New Engine

[Joe Manor]

I have a 1989 Larson boat. It has a Mercruiser 5.0LX Alpha 1. I was on a fishing trip and lost all of my engine oil into the bilge. I looked for leaks and it seems like it is the rear main seal. Im considering getting a new motor once I pull this one out. Has anyone had any experience with US Engines? Here is a link. http://www.usengine.us/marine.html

 

[alldodge]

I have a 1989 Larson boat. It has a Mercruiser 5.0LX Alpha 1. I was on a fishing trip and lost all of my engine oil into the bilge. I looked for leaks and it seems like it is the rear main seal. Im considering getting a new motor once I pull this one out. Has anyone had any experience with US Engines? Here is a link. http://www.usengine.us/marine.html

Never used them but they have an F rating from the BBB and here is some other bad things.
http://www.bbb.org/western-washingto...kent-wa-511160
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engin...3664-us-engine

I have also not use Redid-o marine but others here on iboats have and have not seen any complaints. I have delt with Mercruiser remans and have had issues with two of them. First spun a rod bearing after 200 hours, and the next had a freeze plug leak which we had to fix when it was first installed. I'm not saying to stay away from Merc remans, just note that anyone can mess up doing a reman.

It cost a bit more but buying a new crate motor would be a good choice. At least that way there is also no core charge

Good luck

 

[Fishermark]

A new crate engine is the way to go in my opinion. Brand new - not rebuilt. Simply swap out your components if they are still good. In fact, you can switch over to a 350 with no problems at all. Here's a good example for only a little more than $1,700 with free shipping. As you can see from the picture it already has the brass core plugs - has a truck cam which is good for marine use - and the head gasket is composite which is also good for marine use.

 

[FreeBeeTony]

I think AllDodge was referring to RapidoMarine........I have almost 500hrs on a 350 Vortec Longblock w/o any problems. Just make sure you tell them exactly what you want. And no core charge.

 

[alldodge]

I think AllDodge was referring to RapidoMarine........I have almost 500hrs on a 350 Vortec Longblock w/o any problems. Just make sure you tell them exactly what you want. And no core charge.

4-10 roger wilco on repidomarine

 

[Joe Manor]

A new crate engine is the way to go in my opinion. Brand new - not rebuilt. Simply swap out your components if they are still good. In fact, you can switch over to a 350 with no problems at all. Here's a good example for only a little more than $1,700 with free shipping. As you can see from the picture it already has the brass core plugs - has a truck cam which is good for marine use - and the head gasket is composite which is also good for marine use.

This seems like a great deal. I was hoping to find a motor with valve covers and oil pan. A little less work and more new parts. How can I know for sure I can swap from my motor to this one? I'm concerned about all the parts crossing over. Brackets, manifolds etc. It would be great to have more displacement.

 

[Fishermark]

There is absolutely no difference externally between a 305 and a 350. As long as you re replacing a similar vintage small block with another, then you will have no issues at all. The small block went from a two piece rear main to a one piece shortly before your engine came out... I don't remember the exact year. As long as you have a one piece rear main, and center bolt valve covers you should be good. There may have been some odd 305's of that that era that had unusual intakes.... but I think you will be okay with yours swapping over.

 

[Bondo]

There is absolutely no difference externally between a 305 and a 350. As long as you re replacing a similar vintage small block with another, then you will have no issues at all. The small block went from a two piece rear main to a one piece shortly before your engine came out... I don't remember the exact year. As long as you have a one piece rear main, and center bolt valve covers you should be good. There may have been some odd 305's of that that era that had unusual intakes.... but I think you will be okay with yours swapping over.

Ayuh,.... 1986 for the rear main, 'n 1996 for the heads,.....

 

[Fishermark]

Ayuh,.... 1986 for the rear main, 'n 1996 for the heads,.....

Hi Bond-o. Thanks for the dates. The change on the heads / intakes I am referring to is the change in angle for the bolts. That happened around the same time as the change to the one piece rear main. They changed the angle of the bolts for the heads to 90 degrees. You can still use an older intake, but the bolts holes may need to be elongated. I will try to get some more info...

 

[Fishermark]

Okay... in 1987 Chevy went from 90 degrees on the two center bolts to 72 degrees - this was on the Throttle Body Injection 305s. The went to the 8 bolt Vortec pattern in 96. (They used the Vortec name for years before that.... but that gets confusing and doesn't really always mean the same thing). The older intakes could still be used on the 72 degree bolt heads, but the holes had to be elongated. I believe this just affected the 305 engines.... but I could be wrong about that.

To the original poster - this is simply something to be aware of. It is not a "deal breaker." Anytime you start swapping things around there are always a few "gotchas." But with this swap those are few and far between.

 

[Fishermark]

Here's a great pic that shows the difference in the heads: