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  1. Lou C

    1996 Four Winns Sundowner with 5.0 Cobra engine and drive

    As far as using AF the first thing is to use propylene glycol instead of ethylene glycol which is quite toxic and will wind up in your yard, driveway when you start up in spring. The way I have always done it is actually simple, I manually drain everything, poke the drains in the block manifolds...
  2. Lou C

    I/O (Sterndrive) Conversion to Outboards

    The one thing I did years ago to my 20' Four Winns was make the rear access better. That helps, but I am still going to install a remote oil filter and extend the block drains with hoses to make it easier to winterize. If I don't have to pull the seats out every time, I can tolerate it. excuse...
  3. Lou C

    I/O (Sterndrive) Conversion to Outboards

    Yes they are! As for me if this boat stays in reasonably good shape, I may just keep it and repower it when necessary, I figure if I'm lucky I got about maybe 5 more years of boating that I can do. So, not really worth spending $45-$50 K on a new or newer outboard boat. Repower = 1/10th the...
  4. Lou C

    Add cleat to trailer?

    My local ramp was redone so it’s not falling apart but it’s still shallow. So I use the full roller trailer and I got the boat as low as I can get it by getting different crossmember brackets from Load Rite. That and a 4x4 Jeep with limited slips front & rear & V8 power. To use a nice steep ramp...
  5. Lou C

    1996 Four Winns Sundowner with 5.0 Cobra engine and drive

    I have to say your mechanical skills far exceed mine! I do mostly maintenance and have done some bigger repairs: on the boat the deck about 17 years ago; top engine overhaul about 7 years ago (new cyl heads & exhaust) this spring rebuilt the trim cylinders. Jeeps I’ve done all the maintenance &...
  6. Lou C

    My 84 4winns horizon 195 project.

    All the rot started under the helm seat pedestals & rear bench seats where the carpet kept it wet. I had no idea how long this job would last but I have to say this boat has never been in inside storage; in the season it’s in the water with bow & cockpit covers and in winter it has a custom fit...
  7. Lou C

    My 84 4winns horizon 195 project.

    You want the longest lasting deck? In the chronically damp Northeast? Well when we redid ours 17 years ago carpet was not an option (that’s what caused the rot in the first place by holding in moisture), sea deck might not have been on the market yet. So I had the ‘glass shop gel coat it in non...
  8. Lou C

    I/O (Sterndrive) Conversion to Outboards

    Well other than routine maintenance, very few people are doing major repairs on them. Partly due to extremely high parts cost, and also complexity. It's not like pulling the heads off a small block Chevy, that's for sure. Also, when they start to corrode on the block deck surface, or same place...
  9. Lou C

    Engine over heats

    Also don’t forget to also replace a scored wear plate in the impeller housing….
  10. Lou C

    1996 Four Winns Sundowner with 5.0 Cobra engine and drive

    If there’s any rust flakes stuck in the stat you’ll have the result you see, 100-120*F. Over time sometimes the engine will clear itself and stop shedding rust flakes. What I have done when that happens is run it up on plane & then bring it back to idle. Then carefully tap the stat housing with...
  11. Lou C

    I/O (Sterndrive) Conversion to Outboards

    Those are valid concerns, for sure…money invested vs what you could sell it for & how well it performs. I followed a few of these conversions on the hull truth and the people who did them were happy with the result & performance but the cost is very high esp with a twin engine set up…
  12. Lou C

    I/O (Sterndrive) Conversion to Outboards

    There are several “ifs” that would have maintained the popularity of I/Os vs outboards: If (mod edit) inboards (didn't have) expensive potentially dangerous cat exhaust If boat companies would design the engine space for easy access If there were better/more effective anti fouling paints for...
  13. Lou C

    I/O (Sterndrive) Conversion to Outboards

    It’s a misconception that the D/S bellows will sink the boat; as long as that seal is in place it will be a small slow leak. What will is that infernal Merc shift cable bellows! I never liked that design & think the OMC/Volvo shift cable tube is safer. When OMC came out with the Cobra they tried...
  14. Lou C

    I/O (Sterndrive) Conversion to Outboards

    Well the way it all fits together a bellows leak will let some water in but not much remember there is (or should be) a seal behind the gimble bearing. So if that seal is there a bellows leak prob won’t sink the boat but sure it will ruin the gimble & ujoints). That Alpha shift cable bellows on...
  15. Lou C

    Head gasket 2.3l 1986 Sportsman 1900

    If it’s a 2.3 liter 4 cyl that’s gotta be an OMC Cobra abs the engine is a Ford 4 cyl used in many smaller Fords in the 70s & 80s. Take the head to an automotive machine shop check for cracks & do a valve job. Check the block deck for cracks burn marks and flatness.
  16. Lou C

    I/O (Sterndrive) Conversion to Outboards

    The only way I’d have another I/O would be a larger boat single engine with a wide open engine compartment easy access no pulling out seats or other nonsense to do an oil change & pull drain plugs. It would also have to be old enough to predate the mandate for Cat Converter exhaust because...
  17. Lou C

    I/O (Sterndrive) Conversion to Outboards

    While big outboards have become complex and can have problems the balance is that they can tilt out of the water unlike I/Os and you don’t need the complex the interaction of the transom mount swivel housing & pivot housing & tilt n trim. On I/Os the engines are simpler but the adaption to...
  18. Lou C

    I/O (Sterndrive) Conversion to Outboards

    The problems of I/Os in salt can’t be appreciated unless you’ve been maintaining one for some years. Moored boats you will get marine growth no matter what the anti fouling paints for alu just don’t work that well. Ted’s engines were closed cooled from the factory so that’s covered. No one here...
  19. Lou C

    I/O (Sterndrive) Conversion to Outboards

    Hey Ted, Head over to the Hull Truth; there are a few people who have done those conversions on both classic boats (Bertram, Formula) and newer boats as well. For a job like this figure on using a really good glass shop for that part of the conversion. I thought of this briefly years ago but it...
  20. Lou C

    Cobra intermediate cable replacement

    The only tools I used were those actually sold by OMC so I can’t say if aftermarket ones fit the same but OMC did change that spec at some point. I’ll have to dig out my tools to jog my memory….
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