1989 Sea Ray Mercruiser 3.0 Help

[Gaden]

I am new to boat ownership, and I just received a boat from my dad that was sitting for 8 years. He did not use it much. So I think it is in good shape. He winterized it by draining it, but I am not sure if he fogged the motor or not. What advice do you have to get this boat up and running. I was going to drain the gas, crankcase oil, drive oil, replace fuel filter, etc before trying to start it. I have heard it is imperative to change the water impeller before doing this, but do you think it is safe to try and run before doing this? What are some of your suggestions?

 

[Scott Danforth]

welcome aboard.

with a boat that was sitting for 8 years, you have to go thru a bunch of systems

since the motor has not been running for 8 years, you no longer have an oil film on the bearings. do not try to start it as you will have a dry start. the fuel in the tank has long quit being fuel, and the raw water impeller is now currently dried up like a dead spider.

here is what I would do
pull the drive. that allows you to service the raw water pump, replace the bellows and inspect the alignment, gimble and u-joints
while the drive is off, pull all the plugs, squirt some oil down each cylinder and let sit for a while
replace the engine drive belts
change the engine oil and filter
pull the distributor, using an oil priming tool, prime the oil system until you get good oil pressure.
rotate the motor by hand a few times (grab the belts and turn)
then install the distributor
install new cap, rotor, wires, etc.
clean all battery cables and connections
replace the batteries
set timing

using a small outboard fuel tank and not your built in tank, hook up to the fuel pump
insert a garden hose into the round water inlet of the gimble housing and turn the hose on full.
start the motor. once you get the motor running, then move on to installing the drive and cleaning the tank

pull the fuel tank inspection cover
remove the sender
inspect the tank. you may have to pump out some sludge, however you will need to clean the tank.
buy a fuel/water separator filter kit. most 3.0's didnt come with them. your going to need it.

then go boating

 

[Gaden]

Thanks! Great advice! Really appreciate the wisdom

 

[fishrdan]

Scott's list looks good, He didn't mention points and condenser for the ignition (etc. in his list :joyous but you should change those also if your engine has points. 89 was the first year for DDIS ignition on the 3.0L, so you could have DDIS electronic ignition, no points to worry about. Something to check and change, if needed. (DDIS ignition has the spark plug wires connecting to the coil pack, points ignition has the spark plug wires connecting to the distributor cap.)

After sitting for 8 years the carb may need to be rebuilt. With the engine off and the carb full of fuel, have someone operate the throttle and go from idle to WOT, see if there are 2 steady streams of fuel shooting into the carb from the accelerator pump. If you see the 2 streams of fuel, see how the engine idles and runs. You may luck out and not have to rebuild the carb, but it's something to put on your laundry list to check.

 

[Gaden]

Great Advice fishrdan. Things are progressing with the boat. I have discovered that the fuel pump needs to be replaced. I ordered one and will install when it gets here. I was able to start the motor the other day by pouring some gas in carb...it ran smooth until all fuel was burned up. Hopefully things will go well with new fuel pump. I am hoping I won't have to rebuild carb. We will see. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Gaden]

I finally took the boat out on the water! It was a great day since the boat hadn't been on the water for 8 years. All checked out...good temp, good oil pressure, ran well on top end, but WHEN TRIED to IDLE...it would die...My dad said that 8 years ago the boat would idle rough...SO the mechanic turned up idle speed. Now the boat won't idle at all. When I start it and give it gas, it does fine. The acceleration to top speed is smooth...but if I need to idle or put in reverse it dies. What do you think it might be? I think it might be carb gummed up from sitting. IS it possible to clean carb without rebuild? Any help would be great! I hear a lot of good about Seafoam. Thoughts.

 

[fishrdan]

Seafoam isn't going to cure a fouled up carb, sounds like it's carb rebuild time to me... Also, install a water separating fuel filter, before the fuel pump, it will catch all the garbage in the gas and keep the rebuilt carb clean.

 

[Gaden]

great advice! Thanks! Do you have suggestions on type of water separating fuel filter?

 

[fishrdan]

Something like this:

http://www.iboats.com/Mallory-9-378...9298461--session_id.475908537--view_id.365310


Double clamp all fuel hose fittings and only use A1 marine fuel hose. You'll need a couple hose barb fittings to go along with the fuel filter kit since the hose barbs are not included. I like this type of hose barb as they don't tear up the hose like normal "barbed" fittings do, check Ebay for them.

 

[chevymaher]

If the carb is gummed up. Take it apart and soak it in carb cleaner a few days. Take a single strand of copper wire. Like a ordinary extension cord is made of. Poke it through all the small holes and soak it some more. Blow it all out with a air chuck and compressed air. Once it is back together run lucas injector cleaner in the gas a while. That will get rid of the rest.