Problems with rebuilt 74 running poorly and valve taps HELP

"New member here

Great look

"New member here

Great looking forum, and thanks to all who reply in advance.

I tried this yesterday, but somehow cant seem to find the thread so if I dupe it sorry.

I have a rebuilt 7.4 454 that has been a horror for the entire 2 years I have owned it. I wont bore everyone with all the wonderfull horror stories that I have from the builder, dealer, and marina who were involved with this engine swap from hell that has less than 2 hours running time and more thousands of dollars invested than I can care to recount.

The specs are as follows. replaced a 89 7.4 330 merc with a four bolt main perf block, oval port heads, rochester rebuilt carb (rebuilt twice), replacment std low rise manifold, most stuff is new in 07 including the starter, alt, water pumps, thermostat and housing, belts, most hoses, oil and temp senders, and a whole bunch of bolts and brackets. The rest was replaced in 05 and has less than 2 hours time incl exh manifolds, ign amplifier, cap and rotor, wires, coil, etc etc.

The only thing on the engine that isnt new is the risers, and there on the way. So basically except for the fact that there wasnt any way to know what actually went into the rebuild everything should be new or darn near new.

Anyhow the two main problems are a valve tap (sounds like every cylinder) and a loss of power that involves the engine not reving above 2900 rpm/

The tap has been present from the original delivery from the marina who did the orig install. After an 18 month delay the engine was removed, inspected, and there was found to be 16 very loose rockers. It appeared that this was the cause of the loud valvetrain, they were adjusted cold, and the engine assembly continued.

After replacing every accessory due to the marina partially sinking the boat (it sunk well above the starter and alt. but somehow didnt cause water to get into the oil pan thank God)and installing the engine the problem still existed though not as loud as before.

The engine is getting oil to the heads, and after another adjustment they are improved, but not right, and there still is noise. oil pressure reads from 65 to full above 80 psi.

The power loss or lack of power may or may not be associated with the valvetrain noise. It is hard starting when cold, and will not rev above 3000 rpm without breaking up and backfiring thru the carb. This is both with and without a load.

Due to this the boat will not get onto plane. IT will run from idle up to the point it breaks up, but when you call for real power it just laughs and coughs.

Even though the carb was a rebuild and the marina rebuilt it again for no reason the secondaries were frozen when checking the carb and needed to disassembled and the butterflies and shaft freed up.

There is a an obvious smell of unburned fuel, and the small amount of run time which was mostly at the dock has consumed well over a 1/4 tank of fuel (100gal tank).

If I left anything out please ask, and thanks in advance for any input.

Also I have been thru engines before (been some time for auto stuff though)and am thinking that all the bs and frustration from this disaster is effecting my thinking and I am missing something simple.

The carb problems sound like a lean issue, but the smell and fuel use seems like its running rich.

Could the problem be unrelated to the noisy valvetrain?

Also any help on setting up this carb would be appreciated since I dont know much about them as they were normally replaced with hollys when I messed with cars etc."

Lenny:

Here's my $.02:

Lenny:

Here's my $.02:

I am assuming that the distributor shaft has new bearings and was checked and found to be w/in tolerance. Replace the optic sensor? Anyone try an oscilliscope to view the spark firing pattern at high RPM?

Not reving above 3000 RPMs: How does it run w/o the tach. connected? Anyone put a timing light on it when it was acting up?

Amplifier: correct model for engine? Perform Merc. amplifier test to make sure it is working properly.

Alternator: check the output for AC voltage at idle and high RPMs. Replace it if AC voltage is greater than 0.02 volts. AC voltage in a DC circuit can drive the electronics crazy.

"Guy
Thanks for the input.

"Guy
Thanks for the input.

I will be checking the timming later today or tomorrow.

The dist felt fine with no noticable play, and worked fine on the old engine, but was not checked in depth.

Will look into removing the tach while setting the timming (again lol).

I hope there isnt any problems with the alt since its brand new, but will put that on the list of things to look into.

Now the amplifier though new in 05 was one of the superceeded part numbers thru merc. I will have to check into the specs again, but I do remember spending some time looking into the differences when I first purchased it. I should still have the orig around someware too if I need to compare etc.

Now in your opinion could any of this contribute to the tapping, or would the tapping contribute to these issues??

I am thinking if the basic adjustments dont clear things up any that I will be tearing into the heads and valvetrain to replace it all etc."

"Not sure about your rebuild.

"Not sure about your rebuild. Might check piston to valve clearance as a source for the tap. Rocker arms shouldn't have loosened unless pushrods are bent or lifters collapsed. Another thing to look at is valve spring pressure. May be floating the valves, however that usually doesn't happen until a lot higher rpm. Good luck.

Jack"

"Some other tings it could be:

"Some other tings it could be:
-incorrect length pushrods
-sticky valves
-incorrect valve stem to guide clearance
-bad set of lifters
-wrong valve springs (bottoming out)
-camshaft?
-wrong heads for the engine/piston combo; resulting in compression ratio way off one way or the other
It's a real PITA that you had to spend a lot of hard earned money on a rebuilt engine only to have all this kind of trouble.
It sounds like there is something wrong in the basic parts combination somewhere. You may need to dissassemble if far enough to get all the part numbers including heads, rods, pistons, valves, springs, cam, lifters and pushrods, to see if they actually belong together.
At the very least if you remove one head you can see if the pistons are flat top/domed/dished, relieved for the valves, and what the deck clearance is. The head castings # will then tell you the chamber CC volumes, so you can see what CR you should have.
This is all basic stuff that the rebuild shop should have done right, but something sure sounds screwed up.
Rod"

"Lenny
Check your float heigh

"Lenny
Check your float height as compared to the specs in your manual (not to any instruction sheet that came with the kit.)
Float set to high will cause you to use heaps of fuel and will affect top end of rev range, your plugs will tell the story, run your engine for a while and remove a plug and observe the electrode area of the plug, now go to one of the spark plug manufacturer's web sites and they should have a comparison chart for you to check yours against.

Next Step

Get the engine to a warm, low idle, remove the tappet covers, ( now comes the messy part ) start the engine, see if you can isolate the noise to any one or group of cylinders by pressing down on the rockers individualy while the engine is runing.
Yes, oil will go everywhere but it wont be to bad as long as you dont rev the engine.
By doing this you can normaly rather prove or dissprove that the noise is in the valve train if the noise changes.

Give it a try.

Sounds like your boating experiance so far has been a PITA, hope you sort it out soon.

Regards
Peter C"

"Thanks all for the input <[im

"Thanks all for the input

I will try to answer in order

Jack I really hope its not a clearance issue, and being a basic non HP engine I am not expecting it (or wanting it lol). The push rods apeared ok, but I only adjusted the rockers etc and did not remove them all to test etc. your idea on the lifters is one I share, and will consider myself lucky if I can get away with just a lifter and push rod swap out. Also have to agree on the valve floating.

Rod I am going to try the timming, elec and carb issues first, and if lucky it may also clear up the noise issue, but if not (what I expect anyhow lol) I would be expecting to be tearing into the engine more to pretty much check out what you suggest.

I am kind of weird with engines in that if I have to tear into them I also seem to have an undenieable urge to improve them, and would most likely just be changing most all of the top end. I know this isnt a performance engine (though the block is sort of, and it does have a steel crank) or boat, but if I have to be tearing it down and sending out the heads etc I know I would end up swapping for the rect port heads, and changing the cam and valve train to a roller set up etc. I really dont want to due to the additional cost tossed on top of my current disaster, but if its going to start adding up again anyhow I just know it will end up that way.

Your right that this all should have been right from the shop that did the rebuild, and something is deff messed up thats for sure, but the problem I have had all along is that no decent shop is eager to get in the middle of someone elses problems, and I am not happy to send it back to the builder who is not going to honor their warranty (long story there too )

Just dont see the sense in rebuilding a rebuilt engine, and though I have not had the heads off (didnt see any reason to etc) I did inspect the bottem end to the extent of checking the bearings to eliminate the possibility of there being any spun bearings (as suggested by two different mechanics) but they were fine and all checked out "tight".

Originally I had considered that the valves needed adjusting, and also that there was a chance the higher than normal oil pressure could be from some sort of blockage preventing oil from getting into the head or thru the lifters etc. but now that the valves have been adjusted twice and there is deffinately oil in the head it seems to be something else.

The idea of the parts not matching up though not what I want to find out is also a potential cause. I know from some of the smaller engines I have built that even the best parts mfg screw up, and if you dont triple check everything and measure up your engines there is a chance for problems.

Any how I should be resetting the timming and looking into the carb tomorrow, and will keep you guys up to date on what I find.

Thanks again!!"

"Peter

Good thoughts on the

"Peter

Good thoughts on the carb, and since the rochester isnt one I am comfortable with I appreciate all the help I can get.

Also beyond the stuck secondaries I mentioned earlier I also noticed that the two adj screws on the front of the carb were screwed in very differently. One was in far enough that the end of the needle was visable in the bore, and the other you couldnt see at all.

I am normally one to have enough patience to deal with jetting and adjusting carbs ok (trust me as my fully modded engine in my atv has tested me more than once lol) but in this case I may consider just selling this one off on ebay or whatever and purchasing a replacement, but I guess rebuilding it a third time isnt out of the question either.

Also I didnt rebuild it myself. It was purchased as a rebuild days before the initial failure, and then supposedly rebuilt again by the marina that did the initial engine swap. For the record there were a lot of supposedlies on that bill.

I may use your hot method on checking the valve noise as I was considering a hot adjustment anyhow, but I have done these before and wouldnt even consider one without cutting out the tops of the current covers as I dont think hanging in a hot engine compartment with hot oil slapping me would be much fun lol. Done that once on a car and learned my lesson.

And believe it or not this is my first PITA boating experience, and I have been doing it for a long while. Not my first repair or problem, but deff my first disaster that was over complicated by trusting professionals who did little more than take my money and screw me up worse than I was to start with.

Then again it was going to be sold and I was moving up in 05, but bad decisions in judgement in who can operate her accompanied with a heated discussion with the wiff and a newer operator finding a sand bar (lots of soft sand and mud actually) combined with all the wonderfull pro's has created one heck of an experience, and a lesson not soon to be forgot"

"Forgot to add this but I had

"Forgot to add this but I had time today to mess around a little and tried removing the plug wires one at a time while it was running.

The result wasnt really very telling as the noise doesnt seem to be isolated to any one cylinder. There were some slight changes, but for the most part the tapping remained right in tune like a well played drum."

"Lenny
Is there no sort of re

"Lenny
Is there no sort of regulatory authority that can step in on your behalf and go to bat for you on the engine rebuild and associated noise ??
In Australia, we could probably get their arse BBQ'd by our Authorities if they had put us through that much drama.
As for the running hot check of the valve train, if you screw your idle down nice and low it wont flick to much oil around.
Cheers
Peter C"

Lenny:

Go to an auto parts

Lenny:

Go to an auto parts store w/machine shop and get some oil cover caps so the oil doesn't fly all over during adjustment. They'll know what you need if it is a reliable shop.

"[b]"Lenny
Is there no s

""Lenny
Is there no sort of regulatory authority that can step in on your behalf and go to bat for you on the engine rebuild and associated noise ??"

Peter

I looked into that and there are consumer protection laws that cover the rebuild, and also the bait and switch scam I got from the marina, but the problem seems to be that the expense of the attorney would be as high as the original cost of the engine, or install (3300.00 and 2300.00 USD) and one scammer lawyer wanted more than that for a retainer.

I suspect I still have several months to make a claim thru small or superior court, but I am not familiar with any agency that would actually just pick this up for me etc.

If anyone knows of something I am missing please post it up."

Lenny;
One thing I forgot tha

Lenny;
One thing I forgot that you should check is to make sure the camshaft is timed properly to the crank.
Rod

"Lenny, Not to make you think

"Lenny, Not to make you think worse about anything, but I had an old 302 ford motor that had a busted piston skirt. Sounded like a lifter tick. I changed lifters and readjusted the rockers about three times before deciding to run it till it came apart. Never did. 6500 rpm shifting and racing on weekends it lasted almost 3 years till I did a rebuild and found it. Problem was that when the machine shop bored the motor out there was taper in the cylinders and the bore was actually smaller at the bottom. Well that broke the skirts on about three pistons. This was all right after a "fresh" rebuild. Needless to say, I check all my blocks now for taper and roundness once they come back from the shop! Hope this isn't the case on yours, but something to keep in mind. Good luck!

Jack"

Don't wait until the statu

Don't wait until the statute of limitations runs out on your engine issue. Go on-line to the NJ State Attorney General and find out how to file a complaint and DO IT! They will contact everyone involved in the sale of the engine asap. The AJ's office can send a letter of notice to respond to the complaint to the persons involved which will keep them from sleeping at night until the issue is resolved. I know it because I did it successfully. You don't need an attorney to do it. The AJ is your attorney in a fraud case.

Have you checked to make sure

Have you checked to make sure that the lobes on your camshaft haven't been wiped out ?
Possibly from someone adjusting them too tight ?
That would have all of the same symptoms that you have described.

"[i]One thing I forgot that yo

"One thing I forgot that you should check is to make sure the camshaft is timed properly to the crank.

Rod the list is getting long, but that will deff be added to it!!

Not to make you think worse about anything, but I had an old 302 ford motor that had a busted piston skirt.

Jack I didnt remove the pistons but I did look them over really good from the bottom and they looked fine. Actually took the time to check out each one individually along with the rods and bearings while bringing each over to TDC etc.

Since this was a total rebuild purchased as a long block, and originally had the balance of the engine assembled by the marina (intake, rocker covers, oil pan and pump and all acc's) I didnt actually check anything until recently this year, and it had run time on it by then.

When I do the small engines I actually go over everything and dbl check the machine shop as I have had some of them goof up in the past.

Measuring bores, checking deck heights, calculating true comp ratios, confirming the flatness of mating parts, and all kinds of other stuff is just part of the deal, but I am doing the building or assembly and didnt pay someone else for it.

I still get your point, and appreciate it also. I have run both small and big block chevy engines with all kinds of noises in the past. Valve taps were never something that bothered me etc, but when its a new or rebuild they can drive me nuts. I remember once when I had spun a rod bearing in a street 427, and then after a thosand or so miles decided to rebuild it only to have the machine shop be sloppy and have it trash the same damn one weeks later.

So I know its a crap shoot, but was expecting more from the warranty etc.

Don't wait until the statute of limitations runs out on your engine issue. Go on-line to the NJ State Attorney General and find out how to file a complaint and DO IT!

Thanks for the info Guy, and I will check them out and see what happens.

I had originally contacted the consumer affairs people, but decided against using them since they have no teeth to make anyone do anything, have a long PITA process, and advised they stop any process if there is any legal actions etc.

Hopefully the AG is more promissing.



Have you checked to make sure that the lobes on your camshaft haven't been wiped out ?

Zman its funny you mentioned that because that was my very first impression or thoughts when I had originally went to pick up the boat and heard how it sounded.

I did question the marina at that time, and they sweared they properly burned in the cam etc, and that it wasnt that bad anyhow (crazy right).

Anyhow I didnt remove it for full inspection because from what I could see of the lobes (and cam in general) when the intake was removed appeared to be a nearly new cam just like it should be. No visable wear, and bearly enough markings from the lifters to be visable etc.

Thing is it could be almost any of these things or a combo of some of them, and the problem I as I am finding it is to now create some kind of plan on how to test and determine which it is, and then create a plan of attack on fixing it.

I am still waiting to get my hands on the timming light to get her timmed, and then check into the potential carb problems to see if I get lucky and these help, and also to try and determine if the sound issue is related to the running issue.

I think if I can eliminate or confirm that the way its running has to do with the way its sounding I can save myself lots of diagnostic time and headaches.

If any of you guys have suggestions on this please let me know too, and thanks again for all the advice.

Also it wouldnt be a bad thing if it would run better so that it could be used at least locally, and then torn down later after the season and gone thru properly and thoroghly etc."

"One other thing is if anyone

"One other thing is if anyone knows of a place on the net with good info on tweeking this carb?

I am looking into where to find a inexpensive merc manual in book form, but if there is something online to cover me till then that would be great!!"

Lenny I built SB & BB moto

Lenny I built SB & BB motors for most of my life for boats and drag cars ( stock & highperformance ) have a machine shop that builds engines check for full travel of your cam lobes by putting a dial indicator on the rocker arms to see if any of the lobes are wiped out.
When you say it backfires and won't RPM very high and you smell unburned fuel sounds like a wiped out cam shaft because if it is wiped out none of the lobes would be the same and no matter how much you adjust the valves they will keep on clattering as the cam has lost the hardness from the heat treat it recieved from the manufacturer and it will just get worse.
Until you eliminate this as posibley being the problem you might be chassing this tail forever.

"Hi guys

Sorry for the dela

"Hi guys

Sorry for the delay in replying, but was out of town for a little.

Anyhow I did have some time to mess with this mess, and here is what I found.

Setting the timming is nearly impossible due to a fluctuating or connstantly moving timming mark. Its tough enough having to push all those hoses aside just to be able to get the light on the balancer, and then having the mark moving up and down about a half inch (at steady idle, but dont forget the lope etc) made it pretty much a waste of time.

I also tried a known good carb, and even though it di smooth out the idle slightly all the other previous issues remained. At least I know the carb isnt the source of the problems even if it may end up needing a rebuild or adjustment.

Due to the moving timming mark I again removed the dist cap and inspected everything (all looks good) and the only thing I could see that had a chance of being an issue was the pick up looks to be pretty old. I know that doesnt mean its bad, but thats the only potential concern I could see.

I also considered a problem with ground, and did remove some paint from the grounding wire mount going to the starboard riser (mounts with the ampifier)and ran a second ground from the transom mounted ground block or gang directly to the body of the distributor.

This did seem to help slightly as now without a load it will rev up to around 3200-3300 rpm before it starts breaking up and the rpm falls.

After carefull listening I found that during running up the rpms (without load) that initially you hear is the tapping increasing along with the rpm's, the exhaust flappers, and the usual engine noise etc, but when the rpm's approach and reach the point where it breaks up there are some unusual or interesting sounds.

I am not exactly sure what it is, but it sounds like really bad detonation, or a heavy metal to metal sound. I guess it could even be something to do with the exh flappers (they look to be orig, and have no rubber etc) as it does sound like a amplified or increase in their normal noisy operation.

I ran it thru this a few times and also found that there is a noticeable vibration during accelerating the engine. I guess it isnt anything more than you would expect from a engine that is misfiring etc, but figured I would throw it out there.

The smell of unburned fuel is still present, and seems worse at lower idle speed, and the fuel gauage is still dropping like a rock. I also noticed that at idle speeds there is visable smoke at the rear of the transom etc, and I am sure its not steam, but it also isnt oil either so I am figuring it must be from the fuel.

A final note is that with the good carb I took her out for an attempt at getting on plane , and it failed again. It seemed to pull a few more rpms, but still couldnt do it. As an added bonus it flooded the carb and manifold causing the engine to stall (and me to reinstall the original carb out on the water) so that it would restart. Funny thing is that the good carb is set up for a 260hp but still managed to pile up a 1/4" of fuel in the lower chamber of the manifold.

Hopefully something in this sets off something in someones head.

Thanks again in advance!!"

"[i]check for full travel of y

"check for full travel of your cam lobes by putting a dial indicator on the rocker arms to see if any of the lobes are wiped out.
When you say it backfires and won't RPM very high and you smell unburned fuel sounds like a wiped out cam shaft because if it is wiped out none of the lobes would be the same and no matter how much you adjust the valves they will keep on clattering as the cam has lost the hardness from the heat treat

Zman

I thought I replied to you already, but must have messed up posting it etc.

Your idea is pretty much the same as my original one when I went to pick up the boat after the engine was originally installed. I initially blamed the marina for not breaking or burning in the cam etc. but later found that the factory supposedly does it prior to shipping etc.

Still your opinion makes sense, and also does follow the symptons I am finding, and swapping out not only the cam, but the entire valvetrain is a deffinate option I am considering. If the problem lies there then changing it all out would have to eliminate it right!!

I guess I am just trying to eliminate the easier stuff like ignition or timming first, and just hope to get lucky

Nothing like rebuilding the top end of a rebuilt engine "

"Another thought I had is that

"Another thought I had is that though I dont think it would effect how the engine is running how about there being any relationship to all the noise I am getting, and the drive?

Sure the gimbel bearing was changed, but could any of this be coming from ujoints or ??????

Its the orig drive (b1) and anything could be suspect."

"Lenney: you said the followi

"Lenney: you said the following:

"Setting the timming is nearly impossible due to a fluctuating or connstantly moving timming mark."

"the pick up looks to be pretty old."

Is the "pickup" the optic type sensor? Was it covered in rust? Replace it and retry setting the timing. The "wandering timing" gives rise to a failing amplifier if the sensor replacement "makes no change". The "wandering timing" would also cause the "sounds like really bad detonation, or a heavy metal to metal sound" along with backfiring. It also would keep your engine RPMs from climbing above 3000 RPMs. But, I am also thinking as the others have stated that the cam lobes are shot.

Your engine has a calamity of multiple failures, both electrical and mechanical. I hope you can get these issues resolved and get on the water before winter. Keep on truckin'."

"Here is the dist from the mer

"Here is the dist from the merc parts list

http://www.mercruiserparts.com/Show_Pictures3.asp?dnbr=%2019013&ivar=images/CRUI SER/19013/17.png&inbr=959&bnbr=80&bdesc=DISTRIBUTOR+AND+IGNITION+COMPONENTS"

"It wasnt covered in rust, but

"It wasnt covered in rust, but it was present.

I had cleaned up the inside of the dist during assembly, and nothing looked unusual except for some basic corrosion.

Also keep in mind that the amplifier was replaced in 05 during the initial engine replacement, and there were not any similar problems with running on the old engine that used the same dist and pick up.

I guess the pick up is one of the parts that are easy enough, and not too expensive etc that I should just replace it anyhow since it deff isnt new.

The "wandering timing" gives rise to a failing amplifier if the sensor replacement "makes no change". The "wandering timing" would also cause the "sounds like really bad detonation, or a heavy metal to metal sound" along with backfiring. It also would keep your engine RPMs from climbing above 3000 RPMs.

Note that the timming mark did rise with increases in RPM.

Now do you mean that the running part of the problem could be just from a poor pick up in the dist?

That would be great, but somehow doesnt seem to work with how my luck normally runs

Another thing that came to mind is if I messed up when originally installing the dist? I have done plenty before, but remember screwing it up once or twice when I was younger etc, but then again those didnt fire at all and being carefull to set things up at #1 and TDC had been engraved into my head from the previous problems (damn I just realized that was over 20 years ago wow)."

"Lenney:

Try this test proc

"Lenney:

Try this test procedure before spending any money:

Tests for Thunderbolt Ignition:

W/ignition key on AND BILGE WELL VENTILATED OF GAS FUMES!!!

#1 - Connect your voltmeter neg. lead to the engine ground and pos. lead to the white/red wire terminal at the dist. It should read 12 volts.

#2 - If 12 volts is present, remove the coil spark wire from the distributor and connect it to a spark gap tester to ground. Remove the white/green lead from the dist. terminal. Turn the ign. key to on and strike the white/green lead to ground. If there is spark, replace the ignition sensor in the dist.

#3 - If there is no spark, substitute a new coil and repeat test #2. Now if you get spark, install a new coil. NO SPARK, replace ign. amp.

#4 - In #2, if there is No voltage present, disconnect the white/red wire and check it again for 12 volts. If 12 volts is present, replace the ignition sensor inside the dist. cap. If no 12 volts present w/it disconnected--ignition amplifier is shot and must be replaced."

"Update

I had ordered a new

"Update

I had ordered a new pick up or ignition sensor in the dist, and installed it (mallory brand if that matters).

I had ordered this before guys post on the testing (which I intend to do anyhow to be sure the amplifier is good) and it seemed to help somewhat, but did not solve the problem. I also was not able to get a timming light on it (long story) yet, but it seemed to run better with more advance than previously.

The engine will now accelerate up to the 3,000 mark without a glitch (under load) and will get slightly above 3,500 without a load before starting to act up.

It still starts popping, and backfiring at that point, and its also seeming to coincide with the exact time it would be calling on the secondaries to come into play. It is just as it starts to "come on the cam" so to say.

Now the engine is still overly noisy from the valve tap, and a few other things I think I have identified also that I believe may be of value.

Basically I just took a little time away from this all so that I could clear my head from all the negative experiences, start fresh, and digest all the excellent suggestions from you all.

Guy had said "Your engine has a calamity of multiple failures, both electrical and mechanical." as well as a few others pointing towards this posibility, and pretty much starting thinking from here evaluating the situation etc. since it sadly seems to be the case.

I also believe I have been able to isolate some of the non valve tapping noise to both the drive (I think I also have a leaking drive boot that is wreaking havoc on my new gimble bearing) and also the front of the engine from either the accessories (doubtfull since there all new) or more likely something from the timming chain or balancer.

I suspect the drive issue from the fact that there is noise coming from it that increases during turing, and the leak from the auto bilge coming on hourly.

Anyhow the boat now almost gets onto plane, and will actually plane slowly with the drive and the tabs fully down. It throws one hell of a wake, but still is a deff improvement.

From my new fresh look at things I am nearly certain that the running problem is coming from either fuel delivery, or electrical/timming (there seems to be some "junk" and moisture coming from the tank, and most likely from the multi year lay up), and I will be confirming the secondaries are actually working too, but still am considering that a worn out cam or valvetrain can be the cause.

On the electrical side of things I am going to just replace the remaining dist componets (cap, rotor etc) as they are seemingly worse off then they were a month ago during the original install.

If these items do not clear things up I am expecting to replace the cam, and valvetrain soon. I have become recently unemployed so I will have the time to mess with this now, and should be able to keep things moving along.

Now my next question is what should I run?

Does anyone know which cam or cams to look into?

Is it worth going to a roller set up?

Should I be bothering to consider improving performance at all?

I decided against changing the heads, but wouldnt mind some inexpensive improvements in other areas etc.

Thanks again guys for all your help, and hopefully I can make use of my extra time in getting this problem solved before I run out of $$$$ "

Does anyone know which cam or

Does anyone know which cam or cams to look into?

Is it worth going to a roller set up?

Should I be bothering to consider improving performance at all?

Lenny D:

I still think you

Lenny D:

I still think you should write the NJ Attorney General about the issue. You will get some response. Kept all your receipts and correspondence or work orders from the dealer? Send copies with your complaint. Use names and addresses of the people or businesses you had work on your engine. Time is running out. You may get your money back and/or a new drop-in engine. Hop to it!

"Lenny, I would make sure it h

"Lenny, I would make sure it has a cam problem first, pull the valve covers comfirm this by how much travel each rocker has .
As far as a new cam goes, if you went with a roller the good thing is you would not have to break the cam and lifters in at all , but you would have to change the valve springs out .
What RPM does the boat run at full throtle ?
I wish we lived near each other I would gladly come and give you a hand."