Replacing a 1999 3.0 mercruiser

[inletlife2015]

That is the only line coming from the gas tank to the motor. That is why I assumed it was going to the fuel pump. Thanks for correcting me on that. So that is the only thing I need to hook up to the motor as far as the fuel system goes ?

 

[Bondo]

Are you sayin' yer boat's fuel is plumbed with clear plastic vinyl tubin',..??..??

That ain't Coast Guard approved, nor safe,....

Yer buildin' a Bomb there, bud,....

Forget what I said above, I thought you were workin' on the vent line, not the actual gas line,....

Ya want 3/8" Coast Guard Approved gas line,....

 

[inletlife2015]

Got the fuel line figured out. Need to align the motor before I continue with the hookups. The alignment tool is at least 1/2" too high to align with the motor. That means to me that the motor has to go up that far with spacers under the motor mounts on the stern end. IS THIS NORMAL ? DOES NOT SEEM TO ME THAT I SHOULD HAVE TO RAISE THAT MOTOR UP THAT FAR. I WAS HOPING TO PLUG IN AND PLAY. THIS IS A WHOLE NEW BALL GAME I THINK, IM GETTING REALLY FRUSTRATED HERE SO CLOSE TO THE END OF THIS PROJECT. SO CLOSE BUT SOOOOOO FAR AWAY. HELP PLEASE BEFORE I SINK THIS BAYLINER IN THE BAY !

 

[Bondo]

IS THIS NORMAL ? DOES NOT SEEM TO ME THAT I SHOULD HAVE TO RAISE THAT MOTOR UP THAT FAR. I WAS HOPING TO PLUG IN AND PLAY. THIS IS A WHOLE NEW BALL GAME I THINK, IM GETTING REALLY FRUSTRATED HERE SO CLOSE TO THE END OF THIS PROJECT. SO CLOSE BUT SOOOOOO FAR AWAY. HELP PLEASE BEFORE I SINK THIS BAYLINER IN THE BAY !

Nope,.... Not normal at All,.....

My guess is, either ya got the stack of pieces wrong at the rear mounts, or the rear mounts have Failed due to rotten rubber bushin's,.....

 

[inletlife2015]

OK, I got that out of my system today after I got really frustrated. Decided to take a step back and calm down. I think the 93 degree heat may have played a part. After it cooled down in the evening I took another look at it and realized that the motor was not as far off as I first thought. I knew that the motor needed to come up in the back, so I took the bolts out and put a washer under the mounts and tightened it back down. With my fingers crossed, I put the alignment tool back in and guess what...it not only went into the coupler, I could turn it freely with 2 fingers. YES !! happy dance time ..woo hoo ! That will be a lesson to me that you don't see things quite as clear when you get all upset and overheated. Just walk away and take a breath. Come back when you can think straight.

Now to move on with the hookups. water line done, gas line done, scratched my head a little with the electrical wires because there are some differences from the old motor. It looks like I may need to call a friend of mine to help with this. He is an auto mechanic by trade, and he has been a boat owner for years as well.

There is a bracket with cables hooked up to it that attached to the starboard side of the old motor. I must not have done enough research because I have no clue what these cables are for. The same bracket for the new motor is not there and was attached on the opposite side of the motor. Not sure how to tackle this but I will NOT get frustrated again like I did this morning. Any feedback on the bracket and mystery cables would be much appreciated.

 

[inletlife2015]

I take that back, The bracket is is still on the new motor pictured here. Does not look to me like the shift cables will reach over to that side of the motor. Do I need to order new cables ? Can I use these existing cables ?

 

[inletlife2015]

existing cables that were located on the opposite side of the old motor

 

[Bondo]

existing cables that were located on the opposite side of the old motor

Ayuh,..... Where's whatever that shift plate was mounted to, on the ole motor,..??..??

 

[inletlife2015]

yes it is on the old motor...can I install that plate on the new motor ? And thank you Bondo for all of your advice..you have been a big help. I started this project with no boat knowledge. I think I have learned a lot on this project. That was the idea.



This bracket ? That makes sense, didn't think it would work on the new motor but I don't know why I was thinkin that. That should have been obvious.

 

[inletlife2015]

Plate installed on new motor / worked out with no problems at all.

 

[inletlife2015]

Got back on the boat project yesterday and had a great day ! Took the plate off the old motor / thanks again Bondo ! / installed the plate on the new motor, shifter cable plate bolted right up and working good. Throttle cable installed, no problems there. The new motor was pre-wired into a central hub. If I would have noticed this before I set the motor in, I could have better prepped this motor before I set it in the boat. All good though, I guess those things were the " normal sorta stuff " Bondo mentioned in an earlier post. Also had to make my own bracket to hold the lower unit drive oil monitor. It was previously mounted on the the same bracket I had to install on the other side of the motor. This job was not that hard as I had a few pieces of metal around the shop to work with. Will post some pics of the new motor, with improvements this weekend. Got too dark on me yesterday.

Took all the wiring off the new motor, as I was going through hooking up the wires, so I could make sure color coding was the same. I expected this job to be difficult...I was wrong. All the wires and where they needed to be connected, all made perfect sense as I walked through each part, started with the starter and worked my way over the motor until I got to the alternator. Done. Hooked up the battery, hooked up the muffs, moment of truth. Motor took a few revolutions to get the gas line primed then that motor fired right up ! Whew !

Checked it over while motor was running, don't think there is enough water getting through the motor. Should have changed the water impeller. I say this because I am not seeing much water coming out of the outdrive and only coming out on one side. Q. Shouldn't I be seeing water coming out on both sides of the outdrive ? Also feels like the motor was getting hot a little to fast. Going to change that impeller this weekend regardless.
Found a little water coming out on top of the motor from the exhaust bellow elbow. Will replace that this weekend as well. After that, I think it should be ready to test it out in the river.

Any advice on taking it out for the first time after this project ?

I hope this thread will help someone, like myself, in the future with their DIY boat project. I started this project clueless about boats and boat repair, now I may even be able to answer a question for someone. Well lets not get carried away..LOL ! Thanks again for everyones help !

 

[Bondo]

Any advice on taking it out for the first time after this project ?

Ayuh,..... Get yer affairs in order,...

Properly equip the boat with Safety stuff, includin' Pfds, bring yer cell phone, 'n Go Boatin',.....

 

[inletlife2015]

Update...Not good I'm afraid. Took the boat out and ran great on Sunday. Was off on Tuesday so went out again. Motor suddenly shuts down and will not crank back up. Got it back in the driveway and found that the exhaust bellow had come loose. I hope I did not ruin the motor but I do need advice on what to do now.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... Does it turn over, 'n not start, or not turn over at all,..??

 

[inletlife2015]

Ayuh,.... Does it turn over, 'n not start, or not turn over at all,..??[/QUOTE

When I turned the key I got a click and that's it. I tried to manually start the starter and the motor turned over but would not fire. I didn't go any farther than that for fear of doing more damage. Would I have water in the motor ?

 

[inletlife2015]

Ayuh,.... Does it turn over, 'n not start, or not turn over at all,..??

When I turned the key I got a click and that's it. I tried to manually start the starter and the motor turned over but would not fire. I didn't go any farther than that for fear of doing more damage. Would I have water in the motor ?

 

[Rick Stephens]

Exhaust bellows wouldn't matter. If it fell off the motor would just be a bit noisier. You can hook it back up and be good, can't hurt a thing. So don't worry about that.

 

[inletlife2015]

Ayuh,.... Does it turn over, 'n not start, or not turn over at all,..??

When I turned the key I got a click and that's it. I tried to manually start the starter and the motor turned over but would not fire. I didn't go any farther than that for fear of doing more damage. Would I have water in the motor ?

 

[Rick Stephens]

* If the motor turns over, manually or from the key, it is not full of water. Pull the plugs and turn it over if in doubt. Water would come out the plug holes instead of breaking something.

* If the motor turns over when you short the solenoid, but not off the key, then you need to check the electrical connections.

* If the motor turns over with the key on and doesn't start, then you should check if it is getting spark.


Not enough information here to give you any conclusions.

 

[inletlife2015]

Looking for electrical issue so I start with the battery....dead. Cleaned up the alternator from the old motor and installed it on the new motor. I was using a picture I took with my phone to wire it up but the view was from the side. It looks like the red and the grey wire go together on the same terminal but it is hard to tell. I don't want to wire it wrong. Looking on here for the right wiring diagram but I cant seem to find it.

Anyone know right off the top of your head if I am doing this right ? Thought this would be easy.

Right now the grey wire is on a separate terminal from red..i know the purple and orange are correct. Charged the battery and hooked it up turned the key...just a click on the starter side.