Re: 3.7 Mercruiser No Spark
Yeah forget the new distributor, don't waste your money (you will need it elsewhere LOL). Your local NAPA will have the parts, your Mercruiser dealer, or here at i-boats. If you don't like the points, for about $150 you can go with a Petronix conversion. As soon as you get it running you will want to do a compression check and a cooling system pressure check. You can borrow the tools to do both from Autozone. While it is running check the waterpump weep hole, the small hole on the lower sterboard side of the engine waterpump. It must be clear (check with a toothpick) and look to see if antifreeze is leaking out. If it is you will need new cam seals (no big deal).Make sure the reservoir (with the radiator cap) is full of automotive 50/50 antifreeze. When you get it running the next thing you will have to do before you even THINK of taking it to the water is pull the outdrive and check the Bellows, gimbal bearing and U-joints. You will also need to split the outdrive and replace the entire waterpump, impeller and housing. Couple of other things to do in the meantime, check out the trim system and shifting: Trim is easy hop in and hit the trim button on the control handle, down first, should go down until you hear the tone of the motor change, next try trim up, should go up about 1/2 way then stop (if it does not, try thr trailer switch), hit the trailer switch to take it all the way up. The important thing for right now is that the down and trailer work.
Never run the engine with the outdrive up. Next thing to check is the shift cable: With the engine not running, push the throttle all the way forward, turn the prop counterclockwise, it should lock, pull back to neutral, prop should spin both ways (may click a little), pull back to reverse, prop should lock when you turn it clockwise (looking at it from behind the boat). If that does not work you probably need a new shift cable. Oh yeah
port and starboard, port is the left side of the boat looking from the transom forward, starboard, the right side, and they are always the same, whether looking at the boat from the front or back. Lots of stuff to learn but lots of fun ahead
. BTW welcome to the "470 Club" :facepalm: