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  1. Lou C

    99 Volvo 5.0GL

    The gas that gave me fits last season, was only 8/9 months old, stabilized E10 (all we can get at the gas docks here) and looked totally clear. It didn't BURN right though and other than smelling like varnish, or having obvious debris or water in it, there is no way you can tell that. In fact I...
  2. Lou C

    Mercruiser 5 L mpi cooling system

    It's impossible to generalize because every boat is different, some have more than enough static water line height, some are marginal, if the driver is prone to rapid slowdowns, if a heavy swim platform is added, etc. all those are factors. If you REALLY want to know, learn how to measure the...
  3. Lou C

    99 Volvo 5.0GL

    How old is the fuel in the tank, straight gas or E10? Reason why I ask is that last season, for the first time I had gas go bad on me. It was maybe 8 months old, stabilized 89 octane E10 which is what I have always used. Never had this before. BUT.....the only way I figured this out was to run...
  4. Lou C

    Mercruiser 5 L mpi cooling system

    I had to pull the outdrive to get the rest of the burned up flappers out they were in the exhaust passage, lucky the pins stayed where they are supposed to be. Not sure if this applies to the Alpha or Bravo drives but on OMC Cobras and Volvo SXs there are water tube grommets that will also get...
  5. Lou C

    Mercruiser 5 L mpi cooling system

    Well, it's hard to say, but if the static water line is just high enough with no safety margin it is possible to get water up the exhaust if you slow down quickly. They are there for a reason.... The pix I posted above are to show what happens during an overheat, vs a good flapper.
  6. Lou C

    Mercruiser 5 L mpi cooling system

  7. Lou C

    Power steering fluid in bilge?

    That job (actuator replacement) is one of those jobs that is such a pain on some boats, that the only saving grace of it, is that you solved a problem and the skills learned make you a better backyard mechanic. "you gotta suffer if you want to sing the blues" On my brother's 2020 Chapparal with...
  8. Lou C

    Power steering fluid in bilge?

    sometimes yah get lucky! for the P/S cooler, it will be in line with the raw water intake hose from the transom mount. Older Volvos and OMCs had it in the back side of the engine right behind the starboard side exhaust elbow, not sure where it is on one as new as yours. But it will be somewhere...
  9. Lou C

    Power steering fluid in bilge?

    Have you owned the boat since new? It's possible that someone mixed different fluids. I always used Dexron in mine. I know Volvo loves their proprietary fluids $$$. Only one fluid path in the system, follow the hoses from the pump on the engine to the actuator which will be behind the starboard...
  10. Lou C

    why is there oil in my bellows but pressure test holds 15psi overnight

    boat's a 2009, did they start using sealed bearings that far back? Agree with turning the shafts when the pressure and vacuum tests are done. I just had to replace the water pump seal on my OMC Cobra (these have the impeller driven by the end of the driveshaft and there's a seal that keeps...
  11. Lou C

    Does This Sound Right? Bravo Install

    Agree with those above, does not sound right, run it with the drive off. Does it change when you tilt up or down, or steer left or right? Might be a clue if it's ujoints vs gimble bearing. I have a mechanic's stethoscope and it is great for finding noise sources.
  12. Lou C

    4 all y'all still shovelin snow

    The older I get the less tolerance I have for the 4 months of lousy weather we get in southern NYS. In the winter it's either moderately cold and wet (disgusting) or freezing cold and dry (I actually prefer that). The summers here are great, 80-90s moderate humidity and not many hurricanes. That...
  13. Lou C

    why is there oil in my bellows but pressure test holds 15psi overnight

    Smell what you found there. Because if you have a grease-able gimble bearing sometimes the grease will separate out in a runny discharge. If it doesn't smell like gear oil it could just be that.
  14. Lou C

    Pushing Run-Flat tires to the limit

    With 10 speed auto transmissions that 55 mph speed limit is more of a money grab than ever. Remember when that crap started in 1974? We had 3 speed automatics! And some Chevrolets had 2! Power glide…
  15. Lou C

    Power steering fluid in bilge?

    Agreed on all these possible leak sources. When you can start it up and cycle the steering back and forth, you'll be able to tell better. Hopefully it's not the power steering actuator. I did that job on my 1988 OMC Cobra and it's not a fun job. Volvo and OMC use these cotter pins to retain the...
  16. Lou C

    Pushing Run-Flat tires to the limit

    That's a good question.... if your vehicle has a spare and you buy new tires do you replace the spare? I bet most don't Here's a story, we had a set of GY Duratracs on my son's Wrangler, after about 4 years the spare (never used) had extensive dry rot from being in the sun, never had that on any...
  17. Lou C

    Trailer tires.

    Even with only local driving, safety, esp with a single axle trailer. Yeah I know most people don't even think twice about any of this, they don't know that the trailer is overloaded, the brakes don't work, etc. Boating is stressful enough without having trailer problems to add to it. Funny...
  18. Lou C

    Trailer tires.

    I think that's common, the rubber is starting to oxidize and dry out and becomes stiffer, so you lose grip. Especially noticeable in wet conditions. Same thing with the bellows on an I/O boat, the rubber starts to get dry and stiff and then you start seeing the small cracks forming in the folds.
  19. Lou C

    Trailer tires.

    Agreed, 10 years is really the reasonable max time to use tires for, even if they look great outside, who knows what the inside looks like. I have a set of General Grabber AT2s on my oldest Jeep that are turning 10 years old, they probably have like 20K miles at most on them, they look like new...
  20. Lou C

    Trailer tires.

    very few the ramp is 3/4 of a mile from my house, the farthest I will tow it is to the 'glass shop who does work for me once in a while, he's down in Lindenhurst LI so round trip it's like 22 miles or something like that. I know, I can just stick with the bias ply Kenda Loadstar K550s I have...
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