Recommendations for repower

[Scott Danforth]

So I am kind of at the mercy of the shop who has my boat unless I want to wait in line at another shop for probably 3-4 weeks before they even can look at it. I talked at length in person with the shop who has my boat and they are pretty particular who they use as suppliers of engines and understandably so. His best recommendation is to go with a Mercruiser reman and second to that is Indmar. I mentioned going with the newer Vortec that I found on Ebay and he said my engine is actually considered a Vortec, just an earlier version with 12 bolt intake instead of 8 bolt and it does have electric fuel pump. He convincingly defended his position of not going to a newer version at the risk of running into other compatibility issues. They are going to get a price on the engine options we discussed and get with me tomorrow. After talking with mechanic today, I am confident of the quality of work tha

your shop wants to use a Mercruiser, Volvo, or Indmar because of the warranty structure. (they will cover labor if the motor fails). that is the only reason which makes smart business sence for the mechanic or marina.

a true vortec motor has the vortec heads. the 12-bolt intake is not a vortec motor. if your mechanic doesnt know this, find a different one.

it is your money. leave it with your current mechanic, give it to another mechanic, or rent an engine hoist (or build a wooden gantry) for $40 and do it yourself for half the cost.

 

[Sparkinator]

No Title

Or find a willing and able tree limb to tie to...

Here is a link to a down loadable pdf file for engine (removal and install) http://www.4shared.com/office/YhKe25kC/HU_early_NC_Engine_Manual_7788.htm

Here is the link to your drive. It also gives step by step removal and install of your drive. http://www.4shared.com/office/1rkePEkP/HU_SX_Drive_7788851.htm

Both are copies that I used on pulling an reinstalling my drive and my engine. DonS a former MOD at Iboats uploaded those manuals years ago.

 

[Alaboat]

Thanks for the advice guys, Yes, I had considered doing this myself using a borrowed engine hoist or wooden A-frame (no trees big enough). Bottom line is I really don't have a place to do this even though its very tempting to try and pull this one off with what I have. sparkinator, thanks for the links and almost pushed the button until I realized it was a file sharing thing. Been there, done that and programs take over computer until its doomed. Maybe not with this one but those torrent sites can wreak havov.

 

[bruceb58]

4share is not a torrent site.

 

[Alaboat]

So I decided to go with a reman GM Long block P/N VMC7 for $2200 plus install. Should be here Wednesday to start the install.

 

[Skutt]

Alaboat, I am in the middle of a similar engine swap. I don't have the 4.3 though. The boat had a 5.0 Chevy and I bought a rebuilt 5.7. It is a lot of work even when everything bolts up from one engine to the other. I don't like paying mechanics to do what I can do so I do all my own work. I might have mine running tomorrow. If you like the boat and don't mind spending the money then it sounds like your doing the right thing. I'm too much of a tight wad to spend the money.

 

[Alaboat]

Alaboat, I am in the middle of a similar engine swap. I don't have the 4.3 though. The boat had a 5.0 Chevy and I bought a rebuilt 5.7. It is a lot of work even when everything bolts up from one engine to the other. I don't like paying mechanics to do what I can do so I do all my own work. I might have mine running tomorrow. If you like the boat and don't mind spending the money then it sounds like your doing the right thing. I'm too much of a tight wad to spend the money.

Skutt, I'm usually the same way (tight wad) but know my limitations and this was getting on the outer limits especially with facilities. Let us know how things turned out. Hopefully mine will be ready by this time next week.

 

[Alaboat]

Boat should finally be going under the knife today. Mechanic said the were rolling it into the shop today and "should" have it by the 4th. Yaaaay!

 

[carrier82]

Out of curiosity, what exactly has failed in your previous engine? I've overheated many engines in my history, and usually it's just the cylinder head gaskets that fail. By then you'll notice something is wrong and turn off the engine. Only once have I ruined an engine entirely but that was because the intake manifold wasn't properly torqued in and the engine was running very lean leading to jammed pistons. What I'm trying to say is, are you sure the engine needs replacement and your mechanic is not simply ripping you off? It might be you could get away with replacement cylinder head gaskets and machining the contact surfaces on the heads straight. Wouldn't cost a fortune.

 

[Alaboat]

Out of curiosity, what exactly has failed in your previous engine? I've overheated many engines in my history, and usually it's just the cylinder head gaskets that fail. By then you'll notice something is wrong and turn off the engine. Only once have I ruined an engine entirely but that was because the intake manifold wasn't properly torqued in and the engine was running very lean leading to jammed pistons. What I'm trying to say is, are you sure the engine needs replacement and your mechanic is not simply ripping you off? It might be you could get away with replacement cylinder head gaskets and machining the contact surfaces on the heads straight. Wouldn't cost a fortune.

PO overheated engine resulting in either cracked block or blown exhaust manifold gaskets. This caused water in cylinders which caused partial hydro lock . When attempting to start in this condition, the result was another crack where starter bolts to block. I made the decision to replace and not spend any more money tearing into a problem that was already bad. It was a hard pill to swallow but at least I'll have the peace of mind knowing the condition of new engine.

 

[Alaboat]

Just an update to finish out this thread. Got boat out of shop last Friday and all is well...well mostly. In addition to the long block, it also needed a new starter and exhaust manifolds which they installed. It does need a new gimbal bearing (noisy) but mechanic failed to replace while he had outdrive out and didn't realize how noisy it was until he took it for a test ride. It does run and ride very nicely finally except for the bearing. I will get that done soon. I did experience a failure on the water Monday and had to get towed in though. Mechanic said I probably experienced a vapor lock. I will start a new thread on that issue in the VP section since my engine and outdrive are basically VP with OMC labeling now that I know a little more about this boat.