To All,
Thanks again to all who helped me with my shift cable repair. My update here includes my new headgasket story....
So I did the shifter cable without too much drama. We got the boat on the water and I noticed that it just didn't have the kind of power I'd expect. So I did a compression check. #2 and #3 cylinders were around 75 while #1 and #4 were within normal range. Sure enough, the head gasket was toast. I tore the engine down with my cousin and sent the head off for measurement and machining (with a 5-angle valve grind). They had to take .010" off to get it level!!!! Finally the boat goes like it should. It took us a few hours to r&r the head but the machining took about a week
Other snags I encountered along the way being new to Mercruiser repair: We forgot to reconnect the clear "overflow" tube from the fuel pump to the carb. The boat idled a little rough until I discovered this detail, now it is fine. The prior owner had a mishmosh of different sparkplug wires attached to the motor, now I have some high end Accel wires (yellow) and it looks good.
What else? I retrofitted a NAPA gold filter in place of the Quicksilver stock one. NAPA Gold or Wix, those are the only filters I use, call me picky. Changed the oil as I didn't know WHAT the p/o put in there. I went stock Merc oil (25w-40) with just a cap-full of Marvel's in there (hey, my '31 Ford still runs and that crap's been in there for years). I wired-in a depthfinder/GPS and a solar 12volt battery charger, bought a LOUD horn online, and will be switching over to all-LED nav light bulbs. Oh, and there is a USB charger where the cigarette lighter used to be.
Questions:
-Does someone make a high-flow air filter for the stock spark arrestor?
-Since the engine is a GM 4-banger, are there GM roller rocker arms out there that will bolt into the 3.0? How about ARP pushrods?
-Now I'm being silly but I'd like to get billet aluminum crank and alternator pulleys, but what type of compatibility is there between GM automotive stuff and the 3.0 marine engine...is there anything out there that would fit? Yes, billet pulleys are dumb but I like how they look. I think it'd be a riot to open the engine cover to show my buddies (who have Chrysler 454 V8's) my Mercruiser "Racing Version" 3.0 4-cylinder.
That's all for now. I'll keep everybody (who cares) posted!
Thanks again to all who helped me with my shift cable repair. My update here includes my new headgasket story....
So I did the shifter cable without too much drama. We got the boat on the water and I noticed that it just didn't have the kind of power I'd expect. So I did a compression check. #2 and #3 cylinders were around 75 while #1 and #4 were within normal range. Sure enough, the head gasket was toast. I tore the engine down with my cousin and sent the head off for measurement and machining (with a 5-angle valve grind). They had to take .010" off to get it level!!!! Finally the boat goes like it should. It took us a few hours to r&r the head but the machining took about a week
Other snags I encountered along the way being new to Mercruiser repair: We forgot to reconnect the clear "overflow" tube from the fuel pump to the carb. The boat idled a little rough until I discovered this detail, now it is fine. The prior owner had a mishmosh of different sparkplug wires attached to the motor, now I have some high end Accel wires (yellow) and it looks good.
What else? I retrofitted a NAPA gold filter in place of the Quicksilver stock one. NAPA Gold or Wix, those are the only filters I use, call me picky. Changed the oil as I didn't know WHAT the p/o put in there. I went stock Merc oil (25w-40) with just a cap-full of Marvel's in there (hey, my '31 Ford still runs and that crap's been in there for years). I wired-in a depthfinder/GPS and a solar 12volt battery charger, bought a LOUD horn online, and will be switching over to all-LED nav light bulbs. Oh, and there is a USB charger where the cigarette lighter used to be.
Questions:
-Does someone make a high-flow air filter for the stock spark arrestor?
-Since the engine is a GM 4-banger, are there GM roller rocker arms out there that will bolt into the 3.0? How about ARP pushrods?
-Now I'm being silly but I'd like to get billet aluminum crank and alternator pulleys, but what type of compatibility is there between GM automotive stuff and the 3.0 marine engine...is there anything out there that would fit? Yes, billet pulleys are dumb but I like how they look. I think it'd be a riot to open the engine cover to show my buddies (who have Chrysler 454 V8's) my Mercruiser "Racing Version" 3.0 4-cylinder.
That's all for now. I'll keep everybody (who cares) posted!
