Mercruiser 5.7L (GAS) V-8 inboard- AUTO MECHANIC THINKING OF USED BOAT PURCHASE INPUT

[LAWYERSTILLSON]

HI GUYS,
JUST LOOKING FOR INFO AND OPINIONS ON MID 80'S Mercruiser 5.7L gas V-8 inboard ENGINE

RE: KNOWN ISSUES,COMMON PROBLEMS, DURABILITY, DESIGN, MAINTENANCE PARTS AVAILABILITY, DIFFICULTY REPAIRING? ECT..

THINKING OF BUYING A USED BOAT WITH THE ABOVE AS POWER PLANT (CURRENTLY NOT RUNNING ACCORDING TO OWNER) AND HOW DIFFICULT A TRANSITION FROM AUTO MECHANICS TO INBOARD..
THANKS IN ADVANCE..

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Mercruiser 5.7L (GAS) V-8 inboard- AUTO MECHANIC THINKING OF USED BOAT PURCHASE I

That motor is a 350 CID small block chevy engine, that has been marinized for boat environment. Carbs, starter, alternator and fuel pump are designed to prevent a gasoline fire in the bilge, so electrics are shielded and carb and fuel pump do not leak fuel.

Core (freeze) plugs are brass. Ignition system is likely made by Mercuriser. Tranny is marine.

You should be able to find you way around it real good....

 

[Don S]

Re: Mercruiser 5.7L (GAS) V-8 inboard- AUTO MECHANIC THINKING OF USED BOAT PURCHASE I

HI GUYS,
JUST LOOKING FOR INFO AND OPINIONS ON MID 80'S Mercruiser 5.7L gas V-8 inboard ENGINE

RE: KNOWN ISSUES,COMMON PROBLEMS, DURABILITY, DESIGN, MAINTENANCE PARTS AVAILABILITY, DIFFICULTY REPAIRING? ECT..

THINKING OF BUYING A USED BOAT WITH THE ABOVE AS POWER PLANT (CURRENTLY NOT RUNNING ACCORDING TO OWNER) AND HOW DIFFICULT A TRANSITION FROM AUTO MECHANICS TO INBOARD..
THANKS IN ADVANCE..

First off, turn off the caps lock key, all caps makes your thread very hard to read.

Is this an inboard or an IO? Big difference.

It's basically a Chevy 350 and used forever in boats. The basic mechanical skills are the same for the engine, but there is a lot of differences in the fuel, ignition, and charging systems in boats. Plus there is a lot of preventive maintenance needed to keep an IO in working order once you have it running and things working.
It also costs more for marine part than automotive, and you really don't want to use non marine electrical or fuel system parts. Ever.

Might want to spend some time in this thread looking around http://forums.iboats.com/mercruiser...have-technical-information-diyers-342393.html