec v8's have them.
 
Personaly if you are going replace the block i would go with replacing it with exactly what came out of it.
Dont go trying to get more power and messing with the carb calibration.
Purchase a direct replacement marine long block and use all the original oem parts you can from the original motor.
It will run as it should and require no additional modifications.
No additional modifications equal a full fun boating season.

One example is, i put a direct rplacement marine long block V8 in my friends ski boat in 2001.
It ran perfect for 10 years with no additional modifications other than normal wear and tear items.
In 2011 it developed a blown head gasket...there fault (over heated).
Redid the upper with reconditioned (exact same casting numered heads) and fresh gaskets.
New starter and rebiult the carb. The boat is still running great. It now has over 1400 hours of very hard use.

I could have tried to put in a higher horsepower motor such as a 383 over 300 hp but i would had to have messed with the carb and most likely would still be messing with it.

Direct replacement and no fuss no muss....


Just saying.....
 
I've come full circle and decided to upgrade to a V8. I am going to go with a 4 bbl 5.0 figuring I will be around 250 hp, I think the 300-325 a 5.7 would put out would be pushing the drive reliability. I do realize for a swap getting a used complete engine would be easier, but I would prefer to spend my money on a new base engine(Since the boat only has 38 hrs on it I would prefer to swap existing components to new motor).

I wanted to make sure I fully understood the drive ratio situation.Both of you reccomended if financially possible swapping the drive upper rather than just changing prop pitch to compensate for the gear ratio, but said if that was not an option to repitch the prop. Will I run into a mechanical issue if I swap the prop and leave existing low hour drive alone? To me it seems if I us a 23" pitch prop with existing 1.82:1 I would have the same effective pitch per engine rpm as a 19" pitch with the 1.47:1 V8 drive. I've seen other 5.0's with a 1.62:1 which is even closer. Am I missing something here or will two wrongs be able to make a right.

Second question is on ignition modules, I have read that the 4.3 module will work on the v8 despite the fact that mercruiser makes different modules for these applications- can you confirm this will work? Do you know if the 4.3 distributor with cap, rotor and the trigger wheel fo V8 installed will work as well?

thanks again for your advice and sharing your experince
 
I do not know the answer to using a v6 module or a V8 module. I would wonder why they would be different part numbers if that is so......

Try it if you want but if it does not work or it does work let us know!!

The only difference if it works would be the timing advance curve and rpm's the max (full advance) happens.....

DO your research and make sure this wont be an issue.......
 
The 5.7 TKS (MIE) version of that engine is a 2BBL rated @ 260 HP. About the same HP but higher torque as the 5.0 with the 4bbl. Absenting ethanol induced problems in a old hull (read gas tank) mine has been brutally reliable since 2008. I had a FWC kit added @ initial install and am running a 260 Tstat in sea water.

Also @ 260 HP vs 300+ HP, lower specific engine output normally results in a longer life engine.
 
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To me it seems if I us a 23" pitch prop with existing 1.82:1 I would have the same effective pitch per engine rpm as a 19" pitch with the 1.47:1 V8 drive. I've seen other 5.0's with a 1.62:1 which is even closer. Am I missing something here or will two wrongs be able to make a right.
Click to expand...

Ayuh,..... What if ya need a 21" prop with the 1.50:1 ratio,..??

The 5.0l is run with the 1.65:1 ratio in huge heavy hulls that need a bigger motor, not little 20'ers,...

Standard easy to find props run from 15" to 23", ya need a drive ratio to work within that window,... on yer hull,...
I have read that the 4.3 module will work on the v8 despite the fact that mercruiser makes different modules for these applications- can you confirm this will work?
Click to expand...

The 4.3l module is used for Blown V8s, Forced induction motors, Turbos, 'n Super Chargers,....

The T-Bolt bare distributor body will work with V8 dressin's,....

I'd just stuff another 4.3l long block in it, 'n throw on a 4bbl. carb for atad over 200hp,....205, 210hp,...
 
To all thanks for your advice, and sorry for the late reply.

Bondo, just curious I assume your comments on the 4.3 ignition module are based on the total advance the module has?

On on the drive ratio, a good friend has a 2005 20 ft Four Winns BR with a factory 5.0 MPI that came with q 1.62 ratio Alpha drive on it. Since this is similar in size , weight , and beam I was thinking it was comparable to my Sea Ray. With a 19" pitch 3 blade aluminum prop he tops out at 45-50 mph I guess from the gear ratio.

Will let you know how all this comes together when I get back up and running. Thanks again for all your help
 
..."marine aluminum manifolds have bronze inserts where water passes thru"

Ah, but what if it's NOT a marine manifold, which is probably the case (since auto manifolds are far more common)?

Jeff
 
fastjeff said:
..."marine aluminum manifolds have bronze inserts where water passes thru"

Ah, but what if it's NOT a marine manifold, which is probably the case (since auto manifolds are far more common)?

Jeff
Click to expand...

Buyer beware...................
 
Bondo, just curious I assume your comments on the 4.3 ignition module are based on the total advance the module has?
Click to expand...

Ayuh,.... I ain't done it, just read 'bout it,....

For the total advance, 'n it's curve,...
 
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