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  1. Lou C

    93 mercruiser 4.3 alpha one gen 2 fuel problem (I think)

    Those Carter/Weber Edelbrock carbs actually have 2 float bowls on either side of the central venturis and so you have 2 floats, 2 needle valves. Could be something quite simple as the rubber needle valve tip deteriorates just due to time. My test for leaky floats is to unbolt carb & dump out...
  2. Lou C

    Volvo Penta 5.0 GL PWTR - severe overheat - thought I was on fire - troubleshooting Questions

    I rolled the dice on this one and it worked out fine but it was a bit of a gamble esp because mine was used 100% in salt water & the water was in the oil for about a week before I could get the boat out of the water and start Diagnosing it. Changed oil 3/4 times and drained the engine of water...
  3. Lou C

    Volvo Penta 5.0 GL PWTR - severe overheat - thought I was on fire - troubleshooting Questions

    You can temporarily replace the hoses from the thermostat housing with clear hose of the same diameter. You have to run the engine when it’s in the water & under load & good & hot to ensure the that the thermostat is fully open, look for bubbles in the cooling water inside each hose as it flows...
  4. Lou C

    Water in Oil

    https://www.perfprotech.com/blog/boat-and-engine-technical-tips/marine-exhaust-systems/mercruiser-4-3l-v6-exhaust-manifolds-2
  5. Lou C

    Birds in the boat . . .

    I had to resort to 3 Gullsweeps to keep birds off my boat during the season, and also keep the old nasty fake cats around just in case, lol. The gullsweeps really do work, I had nothing on my mooring covers as long as I've been using them.
  6. Lou C

    Birds in the boat . . .

    I had them attacking the side mirrors on my old 98 Jeep while I wasn’t driving it for a year or so. As soon as I started using it again they disappeared!
  7. Lou C

    Bellows adhesive or not?

    The compression seal on the stern end of the bellows is used on all OMC Cobra and Volvo SX models; as long as it’s installed properly they do not leak!
  8. Lou C

    Sealing the U-Joint Bellows watertight on an OMC Cobra

    The most important things on the Cobra bellows install, is to make sure that: the ridge that's in the bellows lip fits into the groove in the gimble housing flange the hose clamp is oriented properly (approx 2:00 positon) the bellows is asymmetric so the side with more folds faces down, this...
  9. Lou C

    Water in Oil

    Change oil 2-3x get new exhaust bolted up take boat to lake, run it up on plane after warm up to get it nice and hot to boil out any remaining water watch oil pressure, and listen for bearing noises.
  10. Lou C

    Water in Oil

    I recall reading somewhere that when GM bought out the Vortec V6s the engines cost l more they came up with this idea to save money. OMC also had their own version of the one piece batwing from 1985-1990 on the V6, I had 3 sets of those on mine (salt water use, changed every 5/7 seasons) and...
  11. Lou C

    Gas/water separator filter

    And also dump the gas into a mason jar, this allows you to get a sense of what's in your fuel, and if your fuel tank might need cleaning, or is getting water in it
  12. Lou C

    Water in Oil

    Merc makes an OEM kit, and Barr Marine makes an aftermarket kit, I have used Barr with good results on my OMC, which also had the one piece V6 exhaust although I never had water leaks from those, but they were NLA when it was time to replace them.... Here's a link to a place selling the Barr...
  13. Lou C

    Water in Oil

    Is this one of the Merc 4.3s with the one piece exhaust manifolds (‘96-‘99), if so these are known for failure & leaking water back into the cyls. There are conversion kits to convert those to the conventional 2 piece style….
  14. Lou C

    BMW headlight . . . $1,000 !!!

    That’s my resistance to newer vehicles, and even though I know outboards are “better”, less maintenance I still have the crusty old OMC I/O.
  15. Lou C

    BMW headlight . . . $1,000 !!!

    I’ve used Crown aftermarket for both my 98 & 07 Jeeps. For the 07 a pair of OEM was $ 600, for aftermarket it’s about 1/3 of that, and quality is quite close to the OEM…I polished the originals a few times but the haziness kept coming back..,so I just put in a pair of Crown lights.
  16. Lou C

    BMW headlight . . . $1,000 !!!

    Just replaced the H4 ECE headlights on my 98 Grand Cherokee with the same aftermarket Crown units; the old ones were at least 15 years old and the reflectors were peeling & glass lenses about to fall off. These are about $65 each, a bargain. These are among my favorite older Jeeps, as capable...
  17. Lou C

    Bellows adhesive or not?

    Merc said to use adhesive, OMC said to use sealer, I'm still in the OMC tribe for now so I use the sealer. I can say this, using that sealer keeps out water well, the gimble housing flange looked brand new when I changed the bellows last time. I have seen some that were so rotted that you'd...
  18. Lou C

    Sealing the U-Joint Bellows watertight on an OMC Cobra

    PS on that other question, I found in the garage (always a challenge for me) the updated bell crank and end cap with grease fitting. The bellcrank fits into the end cap like I'd expect, no play, not loose but not stiff. I "think" that it might be better to have installed the cap first, but also...
  19. Lou C

    Sealing the U-Joint Bellows watertight on an OMC Cobra

    What I have done for 20 years of OMC Cobra maintenance, is after using OMC gasket sealer when the bellows is snapped into the pivot housing (stern end of bellows) is this: generously coat the bellows where it will contact the bearing carrier with OMC triple guard or Lucas Marine grease coat the...
  20. Lou C

    BMW headlight . . . $1,000 !!!

    When I installed H-4 lights on my older cars also added an extension harness with relays for the headlights that prevents voltage drop to the headlights. My 98 Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ came with terrible DOT composite headlights, I replaced them with much better Crown aftermarket ECE H-4 lights...
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