93 Prowler restoration

Scott Danforth

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you have an AQ drive. remove the 6 bolts from the clamp ring that holds the donut around the PDS to the transom shield, put 3 of the bolts into the 3 threaded holes and jack it off

undo the battery cables, and the grounds at the back of the block
next undo the bonding wires
next undo the exhaust hoses
undo the supply hose to the raw water pump, unclip it at the back of the block
next undo the fuel line and plug
next undo the throttle cable
next undo the trapezoidal harness plug
next undo the two front motor mounts

now hook up your chainfall/hoist.... lift a bit, slide the motor forward to pull the PDS out of the transom shield

should take you 30 minutes total once you have the drive off on an AQ series installation.
 

TrevorStott

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Thanks, such a wealth of knowledge here. I have everything planned for this weekend to build the gantry and pull the motor. Fingers crossed.
 

Scott Danforth

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Thanks, such a wealth of knowledge here. I have everything planned for this weekend to build the gantry and pull the motor. Fingers crossed.

if you run into a problem, ask. dont forget the bonding wires to the PS cooler and the tiller-arm

however the AQ series is easy to R&R. They can be aligned with a screw driver or a pencil or a wooden door wedge.
 

TrevorStott

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Ah, that answers one of the other nagging questions I've had around realignment and any special tools. I have lots of pencils and screwdrivers though. :)

When I have it out I'm going to do a bellows replacement, carb rebuild, impeller replacement, and oil change in the motor and drive. Any other maintenance items I should be looking into over the winter? The carb rebuild is an attempt to fix the rough idle but that could also be related to cracked hoses if there are any, I'll do a deeper inspection once it's out but the carb teardown, cleaning and rebuild should be done anyways.
 

chevymaher

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Check the gimbal bearing. Do pressure test on the outdrive. I just went through that. Leaking a nice rainbow everytime I put it in the water.
 

TrevorStott

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Again, another nagging question answered. I wish I had some documentation on this motor and drive. I found the online parts shop but I can't find anything on the Cooper Prowler or anything like an owners manual for the AQ131d or SP-A outdrive.
 

TrevorStott

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Okay, I'm looking for the bolts at the back of the motor to undo and I dont see the obvious. Not sure if you can provide guidance based on the pics of the motor at transom or the exterior drive
 

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Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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seriously?

the big red thing is the PDS. the ring is around that.

second pic - the bolts with the half-moon washers

use a flat screw driver to pry the edge down that keeps the bolts from backing out

pull out your 3/8 drive ratchet with the 9/16" socket. you will need a 6" extension

turn the 6 bolts to the left to loosen them

when they all come out, use 2 or 3 in the threaded holes to drive the ring off
 

TrevorStott

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Ha ha. I told you this wasnt my area of expertise. Thanks, that makes sense.
 

zool

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While you have it all apart, might be a good time to change the PDS bearings, may save you a ton of headaches down the road.
 

TrevorStott

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Well, thanks to you guys, it's out! And I can still count to ten on all my fingers. Thankfully no issues.

before pulling it I did a compression test on the motor. Cylinder 2 and 4 were at 150 psi, 3 was at 120 psi and cylinder 1 sadly was at 3psi. Looks like I'm going to have to have someone look at the motor after all.
 

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TrevorStott

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The motor has thrown me down a rabbit hole but I'm figuring it out. Originally I was looking for a shop but upon some deeper investigation I'm starting the process of replacing the head gasket which I believe is the culprit of my compression issues. The good thing is that this is work I can do over the winter and a mechanic friend is going to help with some of this to ensure I don't blow it up on restart.
 
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TrevorStott

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Scott, I re-read your link and see that you have an option there for no special tools which is great! Thanks for sharing!
 
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Broaters

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Jul 31, 2017
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Hi Trevor,

Welcome to the repair team :)

we did fix our complete engine with not a lot of experience but reading and documenting a lot.
Fixing the head gasket is really easy. hope this is your culprit.

For the boat itself it may take a bit longer... fiberglass is wayyyy more messy that mechanic.
good speed for your project, I'll be following your progress.
 

TrevorStott

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Thanks Broaters, the motor component of this discussion is off in the Volvo Penta forum but unfortunately it's a valve issue. Fortunately it's not too expensive to fix but I'm giving him lots of time to work on it given that I'm in no huge rush.

In the mean time I'm trying to source the gaskets and seals I need at reasonable prices. I got 1 quote back which was too good to be true only to find out that he doesn't know if they're marine grade. Needless to say, I'm not going that route. So far the cheapest marine grade head gasket I can find is $140 Canadian which is better than the original $170. Just using that as an example. Overall I'm looking at abour $400 worth of gaskets to put this back together plus the head repair.

To change the bearing and ujoints in the outdrive is another $300 plus $160 for the drive and exhaust bellows.
 

Broaters

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for what it worth Summit Racing sold the FELPRO marine at a reasonable price.
our gasket sets come from them
 
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