1994 Crownline 210 w/ Mercruiser 350 Magnum: Hows it running?

[Diranged]

I recently inherited my dads 1994 Crownline 210 Cuddy Cabin boat... The boat had a cracked bolt-hole for the starter on the block and wouldnt start. After some debate, we pulled the motor out and had it welded at a local shop. After looking around for quite a while, we found a guy who had alot of experience welding cast iron, and went with it. Ultimately it needed a new ring-gear, new starter, and the welding. Cost us about $900 when we were all done (labor, ring gear, building a support bracket for the starter, new starter, etc...).

We did the removal and re-install of the motor ourselves.. while it was out we basically gutted the interior of the boat. Cleaned all the vinyl extensively, checked and re-checked every electrical connection, replaced the stereo (new amp, new headunit, new speakers..), new bilge pumps, etc.

Ok, so we got the motor back in and got it all running and everything looks great so far.. I wanted to post a few pics of the motor running at idle out of the water (on the hose!), and get some feedback on the #'s on the dash. Is there any tuning I should do?

 

[Diranged]

Re: 1994 Crownline 210 w/ Mercruiser 350 Magnum: Hows it running?

For what its worth, while the motor was out of the boat it went through a pretty significant cleanup:

-) Took *every* hose off of it, cleaned them out, checked for cracks/etc. Re-installed.
-) Replaced all spark plugs. New rotor.
-) Cleaned carb w/ carb cleaner. Did not remove, left installed.
-) Re-connected every spark plug and other electrical connection with marine electrical grease.
-) Cleaned the motor
-) New belts
-) New fuel filter
-) Oil Change + New Oil Filter (drained from drain plug, not pumped out)

I tried to get the alternator checked out at a local auto shop, and they had no idea how to hook it up to test it... I'm still not confident in the alternator though. Notice in one of the pictures above that the voltage is around 12? Well it stays like that whether the boat is running or not. Now that the motor is back in, its a pain in the butt to replace the alternator .. is there a way I can check whether its working properly?

 

[Bondo]

Re: 1994 Crownline 210 w/ Mercruiser 350 Magnum: Hows it running?

I wanted to post a few pics of the motor running at idle out of the water (on the hose!), and get some feedback on the #'s on the dash.

Ayuh,... The Voltage is Way low,... Alternator ain't chargin'...
Watertemp seems High,... Change the Impeller...
You shouldn't run it with the trim, UP...
It's idling alittle High,...
It's a pretty low hour motor,...
And,...
You're outa Gas....

 

[fossill]

Re: 1994 Crownline 210 w/ Mercruiser 350 Magnum: Hows it running?

Yup, your volts are too low. Should be 14 to 14.8 with the engine running. You can double check with a shop volt meter running accross the battery.

 

[Diranged]

Re: 1994 Crownline 210 w/ Mercruiser 350 Magnum: Hows it running?

So as best as we can remember, the voltage has always looked like that.. but tomorrow I'll put a voltmeter on the batteries and see what happens...

As for the water temp, it was sitting under 175 a pretty good bit -- thats high? I've heard alot about changing the 'impeller', but honestly I'm not sure what that is or where it is? Where do I find it?

 

[Diranged]

Re: 1994 Crownline 210 w/ Mercruiser 350 Magnum: Hows it running?

I'm not great with carburetors.. how do I adjust the idle? Its a 4barrel carb..

 

[Philster]

Re: 1994 Crownline 210 w/ Mercruiser 350 Magnum: Hows it running?

I'd like to hear about the temp issue from Bond-o. She's sitting below 175 and maybe right at, or a hair above, 160 (maybe she has a 160 t-stat).

Should she not be so warm on the hose?

 

[Bondo]

Re: 1994 Crownline 210 w/ Mercruiser 350 Magnum: Hows it running?

Ayuh,... idling on the muffs, mine barely gets to 160?, if ever,...
I just threw that in because there's No mention of the Impeller,+ it's Never a bad idea to change it,..
Especially with no history...

 

[Philster]

Re: 1994 Crownline 210 w/ Mercruiser 350 Magnum: Hows it running?

Got it.

.

 

[Diranged]

Re: 1994 Crownline 210 w/ Mercruiser 350 Magnum: Hows it running?

Yeah its definitely uner 175... that picture may not be a great pic. But that being said, I dont mind changing the impeller -- if its not terribly hard to do. Can anyone give me a quick run-down, or point me to some pics of it? I'm not afraid to take stuff apart, but I like to have an idea of what I'm doing first.

 

[Diranged]

Re: 1994 Crownline 210 w/ Mercruiser 350 Magnum: Hows it running?

Ok.. Got a new alternator today. I originally had the Mondo AC155603 alternator and it was pushing just about 12.2V. Enough to shut the batteries off, and the motor kept running. I couldn't get the same alternator quickly enough, but I was able to get a more standard GM-style 2-prong alternator (just power and ground) for $150 and it was in-stock.

With the new alternator, and 1 battery selected, my voltage is around 13.3V. With 2 batteries selected, it drops down to 12.8V. I suspect this is just due to the batteries being super low at this point.

I bought the impeller replacement kit, but I'm a bit stuck -- I honestly can't find the damn sea pump. I swear to god, the water inlet from the Sterndrive runs along the port side of the motor. It runs through the power steering cooler, then runs right up into the thermostat housing. From the housing, there are hoses that run all over the place -- but none run into a pump of any kind. I'm stuck. Help?

1994 Crownline 210 w/ Mercruiser 350 Magnum Alpha One (Gen II).

 

[Diranged]

Re: 1994 Crownline 210 w/ Mercruiser 350 Magnum: Hows it running?

 

[Diranged]

Re: 1994 Crownline 210 w/ Mercruiser 350 Magnum: Hows it running?

 

[Diranged]

Re: 1994 Crownline 210 w/ Mercruiser 350 Magnum: Hows it running?

 

[Bondo]

Re: 1994 Crownline 210 w/ Mercruiser 350 Magnum: Hows it running?

I honestly can't find the damn sea pump.

Ayuh,.... It's mounted to the Top of the Lower Unit...

 

[45Auto]

Re: 1994 Crownline 210 w/ Mercruiser 350 Magnum: Hows it running?

Nice looking boat. The site below has a pretty good run-down on changing your Alpha water pump:

http://www.sterndrives.com/replace_alpha_gen2_waterpump.html

 

[Diranged]

Re: 1994 Crownline 210 w/ Mercruiser 350 Magnum: Hows it running?

Nice looking boat. The site below has a pretty good run-down on changing your Alpha water pump:

http://www.sterndrives.com/replace_alpha_gen2_waterpump.html

Thanks for that, that explains alot... that its not in the motor compartment, but in the drive assembly. I'mgoing to take the boat out tomorrow and run it. If it runs over 175 at any point, I'll take it apart and replace the impeller... if it doesnt, I'm going to let that slide for this season and do it during the winter. I've spent $2k on this thing already, and frankly I'm tired... Right now we're just trying to get it running in decent shape for a week-long houseboating trip at Trinity in 2 weeks.

 

[deandec]

Re: 1994 Crownline 210 w/ Mercruiser 350 Magnum: Hows it running?

Enjoy Trinity. Almost 72% full which is much better than last year.

 

[Diranged]

Re: 1994 Crownline 210 w/ Mercruiser 350 Magnum: Hows it running?

Enjoy Trinity. Almost 72% full which is much better than last year.

Was at Trinity last year ... ugh, so low! Its a good 40ft higher than our trip last year.

 

[Diranged]

Re: 1994 Crownline 210 w/ Mercruiser 350 Magnum: Hows it running?

Took the boat out today.. things ran great. I forgot to fill up the power steering fluid unfortunately, so we only ran her for about 20 minutes and then went back in. The motor stayed steadily @ about 160 the entire time and there were no leaks or anything.

I noticed one issue is still there... not sure if anyone can offer any help with this or if its a characteristic of the boat. At slow speeds the boat simply will not drive straight. Doesn't matter if you hold the steering wheel, or constantly adjust it... it always goes left, then right, then left, then right. It makes driving at slow speeds extremely difficult. Once its up on a plane its not a problem at all..

Its always done this, so its not new... but I'm more curious now whether its fixable or not? It makes it very hard to drive for someone who hasnt had much time behind it..