Yamaha 4.3 engine swap

girlsplus1

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So I just picked up the boat of my dreams. It's a 1995 Glascon (not Glastron) 18 foot bowrider with a 4.3 Yamaha sterndrive, built right here in Lethbridge, Alberta. Got it for less than half of what it's worth. The guy selling it said he got it in non-running condition from a buddy four years ago and had it stored in his heated garage ever since. He had replaced the spark plugs and fuel filter and put in 40 bucks worth of gas, but couldn't do more than make it backfire a few times, so he gave up. I didn't know anything about Yamahas, and figured since it was so cheap I could just pop in an engine from a Jimmy or something if it didn't work. I had the starter bushings replaced today so it would crank at more than 45 rpm, and found that the spark plug wires were out of order (exciting!) After replacing the old cap, rotor and wires according to the firing order it still popped and farted. I decided that the distributor must have been removed at some point, since the rotor wasn't pointing to cylinder 1 at TDC 1. Upon removing the distributor, I discovered that it was covered in dreaded milky white oil. The oil on the dipstick was clean, which just shows that someone in the boat's dark past had changed it out for some reason. Long story short: I'm planning on a trip to the local scrapyard to pull an engine to replace the broken one. I'm obviously going to need some gaskets, etc. but I'm on a limited budget and hope to have it going in a week. Any advice, warnings? Ken? Anybody?
 

girlsplus1

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Not much feedback today here, huh? Anyway, I went into the shop where I work (heavy duty trucks) today and told some of the guys about my dilemma. One of the older guys chastised me for jumping to conclusions and urged me to do a compression test. I did, and realized that although a couple of holes were low (121, 123 psi) it should run pretty well. I timed the distributor and stuck it in and voila! Purred like a kitten. Took it out on the lake tonight and it ran great...for about four minutes, then seized up. Come on guys, please throw me a bone. Do I need to remove the outdrive first to get the engine out?
 

girlsplus1

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Never mind, I just found an awesome thread that details virtually everything I need to know.
 

Bondo

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Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,.... Sorry ya got left hangin' here,.... Not alota Yamaha drives, 'n not alota Yamaha guys,....

The Best advice I got for ya is, if it's Runnin',... Sell it, 'n buy a Chevy powered Merc or Volvo,....

Information, 'n parts are Much Easier for either of 'em,....
 

girlsplus1

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Thanks, Bondo. Too late for that at this point. The last guy to remove and replace the sterndrive didn`t bother to tighten the clamps to the bellows and water intake hose. They both fell off in the water. She overheated while I was thinking everything was hunky dory. I have pulled the engine and bought another engine out of a 1992 Jimmy (bored out and overhauled a few years ago). I found info on a flow sensor under the power steering pump. Shouldn`t I have had some warning from this thing? This is my first venture into sterndrives, and I don't want to live through another experience like this.
 

Bondo

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Thanks, Bondo. Too late for that at this point. The last guy to remove and replace the sterndrive didn`t bother to tighten the clamps to the bellows and water intake hose. They both fell off in the water. She overheated while I was thinking everything was hunky dory. I have pulled the engine and bought another engine out of a 1992 Jimmy (bored out and overhauled a few years ago). I found info on a flow sensor under the power steering pump. Shouldn`t I have had some warning from this thing? This is my first venture into sterndrives, and I don't want to live through another experience like this.

Ayuh,.... I gotta believe the Temp Gauge was actin' funny,......
 

Capt Ken

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If you have a distributor then you have an EST engine and no flow sensor. Temp sensor don't work if there is no water in the system. Since the change in the format here, I don't visit as much as I use to. Half the time it doesn't allow me to post.
 

girlsplus1

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No Title

Thanks for your input, guys. What's EST stand for? "The Best advice I got for ya is, if it's Runnin',... Sell it, 'n buy a Chevy powered Merc or Volvo,...." Sounds like good advice and I think I'll follow it, but I do want it to run well for the next guy first.
Took delivery of the engine yesterday (I lied, it's from a 1989). Stripped off the automotive stuff, cleaned and painted the block and heads. Oil pan, intake manifold, exhaust manifolds (obviously) different, so I got all new gaskets and seals throughout to make sure I won't have to remove it again for a long time. I'm planning to swap the cam, but what about the other differences between these engines? Should I be concerned that they look so different? Should I go so far as to swap the heads too, now that I have come this far?
 

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Bondo

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Thanks for your input, guys. What's EST stand for? "The Best advice I got for ya is, if it's Runnin',... Sell it, 'n buy a Chevy powered Merc or Volvo,...." Sounds like good advice and I think I'll follow it, but I do want it to run well for the next guy first.
Took delivery of the engine yesterday (I lied, it's from a 1989). Stripped off the automotive stuff, cleaned and painted the block and heads. Oil pan, intake manifold, exhaust manifolds (obviously) different, so I got all new gaskets and seals throughout to make sure I won't have to remove it again for a long time. I'm planning to swap the cam, but what about the other differences between these engines? Should I be concerned that they look so different? Should I go so far as to swap the heads too, now that I have come this far?

Ayuh,..... No reason to swap the cam, nor the heads,....
Brass core plugs are a Must,....

Ya might have fitment issues with the intake manifold, I ain't sure,...
Yer boat motor is a balance shaft motor, 'n the donor ain't,....
Ya, there's gonna be differences to over-come,.....
Yer donor is an earlier "Vintage" 4.3l,...
 

Bondo

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If you have a distributor then you have an EST engine and no flow sensor. Temp sensor don't work if there is no water in the system. Since the change in the format here, I don't visit as much as I use to. Half the time it doesn't allow me to post.

Ayuh,..... We're most all sufferin' through this together Ken,..... Try usin' yer Refresh button when things don't go well,....

It seems to be My key to postin', 'n the Mod Tools,.....
 

girlsplus1

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So I decided to just throw the engine in the way I got it, and maybe make changes over the winter depending on the last few boating weeks of the year. Turns out that in order to use the pulley, you have to change the balancer, then the timing cover to fit the larger balancer. After that if the timing gear is questionable on the donor, just use the one off the old motor. Of course you have to change the timing gears too, because the chain is a different style. After removing the oil pan I swapped out the oil pump, too. 2:30 am today and finally got her running. Going out to try it after work...
 

Bondo

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So I decided to just throw the engine in the way I got it, and maybe make changes over the winter depending on the last few boating weeks of the year. Turns out that in order to use the pulley, you have to change the balancer, then the timing cover to fit the larger balancer. After that if the timing gear is questionable on the donor, just use the one off the old motor. Of course you have to change the timing gears too, because the chain is a different style. After removing the oil pan I swapped out the oil pump, too. 2:30 am today and finally got her running. Going out to try it after work...

Ayuh,.... Good Luck,..... ;)
 
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