OMC King Cobra 460

[BlowHo]

I just bought a Reinell 239 RXL with the above motor. The boat sat without running for an unspecified amount of time and it was defeintely in the salt. I am brand new to I/O engines, however I am fairly adept with automotive engines. I have already discovered there are differences.

My questions are:
Is there a "best" manual to cover the motor, outdrive, hydraulics, etc etc for this boat?

There is standing water in the intake, it appears rusty/dirty, I dried it off but I was wondering if I could use an automotive degreaser and then spray the whole thing off in the engine compartment?

The motor was rebuilt and it has 63 hours on it, should I change all of the fluids? Oil looks good as is.

It has "freshwater cooling", does that mean saltwater does not come in contact with the motor?

There are two holes near the exhaust manifolds that need covers, what are these? The holes are in the back near the transom, I can post a picture if need be.

I am not going to use this in saltwater, is there anything I can use to clean all the salt effectively??


Sorry for the 20 questions, I went from a 10 foot aluminum boat with an electric motor to this beast in 3 moves, I am the ultimate novice.

I did a search with no luck, so feel free to driect me to answers if they already exist. Thanks and comments on the boat in general are appreciated if there are common problems/things to be aware of.


Bill -

 

[BlowHo]

Re: OMC King Cobra 460

Sorry, standing water on top of intake, not in it.

 

[Don S]

Re: OMC King Cobra 460

Is there a "best" manual to cover the motor, outdrive, hydraulics, etc etc for this boat?
Yes, OEM. Since OMC went out of buisness about 10 years ago, ebay is your best bet. There is on guy there that has lots. Hopefully those knowing will post.

There is standing water ON the intake, it appears rusty/dirty, I dried it off but I was wondering if I could use an automotive degreaser and then spray the whole thing off in the engine compartment?
Clean it and paint it, then clean the bilge so there is no oil of anykind.

The motor was rebuilt and it has 63 hours on it, should I change all of the fluids? Oil looks good as is.
Change all fluids, filters, bellows, impellers etc. Just like it was untouched. Unless you for sure it's new.
Start using your new (to you) boat in the best condition you can get it. You then have a benchmark for any problems that may come up.

It has "freshwater cooling", does that mean saltwater does not come in contact with the motor?
Correct, no salt water in the engine. Only in the heat exchanger, manifolds, and risers. The manifolds and risers are good for around 8 years in salt water.

There are two holes near the exhaust manifolds that need covers, what are these? The holes are in the back near the transom, I can post a picture if need be.
There are caps for the end of the manifolds. Post a pic, I am sure I know what you are referring to, but want to make sure. They are available.

I am not going to use this in saltwater, is there anything I can use to clean all the salt effectively??
http://www.saltawayproducts.com/

 

[BlowHo]

Re: OMC King Cobra 460

Don - thanks you are fast! The boat is a 93 if that matters. I will post pics tomorrow.

 

[Coors]

Re: OMC King Cobra 460

Get manual from searayman13 on ebay.

 

[BlowHo]

Re: OMC King Cobra 460

Coors - thanks for the info, I'll check him out.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: OMC King Cobra 460

Another OMC 460! I have one of those!


Well we all make mistakes sometimes.......It's all in the recovery!!


You may have the one that the coupler IS available. OMC provided couplers made by LORD Corp ....They make EVERY kind of rubber damper, coupling, shock mount engine mounts, for everything under the sun.... http://www.lord.com/tabid/3464/Default.aspx

I don't think they make a flexible coupling for the FORD Big-block flywheel bolt pattern anymore (and I don't think anyone else does either)....

SO this is important. when you get that OEM OMC Manual, buy yourself an alignment tool and remove the drive and check the alignment. "perfect" alignment will maximize the life of your eng-driveshaft flexible coupler. You want that since they are scarce... so scarce that you have to find used ones because new couplers are simply not available.

There may be a dealer somewhere that still has a new one sitting on the shelf...but it'll be like the exhaust manifolds (the other scarce parts).....they get scarfed up pretty fast. Shorts Marine told me that the last time they saw 460 exhaust manifolds was JAN 2005 and it took them a year to get them and they were about $600+ each (they were new old stock from some other company stock) They also told me that when OMC went under, the foundry that made the 460 manifolds owned the patents to the manifolds. They supposedly kept them unlike the other ones you can now buy from OSCO, BARR etc... He said BRP http://www.brp.com/ did not seem to be interested in supporting all the old OMC parts. Some are available but the the 460 manifolds and couplers were not being supported.


I am very sorry to be the bearer of somewhat bad news. There's really nothing wrong with the OMC 460. Mine pushed my Four Winns to 60 mph for about 20 years! When I took it apart the alignment was perfect!

Mine had developed some flat lobes on the camshaft and could have been rebuilt and put back together. But i started looking for manifolds and a coupler "just in case" and discovered the bad news. I didn't want to spend $3500-4000 rebuilding the engine and run it 1 summer and either develop a cracked manifold or lose the coupler and be literally "dead in the water"


I went hunting for a Mercruiser. I found one (A guy with a 1998 boat that had a 150 ft maple fall on it!!)


Now the good news. A Mercruiser Bravo gimbal will BOLT right up to a King Cobra cutout!!! (you have to drill 2 additional holes for the Bravo....an Alpha WILL literally bolt right in) You have to move the engine mounts a little ....no big deal....Even the harness will plug right in (you may have to change some wires around and there's 1 additional wire in the Merc)

The other option might be getting an OMC King Cobra 454 transom plate and a 454. I don't know what other parts commonality there is with the 454 King Cobra and the 460. That way you would have no problem finding stuff that fits the 454.


Now that I have everything spread all over the floor I also discovered that the bravo shaft/splines appear to be identical to the Cobra. I would be willing to bet one could take a 460 flywheel to a machine shop and get it it drilled for a Bravo coupler. I don't know if anyone has ever done this and it doesn't "fix' the manifold problem.

Yes there's stainless steel manifolds and adapters so you can use 454 manifolds on Ford heads AND I think there's aluminum heads available that have have 454 exhaust ports on them.


I thought all about that stuff!! ...researched it.... I would have still had an OMC drive it still would have been more money than buying a used Merc.

So I went with the Bravo.

Sorry for the long post...... My wife doesn't ask for the time anymore .....she knows how to build a clock now... 8)


Regards,


Rick

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: OMC King Cobra 460

Here is a link to the guy on ebay,this may not be the correct year manual but just go to his ebay store and type in the year...8)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1990...dZViewItemQQcategoryZ26453QQitemZ200008269381

 

[BlowHo]

Re: OMC King Cobra 460

Thanks for help, and the news about the 460. I hope all stays well with mine until I decide to sell it.

 

[Boatin Bob]

Re: OMC King Cobra 460

Are you sure it's a 93 with a 460 in it? The last year OMC used the 460 was 1990, the 454 was also in 1990 and from then on. Can you find the serial plate on the engine and post the model number to be sure of the year. Plate should be on the t-stat housing or rocker cover.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: OMC King Cobra 460

Bob is right. if it's a 460, the engine/drive is an 87-90 unit.

Boat makers routinely use last years engines/drives in new boats. I wouldn't expect them to use 3 year old engines though. I suppose that could happen unless the boat is older than the name plate indicates.

 

[BlowHo]

Re: OMC King Cobra 460

Dunno, that's what I was told by the guy who sold it. He is not the owner, owner is in another state. I pick up title for boat/trailer this weekend so hopefully it is correct. There was nothing in the boat as far as paperwork goes.

I will check for the serial plate tonite when i get home and post it up. Interesting.

 

[BlowHo]

Re: OMC King Cobra 460

Boatin Bob - Where did you find that information? I really want to do a lot of research on this boat, motor, outdrive etc. but I can't seem to find much information.

Is there a website specific to find out stuff, or is it just in your head??

Thanks.

 

[Coors]

Re: OMC King Cobra 460

a 460 has distributor in front; 454 in back

 

[Boatin Bob]

Re: OMC King Cobra 460

A lot of that info is just bouncing around in my head like a lot of other useless info. But I do know that for a fact as I have 2 of those 1989 460's in my boat. When you get the boat have a look on the rear of the transom on the right hand side to see the boat serial number, the last 2 digits on the right are generally the year for the boat. Try this link for Doug Russell to see online parts catolog's. Best to have the year of the engine though!


Doug Russell

 

[BlowHo]

Re: OMC King Cobra 460

The VIN on the boat ends in 91, so I guess it's a 91. The engine S/N is T01205283. How do I read it to determine year, the carb cover says King Cobra 460, so I assume it is one. Like the VIN, does this mean it is an 83???

 

[Don S]

Re: OMC King Cobra 460

The VIN, on boats is called the HIN (Hull Identifcation Number) and has nothing to do with the engine or drive.
The SN for your engine gives nothing as to the year. That has to do with the model number.

 

[Don S]

Re: OMC King Cobra 460

This should help once you locate your engine model number.

 

[BlowHo]

Re: OMC King Cobra 460

Thanks Don, based on that it is a 1990 460CI engine. Makes sense.

Thanks to everyone on this thread.

 

[Boatin Bob]

Re: OMC King Cobra 460

Now that you have determined it's 1990 I strongly recommend an OMC factory manual such as this one. I know it's a bit pricey compared to the after market ones but well worth it in my opinion.

1990 OMC Manual