New to me bowrider, have some questions...

[Steve91T]

1995 Mariah Z202 Merc 350/260 hp Alpha 1

WHAT A BOAT!!!! I freaking love this thing! My wife and myself just got back from our 5 1/2 hour maiden (for us) voyage. We launched with no problems and headed down the river. As soon as we got out of the no wake zone, I eased it up on plane and was amazed at how smooth it rides. 30 MPH was so smooth and effortless for this boat. Even in fairly choppy water from wake and wind was so smooth! It handles waves better than anything I've been in. I also noticed the torque and power of the engine.

Anyway, on the way back to the ramp (30 minute ride up the river from the lake), I was able to start playing. For most of the day, we were cruising at 25 MPH. But on the way home I was able to play. 35 MPH felt perfect. 40 MPH still felt great for trying to make good time. WOT with two my wife and myself and 2/3 fuel was 53 MPH. All speeds were off the GPS. The speedo was reading 3-5 MPH faster. I burned just over 15 gallons of gas for the day. We did a ton of cruising around, so I feel pretty good about the burn.

Anyway, only problem we had was towards the end of the day, we shut the engine off for a quick swim and the engine almost didn't start. Battery was nearly dead. Fortunately, it started. I'll pick up a new battery this week.

Another problem was the idle speed. The tach says it's idling about 400 RPM. It's also idling rough, like it's going to quit. Sometimes it did. Should I just adjust the idle speed? Or is it something else What's normal idle speed?

Also, the steering wheel had a lot of slop. 1/8 turn of play. Also, the wheel was "centered" at 90 degrees. Once it was back on the trailer, the out drive has about 1" of play from left to right.

We did take on more water than I thought we would. After a few hours, I checked the bilge and there was a few gallons of water in there. I turned the bilge on and it was able to pump for maybe 20 seconds. I don't know how normal this is or if it's something to be concerned with.


I'd like to take care of the steering problem. I just hope it's a simple fix.

Anyway, I appreciate all the help!
Steve

 

[1980Galaxy]

Re: New to me bowrider, have some questions...

congrats on your new boat...

i can't help you so much with the idle or steering since i am not a boat or engine mechanic... could be a couple different things, but as far as the steering wheel being off-center: you should be able to take it off and reset the position of it. should be a big nut in the center of the hub, loosen it and maybe give it a good tap dead center to remove the wheel. then get the wifey to hold the outboard perfectly centered in the back and put your wheel back on straight and tighten.

make sure you get all that stuff taken care of before you take it out again. if something's broke, then you gotta fix it before it gets you into trouble.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: New to me bowrider, have some questions...

Ok the steering is my weakpoint but I will tackle the motor, since you just got it I would do a complete tune up of the motor, cap rotor and wiring, points or magnetic pickup, I would also have a mechanic rebuild your carb and do the tune up as well, chances are its time 16 yr old boat and no idea whats been done to it may as well get it out of the way I am sure you will pick up some horsepower as well, timing could be a bit off, replacing the battery is a good idea but have your mechanic check the alternator just to make sure.

 

[Steve91T]

Re: New to me bowrider, have some questions...

Oh, meant to say it's EFI. I'll definitely do a tune up. Good idea.

 

[infideltarget]

Re: New to me bowrider, have some questions...

Oh man! Those are all very expensive and serious problems! You got ripped off, man! Let me keep it for the summer, so you don't hurt yourself with it. I will send it back to you when the weather starts to get cold, so you can get it all fixed without being tempted to take it out on the water, and...you know...maybe hurt yourself or something. Also that is one seriously ugly rig! Good God, man! I don't see how you can live with yourself for even being seen in that tub! I, however, have no pride, so I will be perfectly comfortable getting other folks reactions to it for you while I have it, and will report back to you my findings. Sound like a deal?

 

[mjgates]

Re: New to me bowrider, have some questions...

A few gallons of water sounds excessive. Were you in and out of the boat a lot? I had the same thing happen last year and it ended up being a rubber boot on the outdrive with a hole/crack in it. I think I paid around $200-$250 to get it repaired. I'm not mechanically inclined, at all, but would be concerned to find gallons of water in the boat. Mine stays dry until we start bringing water in by swimming, skiing, etc. I'm sure there are others that could shed some more light on taking on water.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: New to me bowrider, have some questions...

Well that narrows things down somewhat I would add a new fuel/water seperator, to the mix, the EFI should handle the idle speed so you could be looking at something off there, get it to a mechanic who is familiar with your motor, not having a carb you may be looking at a fuel injector thats miss firing or something

 

[infideltarget]

Re: New to me bowrider, have some questions...

A few gallons of water sounds excessive. Were you in and out of the boat a lot? I had the same thing happen last year and it ended up being a rubber boot on the outdrive with a hole/crack in it. I think I paid around $200-$250 to get it repaired. I'm not mechanically inclined, at all, but would be concerned to find gallons of water in the boat. Mine stays dry until we start bringing water in by swimming, skiing, etc. I'm sure there are others that could shed some more light on taking on water.

Well that narrows things down somewhat I would add a new fuel/water seperator, to the mix, the EFI should handle the idle speed so you could be looking at something off there, get it to a mechanic who is familiar with your motor, not having a carb you may be looking at a fuel injector thats miss firing or something

Like I said...serious and way expensive. Better just let me take it from you. You don't want any part of this mess. Ugly ol' POS. I will make sure to hide it behind my house, and only take it to the river on slow days, and run it really fast so no one sees me in it...except close friends and family that come with me...to...ummm...evaluate the floorplan. Looks pretty cramped and useless. We may need several trips to find the best way to use it. Let me know!


HEY LIPP...that is one beautiful boat he's got there! Think he will fall for my little misinformation tactics? He can't see what I'm typing here can he? I'm whispering it, so he shouldn't be able to...

 

[fat fanny]

Re: New to me bowrider, have some questions...

With the few gallons of water I would check to ensure your plug is sealing correctly 1st and then look for any holes made by PO that are not sealed correctly and if you indeed are going to be taking it to a tech have look over the bellows for you and if there are problems have him show them to you before repair and another good note would to look into the stickies (adults only ) of the I/O forums for good trouble shooting info. Good luck and that is a nice looking rig.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: New to me bowrider, have some questions...

LOL uh yeah I think he heard you but your right its a beautiful Mariah, I looked at several Mariah's before I found my Crownline very nice boats!!

 

[1980Galaxy]

Re: New to me bowrider, have some questions...

when you put it in the water, go see where the water is coming from... shouldn't be too hard to find out where a few GALLONS are coming from, right? hopefully...

 

[Steve91T]

Re: New to me bowrider, have some questions...

Thanks for all the responses! I knew I'd have a little work to do. I'm just hoping it's nothing serious. I'd at least like to get a season out of it before I have to do major work.

I'm not too concerned about the water, maybe I should be. I've never had to look for water before. Is it a matter if dropping it in the water and sticking my head in the bilge and trying to see where water is coming from? I'm going to have to get some mirrors and a flashlight for that.

I'm more worried about the steering. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

Thanks again.
Steve

 

[wbc1957]

Re: New to me bowrider, have some questions...

The idle speed and rough running may be part of the hard to slow start problem caused by either the battery being low on reserve, or a problem with the diodes of the alternator. When the primary ignition (12 volt) is low, then the secondary ignition isn't getting the multiplied volts to perform, IMHO. If it had been sitting a long time, then the battery cells are not accepting a good charge, or the alternator may have poor contacts internally.

 

[infideltarget]

Re: New to me bowrider, have some questions...

The idle speed and rough running may be part of the hard to slow start problem caused by either the battery being low on reserve, or a problem with the diodes of the alternator. When the primary ignition (12 volt) is low, then the secondary ignition isn't getting the multiplied volts to perform, IMHO. If it had been sitting a long time, then the battery cells are not accepting a good charge, or the alternator may have poor contacts internally.

+1 on that. Without the proper voltage, the fuel pump will not work right, the computer will get confused, and the electronic ignition will fail on an automotive engine. Dont see why it would be any different here. Start with the tune up, new batt, and alt check/replacement as far as the engine goes. Cant help much with the steering issue. I have seen on this forum where people have found leaks by filling the bilge whle in the driveway and seeing where the water comes out.

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: New to me bowrider, have some questions...

Finally got her eh Steve.. Got a slick trailer too.. A few gallons is quite a bit of water bud... You need to find that problem.. Could be water entering from the bellows.. You knew there would be some work to do?? It's a I/O.. There is always work to do..
Do ya a tune up see if that will help your engine problems.. You should make a post in the repair part of the forum.. Make sure you list what engine year and outdrive.. They get kinda crabby about that..

 

[Steve91T]

Re: New to me bowrider, have some questions...

Yep! Finally got her. Tomorrow I'm going to put the plug in and fill the bilge with water and see if I can't figure it out that way.

I know it's a boat, and an older boat, but I wasn't expecting this many expensive repairs. The steering has me worried now that I've been doing a lot of reading. It seems the gimbal ring most likely needs to be replaced. I'm not sure that's something I can do myself.

I'm a little disappointed in the marina. They said they have been doing the maintenance of this boat since it was new and has known the previous two owners. They said the bellows and the gimbal bearings were replaced a couple of years ago. Maybe my plug wasn't sealing very well. So, I'm going to rule that out tomorrow. The bellows don't appear to be in bad shape.

I'm going to do some poking around tomorrow and give them a call. Maybe at least they can dig through their records and give me more information.

Steve

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: New to me bowrider, have some questions...

I had great looking bellows... Didn't even have near the water in the boat as you do.. Was just doing maintenance on the boat so I knew for sure when thing where replaced.. The bellows got deformed from the outdrive being stored up all the time.. Look @ the pictures...
That slop in the steering is common.. Its a merc huh?

 

[Steve91T]

Re: New to me bowrider, have some questions...

Got an update. I found out that the two bolts on the top of the gimbal ring were loose. Very loose. I torqued them down and the play in my out drive went from nearly 2" down to about 1/8". I feel good about that. I still have a lot of play in the steering wheel, so I'll address that later.

I also ran the engine on the muffs and let it get up to temperature. While doing this, my tach decided it doesn't want to work. Perfect. I'm hoping that just a loose wire somewhere. Anyway, absolutely no leaks from the engine.

Then I filled the bilge with water. I turned the battery master off so the pump wouldn't run. I had the bow as high as I could get it, and I filled until the bottom of the starter was almost in the water.

I dried as much of the water on the outdrive and looked around. I found absolutely nothing. The bellows were completely dry. Everything looked dry. The drain plug wasn't leaking either. I even went inside for about 15 minutes, then went back out to check it, and still no drips.

I may take it down to the ramp this afternoon, drop it in the water, and crawl under there and see what I can see.

 

[infideltarget]

Re: New to me bowrider, have some questions...

Got an update. I found out that the two bolts on the top of the gimbal ring were loose. Very loose. I torqued them down and the play in my out drive went from nearly 2" down to about 1/8". I feel good about that. I still have a lot of play in the steering wheel, so I'll address that later.

I also ran the engine on the muffs and let it get up to temperature. While doing this, my tach decided it doesn't want to work. Perfect. I'm hoping that just a loose wire somewhere. Anyway, absolutely no leaks from the engine.

Then I filled the bilge with water. I turned the battery master off so the pump wouldn't run. I had the bow as high as I could get it, and I filled until the bottom of the starter was almost in the water.

I dried as much of the water on the outdrive and looked around. I found absolutely nothing. The bellows were completely dry. Everything looked dry. The drain plug wasn't leaking either. I even went inside for about 15 minutes, then went back out to check it, and still no drips.

I may take it down to the ramp this afternoon, drop it in the water, and crawl under there and see what I can see.

If your gimbal ring was that loose. I would bet that was where your leak was too.

 

[Steve91T]

Re: New to me bowrider, have some questions...

If your gimbal ring was that loose. I would bet that was where your leak was too.

No kidding. Well I'm going to go dunk it in the drink and see what happens.

If it's still taking on water, maybe I'll take you up on your offer