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  1. J

    2000 Alpha One Gen 2: too much corrosion?

    Ahoy! Been poking off and on at this project Sea Ray Sundeck, with a 5.something TBI merc (sitting for 12 years, missing engine cover, corroded engine ID plate). Today I pulled the bell housing and bellows. The gimbal ring is nearly impossible to steer left or right. Disconnected the power...
  2. J

    Can anyone identify this engine? Owner says it is a "250" Bravo 2

    This is in a 1996 cruiser for sale near me. The owner says it is a 250 engine, and that it has a bravo 2 outdrive. Serpentine belt says 1996+ Looks like it has MPI, so I'd think it has higher output than 250, and they wouldn't have put a bravo on a 250 anyways. I've never seen a cooling system...
  3. J

    u-joint noise: how much is normal? Also, alternator 1 vs 3 wire

    At idle, with the outdrive all the way down and steering straight, I can hear a slight knock. It almost sounds like the noise an old car engine I used to have made when it had spun a bearing, but much quieter. Above 800 or 900 RPM it settles out, no more knock. But, if I turn hard to port or...
  4. J

    Extra fuel around carb? Missing gasket? Damaged/misadjusted carb?

    I've noticed that if I take off the flame arrestor there seems to be some extra fuel in strange places, like at the mating surface of the flame arrestor and carb, or in small cavities between or around the barrels. Is this "normal"? I haven't run a carb vehicle in years... I also still need to...
  5. J

    Intermittent alarm from oil pressure switch

    Ahoy. Sorry for all the multiple threads, don't really want to mix up topics and this boat definitely had it's fair share of issues. I narrowed down the intermittent alarm I'm getting to the oil pressure switch. On my boat (1995 Doral 230, Alpha 1 Gen 2 5.7 carb), the sender for the oil...
  6. J

    Still running hot on muffs. Should I worry?

    I'd rather not waste another evening plus gas etc driving to the lake if I can avoid it. When I bought the boat it seemed to run just fine in the guy's driveway. Heated up to around 175 on muffs and stayed there. I got it home, dealt with a bunch of other issues, and tested it out in my...
  7. J

    Time to sort out the trailer, now that the boat's nearly ready

    Been working through a bunch of deferred maintenance from the last owner of the boat, overheating, leaking bellows, rotted risers, wrong spark plugs and fuel filter etc. It's a 23' Doral sterndrive on a '99 Karavan tandem axle trailer. On the trailer, I've finished rewiring, putting on the...
  8. J

    Pressure test outdrive while on boat?

    I've already pulled and installed the outdrive once, and now I've pulled and re-attached the lower unit for an impeller change. So, everything is mounted to the boat. Can I pressure test a '96 alpha one gen2 while mounted to the boat? Could I just hook a tire inflator and a gauge up to the tube...
  9. J

    Outdrive gear oil, switching between premium and performance, alpha one gen 2

    Replacing the raw water impeller, I am of course draining out the gear oil. When I looked at the bottles I got delivered yesterday I realized that I had ordered Premium (which afaik is dino 75W90 gear oil) instead of the Performance synthetic 90wt stuff. Only a couple months left in the season...
  10. J

    1995 Alpha 1 5.7 Cooling, which gaskets? which thermostat? how to 'flush'?

    Slowly working through sorting what the previous owner didn't do quite right on my boat (1995 Doral 230 EX). It has a 1995 Alpha I gen II, with the 4 barrel 5.7 thunderbolt 4 engine (serial 0F297698). The engine overheats. I have a new impeller kit that just arrived on my doorstep. Going to...
  11. J

    Anyone have a guess what this broke off from?

    Is it a Mercruiser piece? Is it some sort of water shutoff? Is it an adjuster for some random electronic thing long thrown in the trash? I found it under the engine after flushing the bilge. Plastic, and broken off at the end that isn't a handle. Thanks!
  12. J

    Old style to new style outdrive speedo hose quick connect

    In pre-1998 boats (like my 1995 Doral 230/5.7 Alpha One Gen II), the speedometer hose connected to the lower unit with an annoying twist and pull thing with tiny plastic tabs that can break, as mine did. There's a threaded hole in the lower unit with the bottom half of this dumb quick...
  13. J

    Alpha I gen 2: newly acquired boat, couple of questions.

    Hi! I just brought home a 1995 Doral 230 EX / Mercruiser 5.7 (carb... not sure which carb, with thunderbolt ignition), Alpha I Gen 2. I was watching some videos to learn about maintenance on the outdrive and in one of the ones showing gear oil replacement, the guy had to lean against his drive...
  14. J

    Should I run from a 5.8 EFI Volvo/OMC/Ford?

    Hey all, I'm looking at upgrading and the boat I'm looking at has a 1996 Volvo Penta 5.8 FSI, which was only made for 2 years, it is basically an OMC engine with a Penta DP outdrive. Some places I've read say these are pretty reliable packages, other say run run run away, that parts are...
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