Re: 1986 Mercruiser 170 4 cylinder
Howdy!
I owned one for a year or so and never did get it in the water.
The '470-Merc' is likely the most powerful (pound per pound) sterndrive ever built. It was the only Merc-built sterndrive engine block (aluminum) with a Ford '460' iron head planted on it. They came in both 2-barrel and 4-barrel carbed versions.
Some, after learning about and addressing the known issues with this engine, have had great success with these engines.
You need to do the following if you are going to buy one and put it into service:
- don't pay too much for it.
- make certain it still has good compression.
- be certain water is not contaminating the engine oil.
- replace the stock stator/regulator fiasco with a standard one/wire alternator (there are kits available or you can make one)
- these engines came with either a 3-inch or a 4-inch diameter heat-exchanger; you want the 4-inch to eliminate over-heating issues.
- keep an eye on the camshaft/waterpump seals
(read this:
http://www.sterndrives.com/470information/470coolantleakrepair.html)
- keep an eye on ebay for spare parts.
- join the forum at
Breezeworks.com there's a ton of '470' owners on there who can help you get the most out of these engines.
There are other upgrades you can do to these engines incl. - Petronix ignition, port & polish head, add Scorpion roller-rockers, too name a few.
I've read that some guy's have squeezed over 225-horses out of these things.
Not bad for a little mill that weighs-in about 300-pounds less than a small block.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Terry
