Engine running for first time - do this look/sound right?

[MikeDobbs]

Hey everyone-

So this is my first power boat, and was purchased with the engine not running. Today is the first time I've had the outdrive back on since doing the bellows, shift cable, adding an inline fuel filter and new thermostat. I'd just like to know if this all looks/sounds right?

Thanks!

 

[MikeDobbs]

[No message]

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,...... The drive looks Ok,... turn up the water on yer muffs,.... Full Blast,....

They should be bleedin' excess water at idle, 'n barely or never go dry like yer's unless really rev'ed up,....

The motor looks rusty, like a saltwater motor,....
Get some paint on it's tinwork, or it'll be leakin' oil,....

 

[H20Rat]

hard to tell from the video, but in your second clip I hear some rod knock or valve noise with a miss and the engine seems to shake quite a bit... Did it do that last season?

 

[MikeDobbs]

Bondo- thanks for the tip, you are correct, saltwater boat. Two questions: Merc manual says never turn water up full blast, so just want to confirm that you are saying I should put the water on full pressure? Also, what do you mean by "tinwork"? Do you just mean I should paint the entire engine? Or are you talking about the oil pan? Thanks.

smokingcrater- I have no idea, just bought the boat, and got it running. It is idling a little rough- I agree- but I still have the old plugs and a crap set of wires on it. So I'm hopeful that replacing those may help. Compression is good, but one cylinder is lower than the others by about 15psi, so perhaps running a little weaker at idle? Certainly open to any troubleshooting tips you could offer. I'm just happy to hear it running! I purchased the boat with the motor NOT running

 

[Bondo]

Two questions: Merc manual says never turn water up full blast, so just want to confirm that you are saying I should put the water on full pressure? Also, what do you mean by "tinwork"? Do you just mean I should paint the entire engine? Or are you talking about the oil pan?

Ayuh,..... Donno 'bout what Merc says or why,.... Excess water bleeds out past the rubber of the muffs, 'n the impeller has All the water it can use,....

Tinwork is the oil pan, timin' cover, lifter cover, 'n valve cover,... sheet metal, with oil behind it,...

 

[MikeDobbs]

Ayuh,..... Donno 'bout what Merc says or why,.... Excess water bleeds out past the rubber of the muffs, 'n the impeller has All the water it can use,....

Tinwork is the oil pan, timin' cover, lifter cover, 'n valve cover,... sheet metal, with oil behind it,...

OK- are you talking pull the engine kind of a job? Or just spray some Rustoleum on those parts? Or do I need to hit it with something like Boeshield rust remover first, then rustoleum? Sorry for all the questions- this is all new to me...

 

[Bondo]

Well, it was the timin' cover that caught my eye,.... can't really see the rest of the motor,....

Scratch it up real good with sand paper or wirebrush, 'n slap some rustoleum on it,.....

No doubt better than what's goin' on,....

The quality of the job, depends on yer effort,.... If ya get an oil leak, you'll know where to look for it,.....

Keepin' it wet with fluid film after, will also really slow the rust action,....
like once or twice a season, spray it down with fluid film,....
Google it,.... Neat stuff,...

 

[Silvertip]

I wouldn't waste time painting anything until you determined what the knock is in the second video. That simply is not normal. What does the oil pressure gauge read at idle and 2000 rpm? Pull the valve cover and check that there isn't a loose rocker arm or broken valve spring. If low oil pressure, it is rebuild time.

 

[MikeDobbs]

I wouldn't waste time painting anything until you determined what the knock is in the second video. That simply is not normal. What does the oil pressure gauge read at idle and 2000 rpm? Pull the valve cover and check that there isn't a loose rocker arm or broken valve spring. If low oil pressure, it is rebuild time.

Yikes- that's not what I want to hear... I didn't look at the oil pressure gauge when I ran it today. I will look at that tomorrow and pull the valve cover as you recommend. I did notice that knock, but I wasn't concerned because I've heard that these 3.0 mercs are sort of known for valve train noise- especially at idle

 

[H20Rat]

Yikes- that's not what I want to hear... I didn't look at the oil pressure gauge when I ran it today. I will look at that tomorrow and pull the valve cover as you recommend. I did notice that knock, but I wasn't concerned because I've heard that these 3.0 mercs are sort of known for valve train noise- especially at idle

The fact that it isn't consistent is what is more concerning to me at least. A noisy valvetrain is always noisy, consistently, without missing a beat. Like you mentioned above, could be old spark plugs.

 

[Bondo]

The fact that it isn't consistent is what is more concerning to me at least.

Ayuh,.... I'm thinkin' burnt up shutters in the exhaust down-pipe,....

 

[MikeDobbs]

Well, now I have bigger problems... This morning I went out to start it up to check the oil pressure, and was going to look at the valvetrain, but I can't get the engine started. Nothing. Just cranks and cranks. I tried adding fuel to the fuel tank (was reading very low) and also pouring some gas right down into the carb (in case I lost my prime on the fuel pump), but it won't fire up.

So, what's the most likely suspect for an engine that was running yesterday and won't start today? I'm thinking it must be spark since it didn't fire up even with gas in the carb... can an ignition coil just go bad overnight like that?

 

[MikeDobbs]

OK- I'm feeling better now. Went back through the whole ignition system to make sure I had spark- put in new plugs and wires (which I was planning to do anyway, but was told to wait until I had the motor running decently first), and put some fuel into the carb. Took a little longer to fire up than I had expected (perhaps I did loose the prime in the fuel pump after all?) but eventually fired up and ran better than it was running yesterday (at least to my eye/ear).

I shot a couple of videos- one at the sterndrive, and one at the motor so you guys could look and listen. I also watched the oil gauge this time Silvertip and I'm glad to report it was center of the gauge the whole time- right around 40psi.

So, if you have a moment to look & listen, I'd love to hear what everyone thinks. Should my next move be to pull the valve cover and check the valvetrain? If so, I looked up the manual instructions and had one question. How exactly does the engine need to be at top dead center to check the valves? Reason I ask, is that I can't see any way to get a wrench on the crankshaft pully (engine mount is in the way), so I'm relegated to remote starter switch- and I don't know how precise I can be with that thing.

Thanks as always for all your help!

You'll hear in the video that I throttle the engine down from about 2200 or so to 1500 (on the gauge) and the ticking goes along with the engine sound. You can also see my oil gauge about half way through the video when I pan to the instrument panel.

 

[MikeDobbs]

Here's the sterndrive view again- sounds a lot smoother than it did yesterday, and I don't see the bluish smoke coming out the prop that is visible in the previous video

 

[H20Rat]

Take a long screwdriver, hold the handle end to your ear, and start probing around on the engine listening for that tick. (be careful of the belts and what you are wearing!)