OMC 350 Cobra - New owner, maintenance questions?

[ctupling]

Hey all - I just purchased a 1989 Four Winns Liberator 201 powered by a OMC 350 Cobra (the one with King Cobra on the motor and Cobra on the drive).
Just a few simple questions if you could help, thanks.
Oil - Planning on Amsoil Marine 10w30 - Thoughts?
Engine oil Capacity?
Oil Filter - I hope to use an Amsoil EA filter - Anyone know the number, or a Fram or KN I could cross reference? The boat has a remote oil filter, so I am not sure what to look up.
Lower unit oil - Planning on Amsoil 75w90 extreme gear - Thoughts?
Lower unit oil capacity?
New Plugs - Opinions?

Also if anyone has any opinions, recommendations of things to look for on the boat that would be great.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... Welcome Aboard,..... I run Rotella T 15W-40 in the entire fleet I work on,.....Napa filters all 'round,.....

Bein' a SBC, I dump in 4 quarts, fire it up, check for leaks, kill it, 'n top off the oil to the full line,....

For Drives, I use pensoil or mobil 1 in 75W-90, amsoil is no doubt as good,....
Capacity is til it's full,.... donno OMCs, Alphas are just over a quart, 'n a half,.....

'n again, bein' a SBC, My plug of choice is the AC Delco MR43T,.......

 

[ctupling]

Bondo. Thanks for the response, great info.

 

[Lou C]

Engine oil I use Merc's 25/40
Drive oil I use Merc High Performance gear lube, keep in mind it takes a FULL 2 Qts! Not less!
And most important follow the proper OMC filling procedure.
http://www.crowleymarine.com/support/omc-tech-articles.html
look at the link above carefully, and follow what it says in ref to the filling of the drive. Been doing it that way 16 years and no problems with the old Cobra drive.
Same on the plugs AC MR 43T.

things to look for, mainly the shift system. The cobra should shift easily in and out of gear. Any stiffness, grinding, or esp jumping out of gear, etc needs to be checked out. It can be a corroded/stiff cable, bad adjustment, engine idle too high, ESA not working etc. Remember on a dog clutch you have to shift briskly, if you shift slowly it will grind even if all is OK.

I had mine adjusted back in '04 and it was fine till bout '13 and I re-did all the adjustments, starting with the shift rod in the lower unit, the transom shift cable and the remote cable. When its all done right it shifts like a Volvo cone clutch. I used the 3 special OMC tools to adjust it, really not a hard job.