1996 Mercruiser 4.3 electrical issue?

[Swedefj40]

1996 4.3L
With stamped metal timing cover the balancer is 824319.
With plastic timing cover the balancer is 809892.

You should be able to use any standard GM 350/305/262 6-3/4" 8 lb internal-balance.

Yeah I've looked at these but they're crazy expensive. I need the correct aftermarket replacement for the MerCruiser 809892T.

 

[greno]

There's nothing real special about these harmonic balancers for these GM small blocks.
You just have to make sure you get an internal balance one and not an external balance one.
You should stay with the same weight because that plays into rotational inertia which affects low rpm idle performance.
As far as diameter, just pick what fits your engine timing tab.

 

[harringtondav]

The 4.3 Gen 2 has an oil pressure safety switch on the port side, midway just above the oil pan. This opens the electric fuel pump circuit and stops it in a low oil pressure condition, or a faulty connection. This could cause the vibration if intermittent connection, especially at high throttle where you carb may be starving for fuel. Remove and jump the two switch leads to bypass this switch, and see if things improve. This switch also causes a low oil pressure alarm, but may not chime in an intermittent condition.

I've got mine permanently bypassed so the electric fuel pump operates with key-on, vs. key cranking to pre charge my float bowl and speed up starting. I keep my eyes on the oil pressure gage, so I don't need this engine shut off feature.

 

[Swedefj40]

The 4.3 Gen 2 has an oil pressure safety switch on the port side, midway just above the oil pan. This opens the electric fuel pump circuit and stops it in a low oil pressure condition, or a faulty connection. This could cause the vibration if intermittent connection, especially at high throttle where you carb may be starving for fuel. Remove and jump the two switch leads to bypass this switch, and see if things improve. This switch also causes a low oil pressure alarm, but may not chime in an intermittent condition.

I've got mine permanently bypassed so the electric fuel pump operates with key-on, vs. key cranking to pre charge my float bowl and speed up starting. I keep my eyes on the oil pressure gage, so I don't need this engine shut off feature.

I ended up replacing both the sender and switch which were both faulty, so my oil pressure problem is okay now. My harmonic balancer is shot though.

 

[Swedefj40]

There's nothing real special about these harmonic balancers for these GM small blocks.
You just have to make sure you get an internal balance one and not an external balance one.
You should stay with the same weight because that plays into rotational inertia which affects low rpm idle performance.
As far as diameter, just pick what fits your engine timing tab.

I'm on it

 

[Swedefj40]

So I didn't want to chance it and ended up ordering the Genuine MerCruiser part. It'll be here in 2 weeks.

 

[Swedefj40]

So it finally came in and it looks to be exactly the same as the old one so that's good. Got it mounted and went on fine looks like the pulleys all line up too but the only concern is that the bolt to tighten it up seems to be a bit on the short side. I get maybe 4 full rotations before it tightens up. Is this normal?

 

[Swedefj40]

Make that 2 full rotations! The bolt is 2 3/4" long. The balancer fits in there nicely too...

 

[alldodge]

Your talking about the crank shaft bolt right? If so you need more threads the 2 turns,. Is it coming up against the pulley or just the damper?

 

[Swedefj40]

Its clamping both the balancer and pulley to the end of the crank shaft. I'm going to pull it all off and compare the old pulley/balancer combination with the new one and go from there. Always something with this boat, it seems like its afraid of water!

 

[alldodge]

Normally the crank bolt only holds the damper, the smaller bolts hold the pulley to the damper

 

[Swedefj40]

There is a sleeve on the pulley that slips into the balancer to locate it and also I noticed that the last time the boat was in for servicing, they gave the pulley a blast of spray paint so now you can see where the thick washer was (and bolt), on the outside of the pulley not the balancer. A quick Google search shows that the bolt goes in after the pulley is mounted to the balancer.

 

[Swedefj40]

Okay so here's what happened. Unknown to me at the time, the balancer puller that I used was missing the end bushing (or whatever it is called) and by using it this way the puller damaged the outer 4 or 5 threads on the end of the crank shaft. I cleaned up the threads in the crank with a tap but those outer ones were now useless so that the crank bolt was only able to grab on to the good ones further in the shaft. I picked up a longer bolt installed it and torqued everything down and put the belts back on and started her up. Vibration is gone! Idle is really smooth and I'm now a happy camper!!! Thanks for all the input people. Very much appreciated to say the least!

 

[Rick Stephens]

You've been through the ringer. On the water now. Happy Boating!

 

[Swedefj40]

So here's an update...

We've been hitting the fishing pretty hard this past month and the boat has been fantastic with NO problems whatsoever. We've caught Coho, Springs (king salmon), Pinks, China Rockfish, Ling Cod, Sun Stars (multi legged star fish), Sea Cucumber, Flounder, Halibut, Quillback Rockfish, Skates (stingray), Rat Fish, and an 8' Octopus! The boat has ran great now that the bugs have been fixed. Trips have ranged between 40 and 100 miles with fuel consumption being about 48 Liters and 120 Liters respectively (for those 2 trips).

My next focus over the next few months and into winter will be redoing the wiring in the boat. I do not like how there is no busses anywhere and no consistency as to where the fuse holders are. I want to install a breaker panel too. I'd like to add a radar arch and relocate the VHF antenna. Relocate where the Sonar and Nav unit are and replace the compass. There is an awful lot of play in the steering (1/4 turn). Also add an electric start and charging system to the kicker. Oh and I don't like the look of the starter either so I'll probably replace that too.

Here' some shots of our last trip out...

 

[achris]

Nice...

 

[Rick Stephens]

I'm feeling REALLY bad for you right now swede. I live in the Rockies, not that many lings or halibut. Although we have plenty of salmon to hook up.

Great pics. Thanks!

Rick

 

[nola mike]

Wow, I'm going to have to show you up with all the perch I've been catching...

 

[Swedefj40]

After missing half of our boating season to repairs I'm so thrilled to be finally getting out on the water and enjoying it!!!