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  1. ken_23434

    Advice needed. Sold boat, motor "blew" first time he took it out.

    Need some advice/opinions: I sold my boat that had a 3.0 Mercruiser engine (mid 1980's boat/motor). I last took the boat out about June 20th. Ran it up and down a local river w/ 6 of us on board (3 adults, 3 kids). The trip up river to the swimming hole was cruising about half throttle, the...
  2. ken_23434

    Prop for 20' Pontoon

    I am trying to figure out the correct prop for my 20' pontoon. Mercury 4 stroke 60 hp outboard (NOT big foot) Current prop: 11.5" diameter, 9 pitch 4 blade Michigan Wheel aluminum Current WOT RPM: 4400 Speed at above: 16 n-mph Previous prop: 12.5, 8 pitch 3 bladed Mercury aluminum prop...
  3. ken_23434

    motor height question

    I just bought a Suntracker Party Barge 20 this week. I have had it on the water twice. When I get to about half throttle, water starts to splash in front of the motor. Once I get to about 75% throttle, the whole front of the motor cover is wet and water is splashing into the rear of the...
  4. ken_23434

    FW Cooler Leak

    Can anyone guide me on finding out what tubes are leaking in the heat exchanger and how you go about plugging them? I have confirmed I have a leak in my cooler. I called a local radiator shop for a "ball park" estimate to plug a tube and he said "it normally runs about $250". I was thinking...
  5. ken_23434

    Bottom Paint for Trailer Boat

    My boat spends most of it's time on the trailer. I never leave it in the water over night. I want to paint the hull and hope to not have to do it for many (5) years. I have read, that most of the bottom paints loose their effectiveness when exposed to air for very long. I have also heard...
  6. ken_23434

    How to mount seat cushions in fwd section of bowrider

    I have a 20+ year old boat with probably the original cushions up front. The top of the back cushions (ones your back rests against) are pretty dried out and starting to separate. One of the seat backs had come off. It was held in place with plastic pieces that I have always heard referred...
  7. ken_23434

    Mercruiser 3.0 Shift Shaft Issue

    Any idea why the lower shift shaft (gear housing) is sitting low and becoming disconnected from the upper shift shaft (bell housing)? I took the boat out for a evening cruise and ended up running it into the boat ramp when it would not go into reverse. :eek: When I moved the throttle to the...
  8. ken_23434

    Bell Housing Hinge Pin Tool alternative ?

    I have seen a kit of "12 point metric" bits at a couple local auto stores (Autozone and Pepboys). The kit runs about $12 dollars and has 4 or 5 bits in it. The largest one is 12mm, and visually looks close to my hinge pin tool. I checked the whole rack and they did not have a similar kit with...
  9. ken_23434

    Boat Tool Loaner Program

    This might not be the appropriate forum, but I think it applies. Plus, I am not sure if any businesses check these forums to keep up one the desires/needs of their customers. I see many posts on here where people are reluctant to do a maintenance item or don't do it correctly because of a...
  10. ken_23434

    Sticky Title might discourage people opening it.

    I think there is a lot of good information in the ADULTS ONLY sticky, but I think the title prevents a lot of people from initially looking there. I know on other forums, a title like that means that the link will contain things "not appropriate" for viewing at work, with kids around, etc... I...
  11. ken_23434

    Bell Housing Removal: Shift Cable Question

    I am reading up on what I need to do for replacing my bellows on my 88 Alpha 1. It seems the service manual is written for completely taking apart everything in the outdrive. I know I do not need to do everything listed in there. (Wish it had a step by step just for doing the bellows)...
  12. ken_23434

    Water Leak into U-Joint Bellows, Bellows not Torn?

    I have a project boat I have been working through the issues on. I had it out on the water about 5 times last fall, sorting out issues each time. This is my first boat, so I am still learning what "normal" is. I took it out last weekend for the first time this year. I thought there was a...
  13. ken_23434

    Question: How to Clean Fuel Tank

    I will put my question first, so you don't have to read through all the details of why I am asking it... How well do you think it would work to clean out an old fuel tank (18 gallon plastic, under the floor of a 18' runabout) by placing an "universal" electric fuel pump (say from Autozone or...
  14. ken_23434

    Heat Exchanger Leak

    I have noticed that my engine has been losing coolant, but there are no external leaks. My engine is missing the expansion bottle, so initially, I thought it was normal expansion and contraction without the makeup from the expansion bottle. I decided to do a pressure check just to make sure...
  15. ken_23434

    Trim Pump Pig-Tail ?

    I have a 1988 Wellcraft with a 3.0 Mercruiser, Alpha 1. The boat was gotten as a project. When I got it, there was no Trim Pump and the wires were cut where the trim pump should have been. I have a newer style Mercruiser Trim pump with the plastic resevoir and have "temporarily" wired it up...
  16. ken_23434

    Exhaust Bellows Leak?

    Well, I finally got my "project" boat into the water today for a test drive to see what else there is to the "project". I noticed a fair amount of exhaust coming from the bottom of the gimbal housing. From my understanding, that should only be a relief location, not the normal location. There...
  17. ken_23434

    Compatability between Trim Pumps

    I have a 1989 Wellcraft Classic 180. My wife got a "good deal" on it last year, and I have been working to fix about everything that exists on the boat. I am finally almost ready to test it in the water. The boat was missing the trim pump (amongst about everything else) when we got it. I...
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