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  1. harringtondav

    Oil Pressure Question

    Read the PDF below for Merc's oil viscosity recommendations. This came from their 4.3 engine manual. Anything 30w seems a little light unless you are operating your boat in a very cool climate. Also read the paragraph on overfilling your crankcase. Lifter noise and oil pressure fluctuations are...
  2. harringtondav

    This guy has skills

    Rose M. towboat backing three empties 3/4 mile downstream in high water, fast current Mississippi river. Starting to heel starboard to line up with the inlet to the Artco fleeting terminal in E. Dubuque IL between the cranes in the pic. 2000 hp in the pilot's hand, and a lot of Kentucky windage...
  3. harringtondav

    Alpha One Gen 2 Top Cap Bearing Slipping

    ^^+1. Any time you change a tapered bearing race, roller assy, or the set you need to recheck shim height or preload. The assembled height can vary up to .005". If this bearing's preload is too high, the race may spin from the excess force. Too little, or no preload (clearance) the bearing set...
  4. harringtondav

    Fit up lube for PVC fittings?

    Thanks Scott. I did this, and partially dry fitted, rotated and marked for the angles....I held off on the beer and stogie breaks until I finished the ciphering. No scrap and the stubs came out on target.
  5. harringtondav

    The value of DIY

    Stubbing in the new bathroom at our river house basement. Nine feet of 4" deep saw cut, 14" wide, more at the stack. Jack hammer through a 10" footing. Excavate a 3' pit to tie into the septic sewer line. Lay vanity, toilet and shower waste line plus a vent. Inlets w/in 1/4" of layout. Back fill...
  6. harringtondav

    Good day of boating Karma

    At our summer house on the Miss river S of Dubuque IA. Up on the deck watching a couple of young guys in the death zone (1/2 mile up from the ramp where all iffy boats sputter out after clearing the no wake). 16' older boat with a late 80's Merc 60-70 hp OB. Power up, 30-100 yds good, then...
  7. harringtondav

    Fit up lube for PVC fittings?

    I'm stubbing in DWV under our basement concrete floor. I have to get the toilet and two drain locations near perfect since it will be cast in stone. Doing a dry fit up with sharpie marks is a challenge since these fittings are nearly impossible to rotate and disassemble dry. I'm thinking of...
  8. harringtondav

    Plugged speedo pick up unpluging tool

    We've mostly boated in the upper Mississippi river where wood trash fields are common. You try to steer around them but eventually you hit something that plugs the drive speedo pick up notch. When I catch a plug that won't dig out with a drill, I use this thing. Remove the lower gear case...
  9. harringtondav

    What scrap metal is this in my lower unit?

    I looked up your SM-X assembly shown in the snip below. It shows the front of the prop shaft splined into the FWD gear. The bearing roller assembly is pressed onto the FWD gear. Forward thrust on the prop shaft centers the gear in the bearing's race which is likely pressed into the housing. The...
  10. harringtondav

    Breathable boat cover with no water repellency- does it exist?

    I have a aftermarket mooring cover that I keep as water repellent as possible using 303. I keep my boat on an open lift. I have two "Snap-in" vents that keep it dry inside in the summer. In the winter I place two J tube, 1 1/2" PVC vent tubes over the gunnels for extra ventilation. This works...
  11. harringtondav

    Refrigerant oil charge needed for auto A/C condenser R&R?

    I'm prepping to pull the A/C condenser from my faithful '99 snaggletooth Durango boat hauler. It hasn't held a vacuum pull down or freon for some time. I finally noticed a wet spot center of the condenser. ...lotsa sealant and oil charges oozing. I'll pull it and do a vacuum pull down test on...
  12. harringtondav

    Jibber jabber

    You'll need a Facebook account to view this. I hope you are able. Hilarious. I'm embarrassed to admit it took me about 20 seconds to smell a rat, 40 seconds to realize the spoof. Guy#1 looks and sounds like Pat Paulsen doing his gobbeldygook editorial on the Smothers Brothers show...
  13. harringtondav

    Frankenwasher

    This started when I wanted a pressure washer and had a left over Tecumseh Sno-king 5 hp engine from a Frankensnowblower project. I bought a Comet AXD pump, hoses, wand, and a cart from Northern Tool. Feeling pretty smug 'cause I had less $$ into it than an equivalent 3000 psi ready to go washer...
  14. harringtondav

    Simplify 4.3 circulating pump hose removal?

    Draining my 4.3 block for winter is simple, except that removing the circulating pump hose is normally a fight. I noticed a small water drip from the lower hose clamp yesterday during recommission. I let it cool down overnight and I plan to pull the hose, and shine up the pump hose fitting...
  15. harringtondav

    Oops, trailer jack too high

    Recommissioning. Normally the trim motor tells me when the skeg is starting to penetrate the sod. Extra wet spring. The torpedo was half submerged before I heard a groan or felt the stern lift. Oh well, that area of the lawn needs some aeration.
  16. harringtondav

    '88 OMC 3.0L distributor parts?

    I don't know who provided the distributor for this engine. Prestolite, ...etc. The anchor/pivot pin for the points is CW from the cam follower. In other words the cam follower is ahead of the pivot. Need to buy a rotor for the owner, next year points & condenser. Is there a GM auto/truck model...
  17. harringtondav

    Three vs four blade?

    I have a 14X21P 3 blade alum that needs repair. The shop is very good, but I expect to pay $80-$90. I can replace it with a Solas Amita 3 E series for $112. But I can also buy a Solas Amita 4 14X21P 4 blade for $11 more. The 21P 3 blade is my best all around prop. Excellent hole shot and...
  18. harringtondav

    Baffled trying to check 3.0L timing.

    '88 3.0L breaker point distributor. Got the dwell close, and moved on to check and adjust the timing. I chalked the TDC notch in the balancer and 4 deg BTDC on the tab. I couldn't find the balancer mark with the timing light pick up on the #1 wire. This is my good neighbor charity project. The...
  19. harringtondav

    Will Johnson-Evinrude props fit '88 Cobra 3.0L?

    Wrapping up my charity repair on the neighbor's boat. He asked me to buy the prop and add the cost to his parts bill. Not finding much specifically for the Cobra, but many other lower case parts like prop shaft and FWD gear set showed Evinrude 4 cyl outboards as applications. So will an...
  20. harringtondav

    Another new tool! I'm an adict.

    Last year I made the first of many gaffes on the forum stating antifreeze was all the same. Wrong. I learned OAT and EG are incompatible, after I topped off my clearly marked OAT reservoir with Glycol. I finally got around to cleaning out my cooling system today. This vacuum purge and refill...
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