want opinions on 165hp/3.7L/460

gleavens

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I'm looking for input on a potential purchase of a regal 1988, with the 165hp I/O alpha 1 outdrive. One member replied : RUN AWAY!! But with no explanation. Is this a bad motor?
 

Bondo

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Re: want opinions on 165hp/3.7L/460

One member replied : RUN AWAY!! But with no explanation. Is this a bad motor?

Ayuh,....

It's Mercruiser's Failed attemp to apply Outboard motor technology to an in-line 4 cylinder, 4 stroke motor....

It only took Mercruiser a few years to realize their Screw-Up,+ they dropped the line,..
Then they dropped their Parts Support.....

The Only way that I, Myself might ever own a 470,...
Is to possibly Junk it out to save the Hull, or maybe the Trailer under it.....;)
 

freddyray21

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Re: want opinions on 165hp/3.7L/460

the 165 inline 6 cylinder was a good set up. I have heard lots of bad things about the 470 like hard to find parts ect. Not sure which one you are talking about.
 

abj87

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Re: want opinions on 165hp/3.7L/460

do a search. Like any engine its only good as it has been maintained. I have a 470 and i like it. Pritty good on fuel and powerfull. It has its drawbacks (charging system and water pumps seals) but they can be corrected. If neglected they can go down hill fast! If has been well taken cared for id go for it.
 

JustJason

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Re: want opinions on 165hp/3.7L/460

look at it this way.... if you made a list of the best sterndrive package to the worst sterndrive package ever made, the 3.7 would be at the very bottom of the list.
 

chiefalen

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Re: want opinions on 165hp/3.7L/460

I have been looking around here in NJ for a 4 banger motor. I saw 2 days ago 5 boats that have trees growing thru them with grass actually growing in the cracks of the floor.

They all had 470, 3.7, motors in them. I could probably get them for free and i didn't take it.

You wanted opinions, they are like rear ends, everyone has one, and everyone thinks theres don't stink.

Get a boat with a 3.0l motor merc, volvo, not omc, in a 18-19 foot boat.
 

TilliamWe

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Re: want opinions on 165hp/3.7L/460

It was me that said RUN AWAY. And I'll say it again. RUN AWAY, RUN AWAY (think Monty Python).
abj87 has one and has had good luck. But ask him again when his exhaust manifold or riser needs to be replaced and they cost about $400 each. Or when his generator charging system fails, and he HAS to spend $200 on the alternator conversion kit.

Sure, if the motor was maintained great, then it's a decent (albeit rough idling) engine. But considering that finding parts for them is getting harder and harder, why bother?

Why purposely buy a motor with a known history of problems, that is obsolete, and parts are not made any longer? That's almost as bad as buying a boat with an OMC drive!
 

abj87

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Re: want opinions on 165hp/3.7L/460

abj87 has one and has had good luck. But ask him again when his exhaust manifold or riser needs to be replaced and they cost about $400 each. Or when his generator charging system fails, and he HAS to spend $200 on the alternator conversion kit.

You must not be familiar with the 470. The manifolds are cooled by engine coolant as well as most of the riser, so they hardly need to be replaced unlike raw water cooled manifolds(Depending on which exhaust manifold setup it has, mines the alum one). Mine has the charging conversion on it when i bought it so i wouldn't know.

I'm not saying its the best motor but im also not saying its the biggest p.o.s. ever made. Its just diffrent from the rest of the merc lineup.
 

HT32BSX115

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10,083
Re: want opinions on 165hp/3.7L/460

I'm looking for input on a potential purchase of a regal 1988, with the 165hp I/O alpha 1 outdrive. One member replied : RUN AWAY!! But with no explanation. Is this a bad motor?


If you have a choice, find yourself a boat with a fairly late model Mercruiser or Volvo Penta engine/drive.

If it's late model I.E, 10-15 years old or so, you won't have to consider an OMC or other obsolete engines (like the 3.7L/470 etc) It's also after summer....there's going to be a lot of boats on the used market.....

Even if nothing is wrong with what you do get, you'll be fixing it eventually. You'll be very glad you got something that is still supported and still made. Stick with a boat that has a 3.0L, 4.3L, 5.0L or 5.7L etc engine that is still offered by Volvo or Merc and you probably won't go wrong.

Those engine options are still offered by Volvo and Mercruiser. If you find a boat with one of those or other engine that is still offered you ensure that you will have not only a ready supply of current parts from the OEM manufacturers but you'll have choices of parts from many aftermarket suppliers as well.

Choose a boat with an engine that is no longer offered by any marine manufacturer and you reduce your choices as time goes on. Mercruiser still offers parts for the 470 but since they don't still make the engine a lot of those parts are getting more and more scarce & expensive.

This is just how it is when a model is discontinued. Eventually they just stop supporting it altogether.

It's like Microshaft stopping support of Windows XP. They don't want you using it anyway.....They want you to run out and buy Vista etc.

Yeah....I'll get right on that....


Cheers,


Rick
 

TilliamWe

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Re: want opinions on 165hp/3.7L/460

abj, I am familiar with the 470's manifolds. Yours may be aluminum, but not all of them were. And then, some got a mixture of an aluminum manifold with an iron riser. and vice versa. And you know what that means. (Corrosion). So unless you know the absolute history of a 470 (3.7) you have no idea when all the required maintenace items were or were not addressed. Granted, that's true for evey motor, but at least for other motors, parts are readily available, from "Multiple" sources.
 

rodbolt

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Re: want opinions on 165hp/3.7L/460

I have to agree with the runaway theme.
I used to work on the 3.7 motors quite a bit.
luckily in my area they are mostly all gone.
if all the updates were already done such as the 4" heat exchanger,belt driven altenator and the 700 dollar manifold update and a stainless spedi-sleeve on the cam seals you may get by for a time.
this motor also uses an open deck aluminium block with a cast iron head and WILL NOT tolerate much overheating without popping a head gasket.
head gasket replacement on the 3.7 is not like any other motor on the market and the service manual MUST be followed to the letter.the 3.7L MCM was only made for about 5 years the last being in the late 80's and mercruiser support is waning rapidly on that product and there isnt much aftermarket support anymore so parts are getting rather pricey.
 

gleavens

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Re: want opinions on 165hp/3.7L/460

Like they say, majority rules! Thanks for the input gentlemen, we've moved away from that boat, now my next possibility, 1988 Chris Craft scorpion 169, equipped with the 140HP Mercruiser I/O, working order, soft spot in floor, any thoughts?
 

TilliamWe

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Re: want opinions on 165hp/3.7L/460

Soft spots in a floor usually get very large when you start to tear them out. A 140hp Mercruiser should be the 3.0 4cylinder, and that's a good thing.
 

gleavens

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Re: want opinions on 165hp/3.7L/460

floor repair/replace as I understand it, is hard work but not the end of the world, any suggestions?, are there any publications out there covering the procedure?, or is it just not that complicated.
The engine is a four cylinder, but I thought it was the 2.5L GM block, but I could be wrong.
 

ne7800

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Re: want opinions on 165hp/3.7L/460

There are lots of threads on floor/stringer replacment that will walk you thrugh it just do a search. check out the hull extention thread lots of info in there
 
Joined
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Re: want opinions on 165hp/3.7L/460

Like they say, majority rules! Thanks for the input gentlemen, we've moved away from that boat, now my next possibility, 1988 Chris Craft scorpion 169, equipped with the 140HP Mercruiser I/O, working order, soft spot in floor, any thoughts?

I have an 86 Chris Craft Scorion 210. I love the boat. It also had a bad floor when I bought it. The stringers were good though.
 

gleavens

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Re: want opinions on 165hp/3.7L/460

did you replace the floor?, was it simply tear up carpet, cut out sections, how did you repair it?
 
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