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Merc inline 6 and out drive questions

J

JimA82

Regular Contributor
So I had a boat given to me, overall good shape but has not been ran for 5 years. I am just trying to get it to turn over, and got nothing. I removed the plugs and put a bit of oil in each cylinder and left the plugs out. No water in the oil that I can see, it was winterized when stored.

Couple questions. Does the drive have to be down for motor to turn over? IE safety switch or something? 2nd I cannot get the drive to drop down either way. One of the 3 control btns work but does nothing so guessing it must be the up btn? Heading out now to check fuses and see if that is the problem. I do have a Clymer shop manual the guy gave me, but it's like reading a dictionary.

The drive just says merc cruiser on it. Boats a 1976 with original engine.

I Rebuilt a Volvo AQ130 from the block up, which was a PIA, but is running really good. I am fairly handy, this one is just a whole new ball of wax. If I can at east get it to turn over, I can do a compression test and what not and see if it is worth saving.

Any info of where to start would be great, not finding a lot of info on this thing.

Thanks! Jim
 
Ok so there are 2 sets of wires coming from the drive. 1 set is hooked up to the solenoid, 1 purple 1 white. The other one was just hanging there not hooked up to anything but I will be danged if I can see where they go. They both have metal eyes on each end, 1 wire black the other has a purple sleeve on it. I did find a place that looked like 2 small screws were missing, but that would make these 2 hanging wires grounds I believe.

Any of that make sense?
 
A couple of questions what year and model are you working on ? Engine and drive serial number is even better...

the engine lock up could be the drive and u joints so i would take the lift cylinders off the outdrive and remove it that will determine if the engine or drive is frozen up. You can turn the engine with the starter or a strap wrench on the balancer, the drive should turn by the input or prop shaft.


i think this should basically be the wiring digram for the trim pump and switch https://www.justanswer.com/boat/3p9tn-find-wiring-diagram-trim-pump-single.html

where the diagram shows power coming from the battery most of the time ive seen this take 12+ off where the positive battery cable lands on the starter, ground is generally on the flywheel cover. This may depend on if your trim pump is on the same side of the boat as the battery.
 
Thanks you! Year is 1976 Drive # is 4453578 I didn't see any kind of metal plate on the engine, block # is 366855 There was another number on the other side but not on the block 62951 pretty sure it's a part number for the bracket.

Anyhoo a quick update, I was able to get the motor to turn over for a few times. Bad connection on the battery terminal. As for the drive, I am guessing it is the switch, btm btn makes noise but does nothing. Middle btn works randomly but does nothing. Top btn zilch. I think the wire with two leads is maybe for something this system doesn't offer? Automatic trim that I read about in the manual maybe? It has been hanging back there quite awhile, from the looks of it.

I gotta get the old gas out, change the oil & filter plugs as well. Distributer and points look good but will change at some point.

I reached out to the guy I got the boat from, but he has Parkinson's disease and can't recall it. Sad deal, he is a retired Sherriff and a nice guy! I saw it on FB and I showed him the boat I rebuilt, which is the same Reinell Tri hull I have with the AQ130 that boat was a mess. He had it listed for 1500.00 but he offered it to me for free, he just wanted it to go to someone that would take care of it. Kinda cool, and is so much better shape then mine was when I first got it. Rotten deck, crusty AQ130 with blown head gasket. But she's a runner now.

Only thing with this is I needed another boat like a hole in the head, but he wanted it gone and to a good home, couldn't say no..
 
JimA82 said:
Thanks you! Year is 1976 Drive # is 4453578 I didn't see any kind of metal plate on the engine, block # is 366855 There was another number on the other side but not on the block 62951 pretty sure it's a part number for the bracket.

Anyhoo a quick update, I was able to get the motor to turn over for a few times. Bad connection on the battery terminal. As for the drive, I am guessing it is the switch, btm btn makes noise but does nothing. Middle btn works randomly but does nothing. Top btn zilch. I think the wire with two leads is maybe for something this system doesn't offer? Automatic trim that I read about in the manual maybe? It has been hanging back there quite awhile, from the looks of it.

I gotta get the old gas out, change the oil & filter plugs as well. Distributer and points look good but will change at some point.

I reached out to the guy I got the boat from, but he has Parkinson's disease and can't recall it. Sad deal, he is a retired Sherriff and a nice guy! I saw it on FB and I showed him the boat I rebuilt, which is the same Reinell Tri hull I have with the AQ130 that boat was a mess. He had it listed for 1500.00 but he offered it to me for free, he just wanted it to go to someone that would take care of it. Kinda cool, and is so much better shape then mine was when I first got it. Rotten deck, crusty AQ130 with blown head gasket. But she's a runner now.

Only thing with this is I needed another boat like a hole in the head, but he wanted it gone and to a good home, couldn't say no..
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the purple wire you mention hoes to the limit switch in the diagram which would keep it from going up , you can jumper it out. Try jumpering the relays out to see if you get anything, that would remove any switch issues. Btw you will be lucky if its only the switch. Connect the black cable to a good ground before you diagnos as thats where it belongs.

Seriously nice the guy gave you the boat although he probably got the better of the deal....

the inline six you have is great just the whole set up is dated. If you like the boat and you really want to do it find a beat up rotten newer boat with a 4.3 and drop that engine drive in from pulleys to prop. While im sure you can get it to work, given the year of teh boat you may have trouble getting parts.just a thought given you ability to sweet talk boat sellers... maybe you can find another one with a relatively good engine and drive.
 
Thanks. I like the boat, but then I have one, so I will tinker with it and maybe give it to my son if it runs. And no I am not putting a lot into this, will see what we get and go from there. At this point I have nothing into it, plugs oil and extra are what they are. It's a shame as the guy put over a 1000 in upholstery about 8 years ago. There are also some records of what he had serviced over the years. Always winterized and oil changes every year, not that means a lot with an engine this old.

I saw the limit switch, I do not see anywhere to hook the wire up to but will look again.

And I guess it is not actually a "inline 6" from more research?
 
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JimA82 said:
I saw the limit switch, I do not see anywhere to hook the wire up to but will look again.

And I guess it is not actually a "inline 6" from more research?
Click to expand...

the limit switch wires will come through the tramsom housing I think just above the driveshaft. Youdont need the limit switch if you can keep track of the trim position in your head. Often times they get jumpered out when the switch dies.

Not sure what you meant by not actually an inline 6 ? Its a 6 cylinder engine right? I assumed it was a 250 ci 165 hp straight or inline 6
 
Dieter said:
the limit switch wires will come through the tramsom housing I think just above the driveshaft. Youdont need the limit switch if you can keep track of the trim position in your head. Often times they get jumpered out when the switch dies.

Not sure what you meant by not actually an inline 6 ? Its a 6 cylinder engine right? I assumed it was a 250 ci 165 hp straight or inline 6
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I don't know, when I typed in inline 6 all I got was info and images for outboards? It is a straight 6 165 hp. The switch does have 2 wires going to it.

I talked to a guy that worked on it back in 95. He said the same thing jumper it and see what I get. He also mentioned that the tilt motor is probably seized after sitting for so long. I am going to get back in there tomorrow weather permitting, and try jumping a few leads and see what it does. He also mentioned I could take the top of the tilt motor off a bit and hit it with some WD40 and move the brushes around see if it loosens up. Worse case I will need to buy a new one, if I can find it. Aftermarket seem to be available.
 
Quick update, finally got back to this thing. So I hooked a garden hose to the supply side for water, just before the t-stat, turned on to very low pressure and I have water coming/pouring out down the block behind the exhaust manifold somewhere mid engine above a freeze plug. I cannot see up in there to know exactly where. Gotta be the manifold gasket or head gasket, guessing of course. like I mentioned before I am not putting much into this thing. If it is the manifold gasket or the head gasket I could probably replace them, but how major of a pain in the arse is this? I replaced the head and manifold gasket on a AQ130 so I am sure I can do it and that was a X 10 "major" pain in the arse. But in the end maybe better off letting it go at this point?


Thanks let me know your thoughts! Jim
 
could be wrong on both counts. more likely the block opened up just under the head gasket. You need to pull the manifold and inspect the block. It will be VERY visible to you
 
Bt Doctur said:
could be wrong on both counts. more likely the block opened up just under the head gasket. You need to pull the manifold and inspect the block. It will be VERY visible to you
Click to expand...


So a cracked block is what you are saying? I can blow in the hose and push water out extremely easy, like blowing air through a straw.
 
What a shame, it's a cracked block. Guess I will take what I can off it interior wise and use it on my other boat which is identical, then sell it or give it away to the next guy that may want to try and mess with it.

Thanks for the help here, I appreciate it!
 
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