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Spring tune up

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Mike Babel

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"Hi all. Hoping someone here

"Hi all. Hoping someone here can help me out. I have an '89 Rampage with twin chrys 360lm's. I believe they are 265hp. They are original to the boat with 900hrs full fwc system, electronic ignition. Rochester quadrajet 4bbl carbs. Anyway, instead of having the yard do the work I'd like to tackle it myself this year. Please let me know if I'm missing anything on my "to do" list:
1. replace racor fuel filters
2. replace pencil zincs in the heat exchangers - if I lose coolant doing this do I simply top off with straight anti-freeze or the pre-mixed stuff?
3. replace the fuel filters on the carbs
4. change oil (5 qts of 10w40 castrol plus a pint of STP oil treatment)
5. change oil filters (fram ph8a)
6. replace spark plugs (need help here - anyone know the proper gap - I believe champion plugs are in there now) also should I use "never sieze" or just some 3 in 1 oil on the threads?? Plus what's the appropriate gap for the plugs for these engines??
7. Had new water pumps and impellors done last year along with boiling out the heat exchangers so I should be good on the cooling side.

Am I missing anything??

Thanks
Mike"
 
"You should change distributor

"You should change distributor cap and rotor every two or three years with electronic ignition. Be careful to transfer wires one at a time and not get them mixed up. A good set of spark plug wires is money well spent. Get a high performance street legal (Accel, MSD, Taylor ect.). Always handle spark plug wires carefully. Push or pull on the terminal, NOT on the cable. A good set, handled properly can give 10 years or more of good service.
Always use anti-sieze on the threads of spark plugs when installing. Anti-sieze can withstand temperatures of 1800 degrees, so will not burn off as will oil."
 
Do not use STP or any other oi

Do not use STP or any other oil additive under normal conditions. STP is only of use in a severly worn engine that is on it's last leg to milk a little more life out of it.
 
"Eddie,

Thanks for the inpu

"Eddie,

Thanks for the input. Any ideas on what type of spark plug to use and the proper gap. Should I just take the gap off of one of the plugs in there already??"
 
Gap is .035. They are usually

Gap is .035. They are usually pregapped by the factory but proper mechanic practice is to check them. There are really no "super plugs". Platinum plugs will last longer but with electronic ignition they last a long time anyway. Chrysler products come with Champion plugs but the equivilient in Autolite is excellent. Marine plugs are different only in that the steel used in their base is corrosion resistant at about 3 times the cost. Using anti-sieze should prevent any corrosion problems even if you use automotive plugs. For normal operation you will use a plug with a cold heat range.
 
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