Looking for specs...

[AirforceHoliday]

I have just recently restored a 1973 Starcraft Holiday 18. I have completely redone the interior. I am in the process of replacing the water pump and impeller. Once this is done I still have the Trim/Tilt pump to replace then I want to move onto replacing the prop. I am looking for any kind of information on the boat. i have searched high and low for the recommended RPM's for the Mercruiser 140 hp it has in it. Any information on this boat would be a huge help! Thanks.

 

[Uraijit]

Re: Looking for specs...

What's the Serial number of the engine and drive? I don't know the answers to your questions, but I can give you a head-start on the guys who do know. They're gonna need more info--starting with engine and drive type, and serial numbers

 

[ziggy]

Re: Looking for specs...

check this thread out...

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=251571

looks like you need #1. in the service manual, you will find all the specs that you will need... #1 is a real big file (1.23gb), so give it time to load. hope ya got broadband... it'll be worth the wait..... confirm proper sm by serial number.....

 

[AirforceHoliday]

Re: Looking for specs...

Thanks, that link is perfect. It took some time to download. I am saving it to my computer as I type this. Thanks a bunch. Hopefully I will find everything I need. Maybe even get this thing back into the water by next weekend!

 

[APPALOOSA2]

Re: Looking for specs...

I have the same boat and I have the owners manual that came with it.
Per Owners Manual Mercruier 140 RPM 4200-4600 GEAR RATIO 2:1
Props all 3 blade
16' - 18 ' 14 1/2 X 23 39-45 MPH
17' - 19' 15 X 21 36-42 MPH
18.5' -21' 15 1/2 X 19 33-39 MPH

I would say starting at the top light load to bottm heavy load.

Hope this helps.

 

[AirforceHoliday]

Re: Looking for specs...

As always thanks all for the info. I am installing the new impeller this weekend. I ended up getting the rebuild kit. I should have it in tomorrow and hopefully back out on the water by this weekend. I also just bought a pair of the "earmuffs" so that I can test it before pulling it all the way to the lake. I just want to make sure. On my 140 hp I/O Mercruiser the water "inlets" are the four small holes on either side of the lower part of the lower unit? I looked through the entire 900 paages of the manual and did not see anything on that. It could have just been after 900 pages I stopped seeing what I was reading. Again any help would be freat. Thanks again!

 

[APPALOOSA2]

Re: Looking for specs...

Yes those are where the muffs need to cover. Remember that when you use ear muffs that WILL NOT prove your water pump is working. Your garden hose has pressure and pushes water through the system . When you are in the water with your boat the impeller has to pick up the water and push it to the engine water pump. Think of the lower unit water pump as a primer to get water to the engine water pump.

The lower unit water pump I change about every 5-6 years that way I know it will allways work.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Looking for specs...

for a 1 drive, it is yearly preventive maintenance to go inspect your impeller.....

 

[AirforceHoliday]

Re: Looking for specs...

Okay I have everything put back together and the muffs over the holes. I turned on the hose and the water just spills out the cups. Will it do this until I actually start the engine up. I thought that the water would come out the outlet hole. I think the water outlet is on the front starboard side of the lower unit. It appears to be plugged. Will running the engine blow the old dried up water out of there? I am scared to start it until I know for sure. I don't want to have to do that all over again. Any help is appreciated as always.

 

[Uraijit]

Re: Looking for specs...

It will probably still spill out the sides after you start it up. It's normal. The engine will take what it needs, the rest is wasted pressure...

 

[ziggy]

Re: Looking for specs...

the muffs over the holes. I turned on the hose and the water just spills out the cups. Will it do this until I actually start the engine up.

yes. be sure and turn the water on prior to starting the engine. when ya turn the engine off. do that first, then turn off the water....

4 places the water exits the drive on land, on the hose... the prop, the pee hole at the ft starboard side of the bullet and the exhust relief ports on either side of the transom shield... look close at the pic and ya can see water (mist water mix) exiting right inline with the grey colored round zinc by the transom on the gimble houseing. same port on the port side too. ya can't see that one in the pic for obvious reasons ......

 

[ziggy]

Re: Looking for specs...

I think the water outlet is on the front starboard side of the lower unit. It appears to be plugged. Will running the engine blow the old dried up water out of there?

probably not.... both 1 drives i've had have had that hole plugged. with no ramifications that i'm aware of. when ya do yer water pump is the time to clean this cavity out... mine have both been pluged with very packed in sand and the likes. both took me a long flat blade screwdriver + and engineered vacumm to suck the crap out of the deep recess... after ya get the packed in crap out, ya can use a poker wire to go through the hole on the outside to clean the hole itself out.....

 

[AirforceHoliday]

Re: Looking for specs...

Thanks, got the battery on a charger now. I'll post later to let you know how it goes.

 

[AirforceHoliday]

Re: Looking for specs...

I had it running for about ten minutes. I didn't see any indications of the engine overheating this time. Although according to a post earlier this isn't the way to tell as the hose is pressurized. The water was coming out of the prop, and the two exhaust holes on the transom, however it appears that the pee hole on the bullet is still plugged? Any suggestions other than taking it all back apart? I plan to take it out on the lake this weekend for a true test. Hoping this time all goes well. The kids are anxious to get out on it without having to paddle back to shore. Here's to a fun weekend.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Looking for specs...

Any suggestions other than taking it all back apart?

nope. the two i did the debrit was alomost like cement... that's an exaduation, but ya get the idea... if ya ain't got no issues, clean it out at end of season when ya go for yer end of season, yearly, impeller inspection....

 

[APPALOOSA2]

Re: Looking for specs...

Those 2 holes by the anodes are suppose to be there. They go to the exhaust outlet and yes water will come out there. The lower unit water pump is pretty easy to change and not mess up. I would suspect you will be just fine. I hope since you had the lower unit off you put new gaskets and o-ring " water pick up" on . I would also put the boat in forward & reverse gear while running on shore while the ear muffs are on. Sometimes when you remove the lower unit the shift cable becomes a little different. If it shifts fine on shore ,Great !...or you might have to adjust shift cable throw a little bit. With a new pump installed you should be fine for the next 7-9 years.
Never run the boat out of the water for any peroid of time without the muffs those rubber impellers heat up fast and melt.

 

[AirforceHoliday]

Re: Looking for specs...

UNREAL!!! I am about done with this boat I think. I got it out this weekend. After running it several times using the water cups ensuring there were no other problems, I finally took it out again. I got about a 1/2 out on the lake when it felt like the drive was slipping. I backed off the throttle and took a look. Nothing apparent was wrong so I turn her around and headed back to shore just to be safe, I didn't feeling like rowing back again. When I went to increase the throttle it started to die out. I increased the choke and she made her way slowly back to the dock. Still feeling like it was slipping the whole way. I loaded her back onto the trailer and headed home. As soon as I got home I hooked up the water cups to see if I could find out what was wrong. As soon as I turned the key my gut dropped, it locked up! I checked the oil and it is now milky I have no clue what would have caused it, as it was running up until I got it on the trailer. I have sunk hundreds of dollars into this boat, only to keep getting more and more worse off. Any ideas?

 

[ziggy]

Re: Looking for specs...

well, if she didn't overheat on the way back that'd be good. good because slipping could be the coupler going south. that'd be bad. if it wasn't overheating. that'd be good cause that could lead ya to think that the coupler is still good. thereby still turning the waterpump. the slipping at that point could come from a spun prop hub. scribe a line on the end of the prop shaft. the part that splines to the prop shaft. + the prop. give here a test run. then go look at your lines. if they ain't lined up any more. it'd be a spun prop hub. or if ya got another known good prop ya could do it that way also. could be internal gears too. that'd be bad. drain yer drive fluid and see if it has any metat shavings in it. if so. that'd be bad. hopefully not and it's just the prop.

here's some info on the milky oil.....

http://www.boatfix.com/merc/Bullet/01/01_13.pdf

when my oil turned milky, it was from a bad manifold and riser..... 1st save the engine. get the water out of it for sure.... real fast if it's salt water.... pretty fast if it's fresh.....

don't be discouraged man. it's a boat... sounds like it's treating ya like a b.o.a.t. break out another thousand..... i know it hurts. but its the way it can go sometimes.... hang in there. sounds like ya've done much to it.....