So last Friday I drove down to Rapido Marine and picked up the new 4.3 long block. The new motor was all wrapped up and ready to go, It was getting late in the day and I still had a 3 hour drive back home so I just had them load it up, paid the cash and went on my merry way. Once I got home and wrestled it down onto the floor of my garage I tore off the plastic wrap and proceeded to drool all over my shiny new (re-manufactured) 4.3L. After explaining to the kids and wife why the new motor "looked so much smaller" than whats in the boat. 
I begin to look over some of the details.
First thing I noticed was the mating surfaces where the intake/exhaust and heads meet were painted over and not bare metal. I suppose its just part of the painting process and they save time by not sanding the paint off? I don't think its a huge deal on the exhaust side but common sense tells me that intake to head needs to be perfectly smooth so whats the recommended way of sanding the paint off? I figure I will plug up the ports with paper towels and start with some rough sandpaper and once the major paint is off Ill sand it to bare metal with a fine grit??
Second thing I noticed was the two core plugs in the back by the flywheel were not brass. Looked like regular steel. Should I worry about this???
Third thing I noticed raised a HUGE red flag. The roller lifters were facing the wrong way! On 12 of the 16 lifters the roller was 90 degrees to the camshaft. The lifters can only go in one way due to the plastic keeper rail thingy and the flat post makes the fit the wrong way.
I have a call into Rapido Marine so hopefully they get back to me by tomorrow. Should I be worried about this and get a whole new engine? Or perhaps have them send me the correct rollers and put them in myself?? What else should I check for before dropping this back into the boat?
Thanks
I begin to look over some of the details.First thing I noticed was the mating surfaces where the intake/exhaust and heads meet were painted over and not bare metal. I suppose its just part of the painting process and they save time by not sanding the paint off? I don't think its a huge deal on the exhaust side but common sense tells me that intake to head needs to be perfectly smooth so whats the recommended way of sanding the paint off? I figure I will plug up the ports with paper towels and start with some rough sandpaper and once the major paint is off Ill sand it to bare metal with a fine grit??
Second thing I noticed was the two core plugs in the back by the flywheel were not brass. Looked like regular steel. Should I worry about this???
Third thing I noticed raised a HUGE red flag. The roller lifters were facing the wrong way! On 12 of the 16 lifters the roller was 90 degrees to the camshaft. The lifters can only go in one way due to the plastic keeper rail thingy and the flat post makes the fit the wrong way.
I have a call into Rapido Marine so hopefully they get back to me by tomorrow. Should I be worried about this and get a whole new engine? Or perhaps have them send me the correct rollers and put them in myself?? What else should I check for before dropping this back into the boat?
Thanks
