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  1. Lou C

    Proper Engine Oil Level

    And going back to the first post if you do not run and warm up the engine before changing you will NEVER get all the old oil out. When I do mine I warm it up and using the garden hose adapter it sucks the pan dry at the end it’s sucking air. The OMC/Volvo drain system actually has the drain tube...
  2. Lou C

    1988 Merc 5.0XL with alpha drives engine replacement suggestions

    Charlie why not do some diagnostics and see if you can figure out the source of water intrusion. If the water has not been in the oil a long time you might be able to do repairs depending on the situation. If your boat is not covered with 6-12” of snow that is! 4 years ago I had water in a cyl...
  3. Lou C

    Hydrolock, swim platform, riser height and static water line question

    I would not use that, those are Volvo OE?
  4. Lou C

    When to change bellows on a SX-A drive?

    I would pull the drive and inspect the gimble bearing and u joints. If they are grease-able I'd grease them but these newer boats usually have permanently lubed gimble bearings and u joints. For the bellows, with the drive off tilt up the pivot housing and look in the folds closely with a bright...
  5. Lou C

    Volvo Penta 5.7Gi Closed Cooling Question

    Usually what will happen is that some trapped air will exit when the thermostat fully opens, and it may have if you ran it at 3000 rpm in neutral a the dock. Does your heat exchanger have a removable cap on it? If not then the way you did it is probably fine. If it does have a cap I'd let it...
  6. Lou C

    Volvo Penta 5.7Gi Closed Cooling Question

    Honestly I don’t think it will make much difference. One thing I’d suggest is: Before running it up on plane make sure to bleed all the air out of the heat exchanger. I like the Lisle radiator funnel, this gadget makes it easy to bleed cooling systems without spilling antifreeze all over the...
  7. Lou C

    Overhauling my 1988 MerCruiser 4.3 ltr. engine

    That's an electric choke model, no need for the choke heat tube but as noted you might want to evaluate the condition of both carbs, see which one is in better condition. Getting old neglected carbs clean can be very difficult, an ultrasonic cleaner might be the only way.
  8. Lou C

    Red engine motor year mystery

    here are some pix, this is the OMC Charcoal Grey, in the last pic the exhaust is Barr black, in the last pic you can see how under certain lighting conditions the grey and black look similar but are not the same. I would not worry too much about the engine change, because if you look at sellers...
  9. Lou C

    Please help looking at a boat tomorrow

    Quite honestly I wouldn’t buy an old Merc I/O here either the transom mounts fall apart in salt water. The Cobra transom assembly holds up better by far. No leaks no rotted steering arms no play in the hinge pins. I have not had to replace any major component in the drive since I bought it in...
  10. Lou C

    Red engine motor year mystery

    Om my engine when I did the top end overhaul I painted the new heads etc with OMC charcoal grey and the new Barr exhaust I just left black. You can definitely see the difference. That said they might have used different shades of the charcoal grey.
  11. Lou C

    Red engine motor year mystery

    The Volvos weren’t black they were a charcoal grey just like my OMC. However Mercrusiers and new and reman GM marine engines were black.
  12. Lou C

    First time buyer

    And if you like buying 5 years old knock off 15-20k!
  13. Lou C

    First time buyer

    What? Here in Long Island you can walk into a dealer and buy a nicely equipped Key West 203 Dual Console with a Yamaha, Merc or Suzuki 150 for about 50K! That’s a 20’ fully foam filled (positive flotation) salt water boat. That’s new with warranties.
  14. Lou C

    Overhauling my 1988 MerCruiser 4.3 ltr. engine

    yep if you go electric you then don't need the tube just keep the block off plate. I had a hot air choke like that on my '70 Ford with the 302 V8 2 bbl Autolite 2100 carb. Went into a passage on the exhaust manifold.
  15. Lou C

    Red engine motor year mystery

    Interesting, yes the joint venture engines (1994-1998, for OMC, up to 99 for Volvo) were actually painted OMC Charcoal grey like my Cobra. As long as you can get the right parts, its not an issue, but good to know what you have.
  16. Lou C

    Overhauling my 1988 MerCruiser 4.3 ltr. engine

    That's the heat tube for the hot air heated choke (on your old one). Used on the 2bbl Rochester carb. If you have a hot air choke and want it to work install the heat tube on the new manifold. The way it works is that there is a vacuum port in the choke housing, vacuum sucks air through that...
  17. Lou C

    First time buyer

    The outboard costs more up front but there is no question in my mind that they are safer by far. No issue with fumes in the bilge, no worry about a leaking bellows letting in water ruining the gimble bearing & ujoints and no chance of a cooling hose failing and flooding the bilge with seawater...
  18. Lou C

    1999 Mercruiser 4.3L Fuel Pump

    We are not supposed to post links to other sites but look up the Carter marine low pressure pump on those I listed above and it should come up complete with the bracket to mount it...
  19. Lou C

    First time buyer

    My advice: Save up till you can get a 5 yr old boat with a modern outboard. Or else get to have fun fooling around with all the common old boat (wood rot) and designed in I/O problems. I’ve learned enough in the past 18 years to do this only once. Take the cheaper way out and be prepared to...
  20. Lou C

    1999 Mercruiser 4.3L Fuel Pump

    While I agree using the same style as Merc used is easiest the Carter pump is a good option and can be bought from a variety of vendors like Michigan Motorz, Summit Racing or Jegs.
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