Mercuiser engine replacement

[USMC_EOD]

I recently purchased a 2001 Chaparral Sunesta 243 with a Mercruiser 5.0 MPI that wasn't running. The engine was covered in rust but was turning over and I could hear the fuel pump running. I took the boat to a dealership and purchased a complete new engine which turned out to be a newer model re manufactured engine direct from Mercruiser. The new engine also has fresh water cooling added on which the old engine did not. The dealership has had my boat for about a month and said it would be a 3-4 hour job to swap engines. They had to order new down pipes for the exhaust since the new engine has catalytic converters. They also had to order an adapter for the engine harness to go from the 10 pin wiring harness on my boat to the 14 pin wiring harness on the new engine since it is set up for the new smart gauges. Now they are telling me that the new engine won't start, the gauges aren't working and they can't hear the fuel pump come on when the key is in the on position. The engine is turning over though. I really don't think they know what they are doing. I told them the down pipes weren't going to line up after I saw the new engine in the crate and they insisted they would. After placing the engine in the boat they told me they were going to have to order new down pipes. Can anyone tell me why the gauges and fuel pump aren't coming on and the engine won't start? I'm sure it isn't the engine. Doesn't Mercruiser test run all re manufactured engines before shipping them out?

 

[alldodge]

I recently purchased a 2001 Chaparral Sunesta 243 with a Mercruiser 5.0 MPI that wasn't running. The engine was covered in rust but was turning over and I could hear the fuel pump running. I took the boat to a dealership and purchased a complete new engine which turned out to be a newer model re manufactured engine direct from Mercruiser. The new engine also has fresh water cooling added on which the old engine did not. The dealership has had my boat for about a month and said it would be a 3-4 hour job to swap engines. They had to order new down pipes for the exhaust since the new engine has catalytic converters. They also had to order an adapter for the engine harness to go from the 10 pin wiring harness on my boat to the 14 pin wiring harness on the new engine since it is set up for the new smart gauges. Now they are telling me that the new engine won't start, the gauges aren't working and they can't hear the fuel pump come on when the key is in the on position. The engine is turning over though. I really don't think they know what they are doing. I told them the down pipes weren't going to line up after I saw the new engine in the crate and they insisted they would. After placing the engine in the boat they told me they were going to have to order new down pipes. Can anyone tell me why the gauges and fuel pump aren't coming on and the engine won't start? I'm sure it isn't the engine. Doesn't Mercruiser test run all re manufactured engines before shipping them out?

Howdy

Man another dealership that has no business being in business :facepalm: To late but should have had a long block put in, that way the stuff off your engine goes on the new one. I take it this new engine came complete with wiring harness and computer, it was a drop in replacement?

Your saying that the new engine has fresh water cooling, and since the new engine has Cats this would mean it has closed cooling. Closed cooling is better for longevity and really good if your in salt water. With Cats on the engine the thermostat would be a 180 degree instead of 160 and this is also the reason for using closed cooling.

The newer engine will have the Gen 3 cool fuel, your older one probably had Gen 1. That said there is no reason the new fuel pump would not turn on unless the wiring is incorrect. Your analog gauges will not work with smartcraft (SC). SC uses the CAN buss to send digital signals from the engine computer. Your analog gauges use sensors on the engine and gauges shows readings based on resistive changes on the sensors.

As for the exhaust. your Y pipe should fit, it will just need different elbows

 

[Rick Stephens]

Howdy

Man another dealership that has no business being in business :facepalm: To late but should have had a long block put in, that way the stuff off your engine goes on the new one. I take it this new engine came complete with wiring harness and computer, it was a drop in replacement?

Your saying that the new engine has fresh water cooling, and since the new engine has Cats this would mean it has closed cooling. Closed cooling is better for longevity and really good if your in salt water. With Cats on the engine the thermostat would be a 180 degree instead of 160 and this is also the reason for using closed cooling.

The newer engine will have the Gen 3 cool fuel, your older one probably had Gen 1. That said there is no reason the new fuel pump would not turn on unless the wiring is incorrect. Your analog gauges will not work with smartcraft (SC). SC uses the CAN buss to send digital signals from the engine computer. Your analog gauges use sensors on the engine and gauges shows readings based on resistive changes on the sensors.

As for the exhaust. your Y pipe should fit, it will just need different elbows

AD, I am in awe of the information put together in your post. Wow.

 

[alldodge]

Awe shucks, :redface-new: thanks, just hope I didn't miss anything, but if I did my buddy(s) will remind me shortly ray:

 

[Scott Danforth]

First off, welcome aboard.

sorry to hear about your issue with the dealer. however based on your post, they have no business turning a wrench from the sounds. Mercruiser has their reman engines for older boats. unbolt one, bolt in another, go boating.

AllDodge has you covered that your new motor will need a bit more than a 10 pin to 14 pin adapter to run. He has also addressed the gauges.

I would simply call the dealer, explain to them that you want your boat back running with everything working by the weekend. I would also suggest you possibly contact a lawyer to cover your butt.

they quoted you 3-4 hours, do you have your quote in writing.

 

[USMC_EOD]

Why does Mercruiser sell the adapter for the wiring harness to go from 14pin to 10 pin if the old gauges won't work with the new engine when the adapter is in place? The manager is saying that he ordered a shunting plug so he can plug it straight into the wiring harness of the new engine to start it without it being hooked up to the boat. He said that he wants to see if it is an engine problem or a boat problem so he know if it is a warranty issue or he needs to charge me more money. I do have the quote locked in for $125 hour for 3-4 hours of work. Mercruiser only allows them 4 hours to complete this swap. What do I need to get that engine running if I go get the boat from them? Do I need to buy the smartcraft gauges and a new wiring harness? Or will the current wiring harness work with the SC guages with the adapter that is in place?

 

[alldodge]

If your new engine uses a MEFI 5 ECM with a 555 CAN bus then the 14 to pin connector will work if current gauges are wired correctly.
14 to 10 pin adapter

Gauge wiring



Now if your engine has a CAN buss which uses smartcraft gauges and guardian mode, the wiring harness connector above will not work. You will then have a CAN buss connector and have to use smartcraft gauges

http://meadowbrooktrading.com/Galleries/Rob/WiringForSmartcraftGauges.pdf

 

[alldodge]

To add just as Scott mentioned above, the dealer should have picked up a Merc reman of your same vintage and t would have been plug and play.

Why did they go this route?

 

[USMC_EOD]

I guess the answer is because they don't know what they are doing. I thought they would just order an engine that would fit in there and plug into the existing connections. I am new to owning my own boat so I trusted what I though we're the experts. The only request I had was to upgrade to closed cooling so I didn't have salt water flowing through my engine. Yet I seem to be pointing out all the problems to them. I am perfectly capable of turning the wrenches myself but don't have much free time or the ability to lift an engine out of a boat so I thought it would be quicker an less of a hassle to have the "professionals" do it. Big mistake on my part. I don't know all the jargon when it comes to the names of boat parts but I know my way around an engine compartment and have a pretty good grasp on how to fix about any mechanical problems. I went down there the other day to get something out of the boat and decided to check to see if they even put coolant in the engine prior to attempting to fire the engine. It was bone dry. I don't know about the rest of you but if I was trying to fire up an engine I would ensure the fluids were good so I didn't damage the engine. I don't know what to do about this dealership.

 

[Rick Stephens]

First thing is, know you aren't alone - welcome to the club. If you can turn a wrench, the guys on this forum will help you figure out how it all goes together. You picked a tough way to learn boats, getting one that needed a new motor. However, pretty much everyone here bought their boats and found out that the previous owners weren't entirely honest and complete in their guestimates of what their hopefully sold boat needed. Me included! If it was easy, they wouldn't a sold it.

My only issue with the motor chosen to replace your original by the shop is that it now becomes a morphodite bastid that has parts from all sorts of different years. Makes it harder to get the right parts. Makes more sense to drop the same basic motor in.

Short of it is, once you have a running boat back we'll be here to help you keep it going.

Rick

 

[alldodge]

Got some info from Fun Times and he let me know I'm a little off

since he bought a brand new complete engine, I can't foresee any reason why he can't install the 10/14 pin connector and go boating. The new engines come equipped with sensors for both digital and analog gauges as well as set up for smart craft or non smart craft. New down pipes sounds familiar too. Hope they remember the new style rear engine mounts are a bit different during install.

need to know if the new and old engines are an Alpha or bravo drive, Does the dealer know to connect the new "Clean Power" directly to the battery and there may be a new fuse holder at or near the 10/14 wire harness connector (On the new engine) that may be bad/missing/loose etc. not powering up the system.

Also mention the shift interrupter switch too.

So it appears there should be no issue with your current gauges.

 

[USMC_EOD]

Thanks alldodge. I just got off the phone with the service manager before getting on here. He talked to mercy this mornings my and they actually told him about having to connect the clean power directly to the battery. He said it's a purple plug that he was going to have to order. If that doesn't work I'll inform them of the fuse near the wiring harness. The engine is a Bravo drive with a Bravo 3 outdrive.

 

[USMC_EOD]

Forgot to ask, what was the shift interrupter switch mentioned for?

 

[alldodge]

Forgot to ask, what was the shift interrupter switch mentioned for?

I was pretty sure you had a Bravo drive but its always good to ask, just in case. The interrupter switch is used only on alpha drives.

Sure hope this works