mercruiser 165 runs

[marvinjansen]

I got the engne running last Saturday on my 1973 Arisitocraft 19. I just wanted to know it would run. Found the points crusted over and not making electrical contact, sanded and adjusted points and got spark. No water coming out of 5/8th hose from the impellor with muffs on, so ran water hose direct to motor where impellor hose went, plenty of cooling. Used starting fluid and fresh gas from outboard tank and it started up and ran good. After bleeding the tilt system it worked too. Put in forward and reverse and they worked. Then a problem, must have tilted down and prop hit dirt and a root. Now when in reverse the prop only turns in one direction, but in forward it free wheels (didn't freewheel before this). Wonder if I tore something up in the gears or maybe just linkage problems from working it some. Now will work on the impeller and drive. I appreciate the info on this site and help with issues. I didn't put antifreeze back in but did drain water from block, manifold and the big hose on the engine. We have dogs and didn't like antifreeze around them.

 

[mr 88]

Re: mercruiser 165 runs

You probably have a bad shift cable. Sounds like the engine has not been run in a while and the cable just gave out. You should remove the outdrive and check both bellows. The shift cog can be manually turned to all three,FNR, positions. That would give you a better indication as to where the problem is.Do a search on outdrive removal etc.You have fried the impellar by running it with no water and with the outdrive off this would be a good time to replace it.

 

[littlebookworm]

Re: mercruiser 165 runs

mr 88 gave you good advice. I'd also add that you get the service manuals for your engine and your outdrive. That way you'll have some information of what makes things tick and how. Any questions you may have, you can post here and someone is sure to pipe in some answers. By the way, the manuals can be downloaded for free from various forums; try BoaterEd, Chaparral Owners, or SeaRay owners. Good luck. Hy

 

[marvinjansen]

Re: mercruiser 165 runs

Got manual but a cd for $5. Knew I'd need impeller and will take your advice and check shifting when foot is off. Need to do maintenance on drive now I see the engine is running great.

 

[ziggy]

Re: mercruiser 165 runs

great ya got her running good.
ya might replace your points prior to the season. filing them clean let ya know it runs, but for the price, points are cheap. fwiw. i give mine new plugs, cap, rotor, condenser and points. all but the cap are pretty reasonable price wise.

if ya did run the engine and the drive was still installed, ya did fry the impeller. back flush the bits and pieces out of it prior to feeding water back through the drive again. you'll likely find many fragments of impeller blades. ya don't want them going into the cooling passages inside the engine.

agreed on checking shifting while on the bench.
with the lower isolated ya can shift it with a socket. i can't remember the direction of rotation of the shift shaft. but all the way one direction is fwd. prop should not spin ccw, turn the shift shaft all the way the opposite direction and it is rev. the prop should not spin cw. half way in between is neu. the prop should freewheel bot directions w/o sound or feel.

no need for the anti freeze if ya got the water out of it. mines been sitting that way all winter so far. if i got the all the water out i'm ok too.

keep on truckin man. sounds like yer really making some headway and spring is only a couple months away. you'll be boating in no time...

 

[kilowatts]

Re: mercruiser 165 runs

Hi Guys:

What Ziggy said. Keep the thing well maintained and you should have few problems. Check the gas filters to keep the carb clean and it should run for a long time.

kilowatts

 

[marvinjansen]

Re: mercruiser 165 runs

Just checked the cable and it's bad. Manually put in forward and it went in gear and reverse is almost in, so gears may be ok!! Knew impeller was 8 years old and bad, so no loss if fried, will figure on new housing and all. Just to get in water I think we can shift it from the back to try it if we can't get a cable for a while. Where do you get cables?

 

[marvinjansen]

Re: mercruiser 165 runs

now it runs in water, 35mph at 3500 rpm. really felt great!! shifted from stern, alternator not putting out (extra battery aboard), trim worked (except guage), temp ran 120. Love my 1973 Aristocraft with Mercruiser 165. more work to do but now motivated to make improvements. had help putting impeller in and pumps good now. old one was stiff and kinda distorted, but all in one piece. there is a roaring at the back of the motor, I suspect the gimbal bearing but don't know what I am talking about, just hear a noise. how do you change the alternator belt? I need to remove something at the front motor mount but don't want to upset the alignment. thanks for all the help from this forum!!)

 

[ziggy]

Re: mercruiser 165 runs

now it runs in water, 35mph at 3500 rpm. really felt great!!

that sounds good. i'm guessing that's exactly where mine is at. 35 mph @ 3500 rpm. if i remember right. dbkerly is the same too. the tach is almost right on for speed if ya drop a couple of zeros. funny. i run a 19p aluminum flo torqeII prop..

temp ran 120

ya must have a different gauge than me. mine is only green and red. seems like maybe 4 or 5 hash marks in the green. from memory i run anywhere from the 1st to the third hash mark which is half way on the gauge. bumms me out not having numbers on my gauge. i run a 143* tstat so figure i'm running 143-163*F. i don't have a inferred temp gauge.

alternator not putting out

was the belt tight? other than that, maybe take it to an alternator shop for testing?

trim worked (except guage)

the gauge is nice, but many 'real' boaters say ya can live w/o since ya should know by feel how your drive is trimmed. which is true. but it'd be nice to have the gauge work.. i assume there is testing that can be done to find out where the issue lies at..

more work to do but now motivated to make improvements

you'll always be able to say that. me too. probably every other boater too...

had help putting impeller in and pumps good now.

outstanding. i R&R my impeller yearly. it's a very important part of the cooling system. replacing it yearly i hope to never have an overheat which is real hard on an engine and generally preventable via pm.

there is a roaring at the back of the motor, I suspect the gimbal bearing but don't know what I am talking about

could be, have you inspected it yet? ya pull the drive and then reach in there and spin the brg with your fingers. anything other than totally smooth, no sound, no feel is cause for replacement.

how do you change the alternator belt? I need to remove something at the front motor mount but don't want to upset the alignment. thanks for all the help from this forum!!)

i've never done it. but i've read it enough to believe that you remove the block of metal on the port side of the ft. engine mount. ya gotta support the engine i think. then ya can route a new belt in where the spacer is at that gets removed to intall the belt. don't know if it affents alignment or not. but since you'll have the drive off to inspect the gimble brg. ya can run your alignment check to see if all is good while your there. lub the coupler splines + ujoints.
lub the splines with mercruiser spline grease
lub the ujoints and gimble brg with mercruiser ujoint and gimble brg. grease.

fwiw. i just started draining my gear lub a bit ago. kinda cool in the basement but was happy to see no metal fragments + no sign of water intrusion. gear lub was green, just like when i put it in. that's a good start for me...

keep on truckin man. yer gonna be ready for the water real soon it sounds like. great..

 

[marvinjansen]

Re: mercruiser 165 runs

New alternator from Advance for $48. Charges good now, but won't shut off with the key, keeps running till I pull the coil wire, any ideas why? also lots of oil leaking, some from valve cover I know, hope that's the worst of it and not a main seal. anyway, it runs and goes fast and I am happy!

 

[ziggy]

Re: mercruiser 165 runs

New alternator from Advance for $48.

hopefully a marine rated alternator. ya don't wanna go BOOM. sounds like that was the problem though...

but won't shut off with the key

i'm only fair with electrics. seems like testing the ign switch could be in order.

also lots of oil leaking, some from valve cover I know, hope that's the worst of it and not a main seal.

i've for sure had valve cover leaks over the years on my L6. when i got my first one it leaked horrible only to find whoever put the gasket on sure didn't bother to keep in in place while the installed it. the whole back of the gasket missed the seal.
don't know what to think of your other leak. yer gonna have to clean her up real good, then start the search. i fought an oil leak on mine for the last year. one turned out to be a rusty oil pan with a pin hole in it. the other was a trim leak from where the manifold bolts onto the bottom of the trim resivouir. 4 little orings. took me a year of looking to find them though. i'm sure ea. case is different. fwiw. a digital camera really helped me find my leaks...

anyway, it runs and goes fast and I am happy!

they feel like they go pretty fast don't they.... wot on mine is usually around 42mph. feels faster though. glad things are working out for ya..

again, be sure that alternator is marine rated. it's most important that it is... google up some boat explosions if ya wanna see what a stray spark and some fuel vapors do to boats..

edit. with our hardtop boats, we got no where to run or be blown out of either if we have an explosion on board... just food for thought.

 

[marvinjansen]

Re: mercruiser 165 runs

I got a replacement alternator that is identical to the original. didn't think to look for anything else.

 

[ziggy]

Re: mercruiser 165 runs

my guess is ya got an auto alt.
here's the link to mine. should be yours too. http://www.mercruiserparts.com/Show...83&bnbr=10&bdesc=STARTER+MOTOR+AND+ALTERNATOR
item #11. went and looked at the number on my '72 alt. and it has stamped 100577 on to it. i assume the replacment for mine would be the second one down (pretty pricey, choke, choke).
there is likly after market available. probably here on iboats.

edit, yep, iboats store has it. oem part #78403A2
this looks like the serria new replacement... http://www.iboats.com/mall/partfind...&gd_poid=111920&gd_row=5&**********=079952180

from here. http://www.iboats.com/Mercruiser-Al...0930346--**********.079952180--view_id.269735

i'd get a marine rated one or be sure what ya got is.

re edit. my info is flawed somewhere. i got a 1 wire alt. that one is three. more research is necessary...

 

[mr 88]

Re: mercruiser 165 runs

I got a replacement alternator that is identical to the original. didn't think to look for anything else.

Are you sure that you have not crossed up any wires.That would be the first thing I would look at. Some alternators ,if not all, have spark arrestor screens on them. Do you still have the old one or did you turn in the core? Other than that 90 amps is 90 amps [or whatever yours is rated for] car or marine.

 

[marvinjansen]

Re: mercruiser 165 runs

the old alternator was just like the one I got at Advance Auto parts, no screen. I think I will look for a used marine one and get it rebuilt (shop does it here for $40, bearings and diode etc). Or maybe put a screen on the back of the new one. I saw one and it looked like an add on. there's alot to reviving these old boats. Also need to do drive maintenance before a ujoint or gimbal bearing failure andmajor damage. sure did run sweet last weekend. I like it at 2500 rpm on plane.

 

[marvinjansen]

Re: mercruiser 165 runs

Returned the auto alternator and will look for a marine one. Don't want to blow up due to a spark from an improper alternator. I looked at another Aristocraft 19 and it had only a ground and one to the battery. what they call a one wire alternator I think. Maybe if I put one like that then the motor will turn off with the switch.

 

[ziggy]

Re: mercruiser 165 runs

glad to hear ya took the auto alternator back. that was the right thing to do.
yep, i've had 2 165 L6 engines. one a '72, the other a '75. both have had 1 wire alternators on them. my nineteen i'm pretty sure is pretty stock and not had much engineering done to it so i feel it is the proper alt. for the application.
i don't know how it affects the key switch.

 

[marvinjansen]

Re: mercruiser 165 runs

Got a used proper marine alternator today and it charges but has noisey bearings. I will bring it to the local elec shop and have it rebuilt and be ready to go. I am confused about what to call my drive when ordering parts. It a 1973 Mercruiser 165 SN 369990. I need to get a stern seal kit with a gimbal bearing and see Sierra and Mallory. Any one better than another?

 

[marvinjansen]

Re: mercruiser 165 runs

Ziggy, I think your Lime Time answered my question, it's a "1" drive, right?

 

[ziggy]

Re: mercruiser 165 runs

Any one better than another?

i prefer mercruiser/quiksilver parts. serria before mallory or glm. i've had mis made parts from glm. easy to make parts too.

it's a "1" drive, right?

ya've probably already got it figured out, but yes. a 1 drive or more properly. an MC-1 drive.