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  1. Lou C

    89’ OMC 4.3L Winterize Question

    You have to remember that water causes freeze damage when there isn’t room for it to expand. So even if there’s a little left in there it will cause no harm. You should get a lot out of the engine (3.5-4.0 gallons) and out of each exhaust manifold (1/2-3/4 gallon or so). Not much out of the raw...
  2. Lou C

    89’ OMC 4.3L Winterize Question

    Well I'd just return the AF if you can. Not worth the bother and mess if you are not leaving it in. How cold does it get where you are? If below zero I'd use only -100 or Mix up a batch of Sierra like I do. The problem with these is that -50 or -60 is burst temp of a copper pipe, but I don't...
  3. Lou C

    89’ OMC 4.3L Winterize Question

    correct because the thermostat most likely will not open far enough to allow all the raw water (approx 4 gallons) in the block to exit. the other issue with these kits is they can damage the impeller because the AF is fed via gravity flow, not pressurized like with muffs. the way I do it on my...
  4. Lou C

    89’ OMC 4.3L Winterize Question

    Yep don’t use the winterizing tank they are only good for closed cooled engines. Just drain poke all the holes and that will do it. Adding AF can be done but has to be done the right way.
  5. Lou C

    replace Mercarb on 4.3 with Rochester?

    that old Rochester 2bbl is a pretty simple carb. We had one on our '72 Chevrolet my parents bought new. Back then I remember my motor head friends saying that Quadrajets were hard to rebuild, too tricky for a beginner but I did not find that to be the case, all these years later. I had mine...
  6. Lou C

    replace Mercarb on 4.3 with Rochester?

    I'm agreeing with Rick, with a re-furburbished carb you might get good, might get bad. Even brand new, might be trouble, I had that exact experience, thinking my old Quadrajet was too old to rebuild, I tried a new Holley, had a lot of trouble with it, wound up pulling the Quadrajet out of the...
  7. Lou C

    Volvo penta 5.0 gl not sucking water

    First of all do you have an AQ series or SX series, there is a difference in the AQ uses a metal water hose fitting that can rot out and not seal, but the SX series used a plastic fitting in the pivot housing that can crack and leak water (inherited from the OMC Cobra design). Make sure your...
  8. Lou C

    Mercruiser mpi ecu mapping

    Was it a marine spec cam or an auto spec cam?
  9. Lou C

    Mercruiser mpi ecu mapping

    It’s a lot more complex than just weight and displacement. Torque curve, gear ratios and spacing between ratios to name a few. BTW our 07 Jeep 5.7 liters 5 spd auto and 98 Jeep 4.0 liter 4 speed auto get nearly the same fuel economy and the 07 weighs 700 lbs more….
  10. Lou C

    MC-1 Back Together, Temp 175 Fahrenheit?

    Yep you should at least see water pouring out of the idle relief ports like in my vid. That’s how I tell if my impeller is good, if I see that healthy stream there I know it’ll be good for the season.
  11. Lou C

    MC-1 Back Together, Temp 175 Fahrenheit?

    Much better mine will run a 140* all day if I want.
  12. Lou C

    MC-1 Back Together, Temp 175 Fahrenheit?

    That may be your problem. These are the best!
  13. Lou C

    Sheared water plug on block

    With the metal drain plugs I always use a bit of OMC gasket sealer or Permatex Aviation on the threads, they never seize up that way even with salt water use. You really do have to ream out the holes sometimes though, I had a 90* fitting on my V6 on the side with the starter (to clear the old...
  14. Lou C

    MC-1 Back Together, Temp 175 Fahrenheit?

    Some muffs don't fit well enough to give the engine enough water, the best one I found were the Merc/Quicksilver round ones with the clamp to hold them on. The rubber is softer than the Tempo rectangular dual feed ones and they seal better. I had trouble with the Tempo ones, I think they made...
  15. Lou C

    Moving from IO to OB experiences?

    Yes lot of people in that part of the country never winterize. There were so many frozen engines it’s hard now to get a new long block if you wanted one.
  16. Lou C

    Moving from IO to OB experiences?

    Taking the rear seats out just to do an oil change and winterize just gets old! If you have closed cooling and a remote oil filter mount it makes this less of a nuisance.
  17. Lou C

    Moving from IO to OB experiences?

    When my brother bought a new boat this summer I REALLY tried to convince him to get the outboard instead of the Merc 4.5 200 hp V6. Yep it runs great a lot smoother than the old 4.3s but I look at it from a backyard mechanic view point. Changing a starter would likely be a four letter word job!
  18. Lou C

    Lack of cooling water flow at idle and low rpm.

    If these are SX drives there is a plastic fitting in the pivot housing that can crack and leak water. There is also a clean out under the plastic cover that covers the shift linkage so you can back flush the raw water intake hose. What you can do to test that fitting is to cover the water...
  19. Lou C

    Knocking 4.3 merc

    I’d do a leak down test but the questions asked may only be answered by dis assembly
  20. Lou C

    Knocking 4.3 merc

    before thowing in the towel, I'd check to see if you have an intake or exhaust valve on that cyl not seating, that can cause low compression as well. The low compression result doesn't tell you where you are losing the compression pressure.
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