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  1. PosessionSound26PC

    1989 Formula 26PC Twin Mercruiser 4.3LX, Alpha I, Gen 1 - Water Leak at/in Transom Assy

    Agreed @Lou C - I have pictured that motor in my head, hovering in the air next to me while I'm in that confined space... gives me the willies! I don't plan on keeping the boat a long time - it is old and I bough it as a cheap way to get on the water and experience boating / get my feet wet. I...
  2. PosessionSound26PC

    1989 Formula 26PC Twin Mercruiser 4.3LX, Alpha I, Gen 1 - Water Leak at/in Transom Assy

    Update: Poked around trying to find the leak - the key was the amount of water flowing into the boat: similar to a drinking fountain, maybe more, and it got through quick, not like it was seeping through rotted wood. It would have to be a decent sized hole for that to happen. After removing the...
  3. PosessionSound26PC

    1989 Formula 26PC Twin Mercruiser 4.3LX, Alpha I, Gen 1 - Water Leak at/in Transom Assy

    Fair enough, will avoid.
  4. PosessionSound26PC

    1989 Formula 26PC Twin Mercruiser 4.3LX, Alpha I, Gen 1 - Water Leak at/in Transom Assy

    Also ran across this interesting video of the same general problem - how to find a water leak in/through the transom area: fill the boat with water and see where it comes out: I don't fancy getting my new starters wet though, even though they are supposed to be marine grade (sealed?). Maybe...
  5. PosessionSound26PC

    1989 Formula 26PC Twin Mercruiser 4.3LX, Alpha I, Gen 1 - Water Leak at/in Transom Assy

    Looks like the two bolts either side of the hydraulic block are NOT anodes on my boat, they are actually plastic waterproof seals over the bolt heads. Instead, I have the integral Mercathode style that has an electrode assy mounted to the outside (underneath) of the hydraulic block. There is an...
  6. PosessionSound26PC

    1989 Formula 26PC Twin Mercruiser 4.3LX, Alpha I, Gen 1 - Water Leak at/in Transom Assy

    Ah, yes, good point. Didn't think about it because on the outside those bolts have some sort of plastic cap and appear completely sealed. But maybe they're just faking it and are in fact loose. Will report back!
  7. PosessionSound26PC

    1989 Formula 26PC Twin Mercruiser 4.3LX, Alpha I, Gen 1 - Water Leak at/in Transom Assy

    Not much room under motors but was able to shine phone light upward and use mirror to see at least one corroded bolt at bottom of transom - it had that greenish/whitish corrosion on it. Will check for looseness if able... There's gotta be a good size hole somewhere though given how much water...
  8. PosessionSound26PC

    1989 Formula 26PC Twin Mercruiser 4.3LX, Alpha I, Gen 1 - Water Leak at/in Transom Assy

    Will pull back shifter boot. I changed the flappers a couple years ago and the old ones were intact. Given the amount of water I'm seeing, it's likely coming in at the exhaust.
  9. PosessionSound26PC

    1989 Formula 26PC Twin Mercruiser 4.3LX, Alpha I, Gen 1 - Water Leak at/in Transom Assy

    I should add another question: With the outdrive off, can I use a hose to squirt water up the exhaust and see if any ends up in the bilge? I assume there's not much concern with getting water all the way back up to the cylinders... This would be an alternative to running some sort of exhaust...
  10. PosessionSound26PC

    tricks to push outdrive in

    I've had issues with the splines on the outdrive shaft not being lined up with those on the motor. You can turn the propeller by hand (counter-clockwise assuming you have the drive in FWD) with some effort. If you have a second person, one can do this while both are lifting and pushing the drive...
  11. PosessionSound26PC

    1989 Formula 26PC Twin Mercruiser 4.3LX, Alpha I, Gen 1 - Water Leak at/in Transom Assy

    Situation: Old boat that now has a leak at the transom assy/exhaust. I replaced the starboard impeller pump a while ago after some engine overheating issues (see last post: https://forums.iboats.com/threads/1989-mercruiser-4-3-lx-alpha-1-gen-1-overheating.767141/). On the previous cruise (a...
  12. PosessionSound26PC

    1989 Mercruiser 4.3 LX, Alpha 1 Gen 1 Overheating

    Just wanted to close this issue out - my last post was incorrect. I was relaying what a friend told me he had done at the boat and I misunderstood him - in fact, he had NOT yet replaced the impeller pump and the boat was still overheating, he had just wanted to confirm for himself as he had not...
  13. PosessionSound26PC

    1989 Mercruiser 4.3 LX, Alpha 1 Gen 1 Overheating

    Update: Finally got back to boat and swapped out starboard impeller pump. Does not seem to make a difference - engine still overheats on muffs as described earlier, OK for 10-15mins at idle and higher RPM but overheats when throttle is pulled back to idle. I'm now pretty confident that this is...
  14. PosessionSound26PC

    1989 Mercruiser 4.3 LX, Alpha 1 Gen 1 Overheating

    Hi Scott - here's a rundown on this motor and drive: Motor: Recently replaced exhaust risers, flappers, thermostat. Removed, cleaned and repainted exhaust manifolds. It does have check-balls and I re-installed those after cleaning and re-painting thermostat housing - they seemed ok but I wasn't...
  15. PosessionSound26PC

    1989 Mercruiser 4.3 LX, Alpha 1 Gen 1 Overheating

    Bump...
  16. PosessionSound26PC

    1989 Mercruiser 4.3 LX, Alpha 1 Gen 1 Overheating

    Thought the last post was the LAST but... Took boat out on Sat, Port motor temp was well behaved at dock and in no-wake zone with higher RPMs. Sort of confirms what testing showed in the storage lot with the muffs on (see my last post above this one) But the trip was cut short by Starboard now...
  17. PosessionSound26PC

    1989 Mercruiser 4.3 LX, Alpha 1 Gen 1 Overheating

    Next to last update (hopefully...): Got the drive bolted back up and torqued. Hooked up water hose & muffs, ran motor w/ inlet hose to engine's water pump disconnected and observed solid stream of water from new impeller pump - test passed. Reconnected hose and ran motor at idle for 10 minutes...
  18. PosessionSound26PC

    1989 Mercruiser 4.3 LX, Alpha 1 Gen 1 Overheating

    That would make it easier to align the shafts... I may try that. Scott06, I thought it might be the water tube at first so I tried putting that into the water pocket cover first (in the upper) as well as the way the manual does it but same problem - looks aligned to me... It DOES feel and sound...
  19. PosessionSound26PC

    1989 Mercruiser 4.3 LX, Alpha 1 Gen 1 Overheating

    Update: went to put lower unit back on today, won't go in all the way, about 5/8-3/4" left and feels like hard metal contact like lower shaft hitting beginning of splined opening in upper shaft. In fwd gear. Should I be able to backdrive shaft by turning propeller so I can align splines or do I...
  20. PosessionSound26PC

    1989 Mercruiser 4.3 LX, Alpha 1 Gen 1 Overheating

    I should also say that I'm pretty new to boating and know very little about sterndrives in general - I come to this forum to ask for help and I usually get several answers/tips/questions that I have to track down individually. That usually takes time...
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