1 exhaust manifold hot/ the other cool

[moldmakerb]

Hello,
First post here, so be gentle. I recently bought a 1996 Four Winns 200 horizon at an auction so I have no knowledge of the history of the boat. But other than some dirt and just normal sitting neglect it seems like a good boat. I recently changed oil, sterndrive oil, plugs (which other than some rust looked barely worn) wires, cap an rotor, water an gas filter,, and did some cleaning. Before I left the auction I fired it up for a second or two and she fired up like a champ, but inonly ran it for a second or two just to make sure it didn't have some engine noise.

So question comes in where after some of the tune-up repairs I put the muffs on it an ran it for first time for about 10 mins at idle. She ran fine no issues but one exhaust manifold was definitely hot to the touch and the other was cool to the touch. Is this something to be concerned about? I would like to get it out on the lake 1 time this summer before putting it in the garage and doing some heavy cleaning over the winter.

Any thoughts or insights would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Lou C]

Well to start you should inspect and probably replace the impeller. Then take off the thermostat housing and make sure all the ports in it are open and the thermostat is opening at the right temp and opens far enough. Lastly I’d remove the exhaust elbows and make sure the cooling passages are not clogged up with rust on the side that’s hot. If you want a reliable boat the drive should be removed and the bellows checked for cracks and water intrusion. The gimble bearing should be checked for smooth movement and the u joints as well.
the boat is 25 years old if you don’t know the maintenance history assume it ALL needs doing. I/Os are by their nature high maintenance machines and they get very expensive when neglected

 

[bruceb58]

Its normal for one to be hotter than the other especially at idle. Was it so hot you couldn't leave your hand on it?

 

[moldmakerb]

@bruceb58 the manifold that was hot wasn't too hot that I couldn't leave my hand on it for a few seconds, so it definitely wasn't red hot.

And @Lou C thanks for the advice I was planning on replacing the bellows and all the seals and probably the gimble this winter. But I agree taking the thermostat housing an impeller off just to check for rust probably isn't a bad idea either.

The main reason I would like to get it out on lake is to do a test drive a see if anything else needs fixed.

The boat for its age appears to have just sat in the water alot an never used, hull seems to be in great shape ( no scratches, no marks from banking it,) but the outdrive has alot of corrosion an pitting. When I was cleaning it the reg stickers were stacked an there was one for 97 an 20, so I'm assuming it's been out 2 yrs an never cleaned.

One other question for anyone.

Where do you find parts?

I've done the internet search thing, found crowley.com and a few others that are helpful.

But I got an upper housing cover that needs replaced an all searches seem to lead to ebay.

 

[Lou C]

IBoats links to the Volvo Penta factory store if this is a VP powered boat and you want new. If used then eBay. If a Merc boat you can use Crowley marine or Marine engine

 

[moldmakerb]

@Lou C it's a volvo, but finding parts on the Volvo factory store is hard. Most are discontinued, or not available

 

[Lou C]

I agree I find Volvo model #s and parts finding frustrating. The old OMC system was much simpler. I like Marine Engine . Com for parts

 

[bruceb58]

Since your boat was made during the Volvo OMC joint venture years, you can also look at OMC. However, you will still have the issue of discontinued parts.

What is your model number. Within the model number is a 2 letter code that designates what "model year" it is.

 

[Lou C]

Since using that catalog is such a pain I suggest that you consider finding an actual dealer and walk in with the parts diagrams with parts numbers and see if they can order parts for you. I have a local marine parts dealer who can order stuff from Merc, VP or BRP as long as have part numbers. I got OMC/VOLVO exhaust parts this way that are no longer available from OMC. Also using a dealer you don’t pay for shipping and for heavy stuff like cast iron exhaust it adds up. I have also bought many great condition NLA parts for my OMC from eBay sellers. This is one of the issues with boats more than 10 years old, NLA parts. That’s why I greatly prefer simple ignition and fuel systems with all parts available aftermarket. I can get any part I need for a Rochester Quadrajet that had not been produced in 30 years. Holley or Edelbrock carbs just walk into any hot rod shop. Same with mechanical fuel pumps, available cheap and last forever. Need a VP fuel vapor assembly? Good luck they are NLA!

 

[bruceb58]

I had no issues finding parts/numbers on http://www.volvopentastore.com/

If you find a part that is discontinued, you would have an issue finding that part no matter what website you used.

Out of curiosity, what parts are you finding discontinued?

 

[Lou C]

Bruce many listings on that site say:
Thru dealer
Or
Obsolete part
Hence why I suggested going to a dealer.
Marine Engine . Com gives:
Original OE part #
superceeded new part #
aftermarket part #
However for VP they seem to only have aftermarket