Engine Hour Meter on newly installed Mercruiser 357, 5.7L 275HP?

[marekli]

I am having a remanufactured Mercruiser 357, 5.7L 275HP installed on my Maxum 2300sc and am wondering whether it's worth having an hour meter installed since it may help withe resale in case we decide to upgrade to a longer cabin cruiser in a year or two. The reman 357 Merc comes with a 3year Mercury factory warranty for ~$6.8 installed, the boat's probably not worth very much more than that...maybe $9-10K right now with a new engine...

 

[MarkSee]

Re: Engine Hour Meter on newly installed Mercruiser 357, 5.7L 275HP?

Absolutely worth it not only from a re-sale standpoint but also for your own maintenance work and logging when items were done beyond just a date. What if you decide to keep the boat and buy a 2nd????

Mark

 

[harleyman1975]

Re: Engine Hour Meter on newly installed Mercruiser 357, 5.7L 275HP?

I would put one in. it won't cost you more than 40-50 bucks if you DIY. very easy project.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Engine Hour Meter on newly installed Mercruiser 357, 5.7L 275HP?

An hour meter is the last thing I would rely on to indicate the run time on an engine. Most are just simple 12 volt clocks that run anytime the key is in the RUN position. Note the RUN position. That clock will tick off hours even if the engine is not running so they are easy to disable and manipulate. If they are wired through an oil pressure switch so they operate only when the engine is actually running AND have not been tampered with they can be beneficial for your own use. But as a buyer -- that hour meter is of no value in my view. What's to say an hour meter reading 150 hours for example was installed two years after the boat was purchased. So instead of 150 hours it may have many hundreds of hours.

 

[dingdongs]

Re: Engine Hour Meter on newly installed Mercruiser 357, 5.7L 275HP?

good for your servicing records and I annually take a photo as proof of mine but honest people have nothing to hide and I also keep all service receipts as some may see this as a proud owner.mines supplied by the ht lead and attached to the doghouse inside.

 

[aerobat]

Re: Engine Hour Meter on newly installed Mercruiser 357, 5.7L 275HP?

Most are just simple 12 volt clocks that run anytime the key is in the RUN position. Note the RUN position. That clock will tick off hours even if the engine is not running

yes , they are simple 12v clocks and YES any normal human switches them simply to the alternator ( D+ terminal )and not the ignition switch so they count when the alternator gives an output - so engine is running and not only ignition on

you have not a single clue how an hour meter is wired, right ?

 

[agallant80]

Re: Engine Hour Meter on newly installed Mercruiser 357, 5.7L 275HP?

My boat did not come with one so it was one of the first things I did. The ECU holds the hour count but you need a very expensiave scan tool to read the data. I use mine to keep track of hours so I know when to perform maintance. One word of advice would be to hook it up so it only runs with the engine running. I have mine hooked up to the ignition and I have left the ignition a few times racking up the hours on the meter.

 

[marekli]

Re: Engine Hour Meter on newly installed Mercruiser 357, 5.7L 275HP?

... it's really more for a potential buyer. In our case we sank almost the entires boat worth into a reman engine while I am still toying with the idea of a bigger boat. In the end we decided to stick with it for now since it also doubles well as a ski boat while my boys are in HS and college. I figure when they are more out of the picture I'd like to switch to a non-ski cruiser with more space for me and the wife. With a 3yr warranty on the engine I figure the resale would be a lot better with an added on hour meter, especially since we don't use it a heck of a lot....it sounds like with the potential tamper issue, maybe it's easier to just track use manually for me and the buyers use...

My boat did not come with one so it was one of the first things I did. The ECU holds the hour count but you need a very expensiave scan tool to read the data. I use mine to keep track of hours so I know when to perform maintance. One word of advice would be to hook it up so it only runs with the engine running. I have mine hooked up to the ignition and I have left the ignition a few times racking up the hours on the meter.

 

[OldNBold51]

Re: Engine Hour Meter on newly installed Mercruiser 357, 5.7L 275HP?

you have not a single clue how an hour meter is wired, right ?

LOL, I was thinking the same thing.

to the OP, an hr meter is the way to go.
On all my filters and replaceable parts, I write, with a sharpie, on the filters/parts the hrs that this filter/part was replaced.
When i open the engine hatch I review the engine hrs and the filters. For me, I know I have 59 hrs on the oil change and 110 hrs on the fuel/water separator from doing some quick math.

 

[agallant80]

Re: Engine Hour Meter on newly installed Mercruiser 357, 5.7L 275HP?

Perhaps this thread can help you install an hour meter

http://forums.iboats.com/boat-topics-questions-not-engine-topics/install-hour-meter-593054.html

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Engine Hour Meter on newly installed Mercruiser 357, 5.7L 275HP?

Put it in!! Get the receipts and keep them with the new engine.
And if it's hooked up right it will only run when the key is in the on position.
Or like someone suggested hook it to the oil sender?? I didn't know that was possible?