Original Holley carb on 1983 ski centurion PCM 351w ???

S

shroom

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Jul 10, 2006
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ok good news and bad news.... got the carb on found the fitting i needed to connect the fuel line... hooked up everything as instructed on here... boat fired right up after the fuel pumped into the new carb... runs and sounds great... heres where the bad news comes in... ran great had water hooked up to the water pump so i could really test it out... killed it a few times and it fired right back up no problems... turned it off let it sit about 30 minutes tried to start it... same old crap... motor would barely crank over at all had to kit key on and off a few times to get it to start back up... started up and ran fine... retarded timing a bit just to see if it was advanced too much to keep it from turning over (getting a timing light tomorrow so i can make sure its right) but after retarding and advancing w/ it running to what sounds right upper and lower rpms... idling perfect sounds great.... turned it off... tried to start it again... barely turn over... battery was fully charged and new (like 2 weeks old) battery had dropped from 13.3v to 12.4 which seems weird.... so im starting to think my starter may be bad this starter was rebuilt about 3 years and it is a 460 starter not even a 351 starter because i wanted to make sure a while back that the starter wasnt the issue when i had determined motor was vapor locking now im starting to wonder if it ever was vapor locking at all.... the holley carb was a great purchase im glad i got that carb as it is the stock carb so im fine w/ that i just want to figure out what the heck is going on... I plan on buying new battery cables positive and negative (the ground wire to the motor and the fat positive cable that runs to the starter and the other fat wire that runs to the solenoid.... gonna get a new solenoid as well.... i can do all of that tomorrow... on monday i plan on taking the starter to the starter shop and having it rebuilt or at least tested.... can anyone give me any ideas on what the hell is going on as i am really beyond frustrated i remember a few years ago thinking the starter was the problem and when i ran a new ground wire seemed to fix the issue for a while.... one thing i know is i have NEVER replaced the battery cables so im thinking there may be a lot of corrosion or something on just the wires.... how likely is it that this is a wire/solenoid problem.... with all the things ive mentioned before is that all a good idea? is there anything im missing i want to pull my hair out over this..... just want the boat to start/run and then start after its warm... motor only has around 250-400 hours tops on it... i feel like its something simple.... should i put a heat shroud on the starter? can anyone please help me... thanks for all the info... carb install went off without a hitch thanks to all the info ive got here i just want to figure this damn thing out... not gonna be defeated by it... feel like im so close to getting this working.



edit: 2 hours later... went out found a new cable i had in the garage.... replaced the cable from the solenoid to the starter and cleaned all connections on the solenoid/starter and the ground wire to the motor by disconnecting it and using a dremel w/ wire brush to clean it off... boat started right up ... ran great let it get up to to temp let it run for about 10 mins turned it off.... fired right back up.... let it run about another 20 minutes .... turned it off.... same problem engine wouldnt crank just whine and would barely turn over if i turned key back and forth a few times.... so i took another cable very large gauge and jumped the solenoid with the key on just to see if maybe it was the solenoid... same thing whining / barely turn over would not completely turn over... im thinking it has to be the starter at this point... works when its cool but when it heats up will not work.. .makes sense... im gonna just go buy a new one in the morning im done w/ these rebuilt ones.... i know it will be expensive but im so damn sick of all this bs...i am also going to go ahead and by a new positive and negative cable the long positive that runs from batt to solenoid and the long negative that runs from battery to engine block... will also get a new solenoid just because why the hell not.... if theres something here im missing please let me know... at this point im pretty damn sure has to be the starter and it makes sense as when its hot and wont turn over and i try the negative cable gets really really hot at the battery end so it seems like the starter is pulling way more amps than it should be... again back me up or tell me im wrong but otherwise im going to get a new starter come day break... thanks again for all the help guys ... this forum is great!


one more question... if i were to use an automotive starter until i get the marine one i ordered in would one from a 1984 ford f150 work ? am i just looking for one that doesnt have the solenoid built onto it or what like one of these? i know i shouldnt use a auto starter but come to found out i have done this for years didnt even realize it wasnt marine but there you have it will one of these work? http://www.autozone.com/batteries-s...n-p-u-2wd/1984/8-cylinders-g-5-8l-2bl-windsor
 
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S

shroom

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new starter, new solenoid, new ground wire and new positive wire.... starting everytime now... took it out today ran pretty good i think i may need to adjust carb and/or timing just a hair bought a timing light... can anyone tell me what a 351w should be set at? also where is a good spot to order the 3 inch ID hose that goes from exhaust manifold to wet fiberglass exhaust tube... i have a leak one of mine and the motor was choking out a bit after running about 10 minutes if i lifted cowling it ran fine and would run fine for another 10-15 minutes and i would have to lift cowling to stop it from sputtering down... either the exhaust is choking it out or the holley is sucking a lot more air than the old edelbrock... im considering putting a grate/vent on my cowling... what are good options for a blower this boat never had one and i know it needs one... but best news is boat starts great every time so now just need a little bit of tweaking...
 
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shroom

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Thank you! The section of tubing I need is about 2-2.5 feet long will this fiberglass work? Its reinforced rubber type hose now.
 
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S

shroom

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also one more question considering this is a new (reman) 4160 and it was pre-tuned for a 351 im assuming i will need to do a little bit of tweaking on the fuel mixture... the boat idles great... and runs pretty good but when i throttle it and it goes into gear it seems to delay a bit then kind of surge and speed up with a lot of power then evens out is this because it is too rich? idles good seems to take off good but then seems to kind of bog down then gets lots of power i know i have the timing close so i think it is a mixture issue... seems rich to me.. where to begin on this? considering putting the edelbrock back on considering the start issue was likely due to the bad starter but id really like to get the holley tuned and working right because it is stock and new and just think id have less issues all around but not familiar with what to do to this 4160... is it running rich?

one thing to add... when it starts bogging like that if i open the cowling it starts running right within 5 seconds and is fine w/ cowling up... cowling down it starts to bog this is around 2000-3000 rpms.
 
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Redrig

Redrig

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