Start motor with no outdrive. Good idea??

pgorske

Cadet
Joined
Feb 17, 2005
Messages
8
Have a '96 Mercruiser 3.0LX with Alpha One Gen II. Have a constant ticking sound in back end of motor area. Ticks at all RPMs. Volume and tone does not change. Head has been re-done, push rods and lifters OK, not valve train but basically sounds like rocker / lifter tick. Best guess is loose flywheel bolt or bad wrist pin. So, pulling motor to investigate. Was going to try and pull motor and leave outdrive until reading all the posts hear that say don't waist the time... do it right. My question is: Can I run the motor with the out drive off? I'll rig up a water hose somehow. My concern is in the back end area. Will anything fly apart inside the bell housing? Want to do this to investigate further the ticking sound before pulling motor and also verify fixed once re-installed. Also does anyone rent the "Alignment Tool"? Any input/ideas about what is causing the ticking is welcome. The manifold and riser have also been machined. Not an exhaust leak. New fuel pump. Runs perfect. The boat is new to me so don't know the situation that caused the sound to start.<br /><br />Thanks in advance!
 

WillyBWright

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Dec 29, 2003
Messages
8,200
Re: Start motor with no outdrive. Good idea??

Welcome to iboats.<br /><br />You can run it for a minute or so without water, but to keep the exhaust flapper from cooking, you can just cram a hose in where the cooling line passes thru. With water flowing, you can run it as long as you like.<br /><br />There's one thing I'd check first. Sometimes a stud for a rocker arm isn't as tight in the head as it should be and creeps out a smidge when it's running. You can adjust it and the ticking goes away for a little while, but it'll creep out again and again.
 

Don S

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Aug 31, 2004
Messages
62,321
Re: Start motor with no outdrive. Good idea??

You can also disconnect the water intake hose from the transom shield and attach it to a water hose. The water pressure from the hose will act as the pump and keep the engine cool.<br /><br />You ticking may be an exhaust flapper with the rubber worn off the edges. (Item 6 in the picture)<br />Check your gimbal bearing and ujoints.<br />There is nothing that will be damaged if you run with the drive off.<br /><br />
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pgorske

Cadet
Joined
Feb 17, 2005
Messages
8
Re: Start motor with no outdrive. Good idea??

Don S, if it's the flapper will the sound change during acceleration or deceleration of the engine? I've always heard that flapper noise is usually only present at a certain RPM range. So WOT would not make noise due to fact that valve is all the way open. Thoughts??<br /><br />thanks...
 

Don S

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62,321
Re: Start motor with no outdrive. Good idea??

Might, might not. I can't hear it, so I can only give suggestions where to look.
 
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