Re: 1988 3.7 liter LX Mercruiser
Looks like the reply I posted last night didn't take...I had some broad band difficulty...here's a re-do.<br /><br />I have a 3.7l and like it's heavy duty features, but like others understand its weaknesses, such as the charging system, cooling system and direct cam drive of the closed cooling system.<br /><br />Yours should have the 4" heat exchange unit, I have never heard of failure within the unit like you described, I'm curious how you diagnosed the problem to the heat exchanger. At any rate, a new one is about $400 and easy to replace yourself...but if you do get the 4", the earlier 3" were inadequate for cooling. I occasionally see them on eBay for $100 or less.<br /><br />Over-all the engine is a work horse and a good one to buy if you're buying a 10+ year old boat..but there were design issues like I mentioned above...all fixable, and when fixed will last another 10 years.
