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jon_mclean

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I have original 1975 454 Crusa

I have original 1975 454 Crusader engines (350 HP)in a Uniflite. One is LH rotation and the other RH. I have just discovered that the advance mechanism on one distributor is not working (RH) and looks beyond help. It is also a different advance mechanism than the other. I want to replace both with Mallory YLM series distributors (I think). I have seen on some web sites a suggestion that the Mallory 9-26306 (YLM624AV) will work on either rotation engine. I had thought different gears were needed on each distributor. Does anyone know for sure? I would like to order the parts before I pull the old distributors. Any suggestions on a good source for the parts? Thanks for any help.
 
"Call the factory and ask. On

"Call the factory and ask. On Chryslers, the reverse rotation distributor uses a different thrust bearing inside to counter the reverse thrust.

Jeff"
 
"Jon, It depends on how the e

"Jon, It depends on how the engine is reversed. Some have a gear driven camshaft which turns backwards vs. the standard rotation, some have a chain driven cam with the lobes cut to open the valves correctly when turning in the opposite direction. The easiest way is to pop both distributors out and look at the gears."
 
"I replaced both distributors

"I replaced both distributors on my Crusader's RH and LH 1978 454 model 350. I replaced them with DUI distributors http://www.performancedistributors.com/marinedui.htm and thought one distributor would have opposite cut gears. I was wrong. Both distributors had the same cut gears. One thing I really liked about these distributors is it really cleaned up the look of the engine. Eliminating the coil and the resistor plus a few wires. Very easy to install."
 
"Thanks to everyone. I think t

"Thanks to everyone. I think to be safe I will pull the distributors and see what gears they have. Ej, those DUI distributors look interesting. What gap are you now using for your plugs? Did you notice much performance change? One of my advance mechanisms is stuck so that engine is not working very well at 3,000+ rpm. Also, do you have an electronic tach hooked up somewhere on that system? Thanks."
 
Jon I got the Marine-7000 from

Jon I got the Marine-7000 from a distributor off Ebay. My plugs are gapped at .055. What I notice is the instant starting of the engines and since they customed curved my distributors between the 2000 and 3000 rpms the performance is excellent. I installed their Live Wires at the same time. I have two Gaffrig tachs hooked up per engine. I'll post a photo of my set up when I come back from the lake.
 
"I pulled the distributor out

"I pulled the distributor out of the RH rotation engine today and it was indeed the same gear as the LH rotation engine, so the distributors are identical. Thanks for the advice to pull the distributor first. Makes ordering parts easier!"
 
"Jon here is a photo of my DUI

"Jon here is a photo of my DUI distributor set up. The second photo gives you an idea of the clean look. This is the starboard Crusader.

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Distibutor"">

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engine
 
I think it was kinda clean BEF

I think it was kinda clean BEFORE you installed the distributor. Great job!
 
This is the way I would LOVE t

This is the way I would LOVE to have my engine compartmenet look. Did you do this systematically by painting each component or did you rebuild and go from there piece by piece ?

WOW....I love it
 
"Al, these engines are on my 5

"Al, these engines are on my 57' Carlcraft houseboat. I have been refurbishing the boat for the last five years. It's in a slip so all work is done on the water. I got tired of looking at the Crusader "blue" being all one color so I powder coated things as I replaced them.

I always had problems with my Q-jet carburetor so I traded it out for a Holly. I wasn't happy with the Holly either so I installed a Edelbrock. That along with the DUI distributor have increased the reliability of my engines. On the valve covers I install a breather but wasn't happy with the blow by smoke exiting so I blocked one side off and installed a PCV valve on the other side. This eliminated the breather hoses going to the marine rated KN filter and I have zero blow by smoke entering the engine compartment.

There is a temp gauge, fuel pressure gauge, and a water pressure gauge coming off the intake manifold and fuel line. This will help with any future trouble shooting. The Eddie Marine throttle linkage mount replaced my flimsy crusader mount that was paper thin. Gas line was replace with stainless tubing, racor filter/separator and swaglock shut-off valves and check valve.

With the starboard engine complete I am now working on the port engine."
 
"Question for EJ Breeze.
This

"Question for EJ Breeze.
This part you stated: On the valve covers I install a breather but wasn't happy with the blow by smoke exiting so I blocked one side off and installed a PCV valve on the other side. This eliminated the breather hoses going to the marine rated KN filter and I have zero blow by smoke entering the engine compartment.

Please expain in better detail what can be done to change the two breather hoses going to the air filters as my boat has the engines in the salon area and once the bildge blowers are turned off after running boat, the cabin gets a bad odor in it. I belive this is the culprit!

Thanks for any advice to correct this issue. PS: Your engine looks great!"
 
"Hi Robert

In my case I cha

"Hi Robert

In my case I changed the valve covers and installed aluminum breathers. At first I intended to have the breathers replace the hoses returning to the air filter. After I saw the blow by smoke venting from the breathers I knew that wasn't going to be good trapped in a closed engine compartment. So I purchased a Carburetor Spacer and a PCV valve. I powder coated the carburetor spacer red as you can see in the photo above. It fits just under the carburetor and has a threaded hole to screw in a hose barb. I ran a small piece of braided fuel line from the PCV valve to the spacer. Since I already cut the holes in my valve covers for the breathers I took a piece of gasket material and blocked off breather on the same side as the PCV valve. Now that breather is there for looks only.

If you wanted to test this on your boat without changing valve covers and cuting holes for breathers you could install the carburetor spacer then install the PCV valve with the bushing that is included in your current blow by hole. Then you could get the Vent Breather and place it opposite the PCV valve in the other vent hole. This way there are no permanent modification in case things don't work for you. Also I think eliminating the hoses really cleans up the look of the engine."
 
Thanks for the detailed inform

Thanks for the detailed information. I will make the changes with breather and PCV valve and see how well it works. I already have the spacer w/threaded plug under my Edlebrock so installing the hose will be easy
 
EJ....Have you ever considered

EJ....Have you ever considered whether or not you have enough air intake thru the closed engine compartment now that you have less restriction? I have been in and out of mine so much that the thought of vacuum in the stock configuration was on my mind...Since these are larger repowers I am considering a vacuum gauge to see IF I am getting enough air IN...I also discovered that the minimum exhaust size for duals is 4" and I have 4 - 3" wet exhaust ports. Whoever did this re-power did not do enough research. My props used to spin 5500 + for wot before PropScan. AL
 
Al I have 3" exhaust going

Al I have 3" exhaust going into 4" mufflers at the transom. You can see it in the second picture. I have two 4" deck vents on port and two at starboard. This has always been this way. Let me know if you setup works.
 
"Al did you ever get your engi

"Al did you ever get your engine compartment the way you wanted it? I just finished the starboard engine. Have a look.

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"
 
"EJ, what edelbrock carburato

"EJ, what edelbrock carburator did you use. See you used a high rise. I dont have the room for highrise but possibly Standard edelbrock manifold and carburators.

EJ, Looks like you put alot into your motors. Why the el cheapo Fram Oil Filter. From what i find that is the worst filter on the market."
 
I used the Edelbrock Performer

I used the Edelbrock Performer Intake Manifolds with the Edelbrock Performer Carburetors 750 cfm. The Frams were the last of a dozen I had onboard. I use the long K&N oil filters now. The hardest part of the job was getting the starboard exhaust manifold on next to the gas tank.
 
"Gosh EJ, I am glad my engine

"Gosh EJ, I am glad my engine doesn't look this good. I would be afraid to run it. WOW, I am really impressed. This may motivate me to straighten my engine compartment out a little. I am happy just having it running dependably.

Chuck Hanson"
 
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