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    General troubleshooting - DOA starter after screw up

    A relative of mine recently took possession of my old boat, a 1997 Glastron Gs209 with 4.3 Volvo Penta GM-block v6 with and SX outdrive. This relative, who is an absent minded kind of individual, despite getting all kinds of instruction about how to start the boat, was recently putting it in...
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    brake line troubleshooting

    I just took the mothballs off a 2007 single axle trailer with hydraulic disk brakes. The pads look ok, the disks have some rust, but before I get to changing them, I need some help troublshooting the brake lines. So I openneed the master cylendar resevoir, and it was bone dry. I refill and...
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    Metal flakes in lower gear oil / on plug magnet

    Re: Metal flakes in lower gear oil / on plug magnet I already wiped down the plug, but here's a pic of what was in the oil...
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    Metal flakes in lower gear oil / on plug magnet

    My setup is a 1997 SX-C, which saw very little use last season (10-15 hours total) since the last lower unit oil change. I expected I wouldn't need to change the oil this winter, but when I pulled the drain plug to inspect condition, I had a bunch of metal shavings on the plug magnet and some...
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    Dumb question: thermostat GASKET, auto vs. marine

    As part of winterization, if you pull off the t-stat housing to fill with anti-freeze, and so all you need is another t-stat gasket, not the whole kit, can you just use an automotive gasket? I'm wondering because I read you should never use auto t-stat in marine engine.... If I can use a...
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    Started Winterization - have a few questions

    I'm running a 1997 4.3 GL 6 cylinder (GLPLKD) with an SX-C outdrive in Lake Erie. In the past I've had one of the local shops winterize for me, but this year I decided to do it myself. I'm working from the SELOC manual, stuff I've read year, and a few "how to" clips online. So today I did the...
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    Winch-zilla: Strap or cable?

    Based on material strength, I always thought galvanized cable would have more pulling power than a strap (not considering load torsion and shear forces, just straight up tensile strength) . I was poking around on the forums here for ideas about my persistent difficulty winching up, and it...
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    Trailer hit while parked at ramp lot! Whats with people.

    Re: Trailer hit while parked at ramp lot! Whats with people. To the OP - it was probably somebody's wife, sent to go park the trailer while Cap'n manned the cockpit. Her fake Ta-Ta's were probably in the way of the steering wheel! That ought to may you a smile, even if it doesn't fix your...
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    Rolling over your lines / ruining your bow rail.

    Re: Rolling over your lines / ruining your bow rail. Got some pics here. Actually looking at it this morning, the bend follows the deck line so if you just look at that side of the boat, you can't tell what happened. Problem is the other side doesn't match. I guess I could repeat the...
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    Rolling over your lines / ruining your bow rail.

    Have seen it happen a few times, and now finally happened to me. At the ramp, messing around getting the boat centered with the lines, and trying to hurry up, I just dropped the starboard lines and go to check the port side. Boat's finally centered, so I give the wife a thumbs up and she...
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    Cover waterproofing question

    Short version: My boat came with three covers from the prior owner. None work well. Two are cotton canvass that I spray with a standard fabric waterproofing spray from time to time. The third is a lightweight acrylic synthetic fabric that had a coating on the insider (probably urethane film...
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    Expert opinion on trim pump I found on eBay for 1997 SX-C

    Have a problem with my 1997 SX-C outrdirve - starts to leak down gradually over about an hour. Have to trailer with the safety post supports in place if I'm going any distance. Anyway, a new OEM pump looks like it will run me >$600 bucks... a guy at a local marina said he had a rebuilt one...
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    Prop recomendations for Volvo 4.3 SX Outdrive, 20 ft. Glastron

    I dinged up my prop last weekend, and it seems like a replacement (aluminum) is not that much more than getting it professionally repaired. The boat is a 1997, but new to me. It seems to run well enough with the current prop., but before getting on this forum I didn't really understand WOT. I...
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    My weekend at Kirwan Lake OH

    Just in case the boater at the West Branch State Park who towed me in with the 20' Glastron, the two little kids, the panicky wife, the family dog, the giant... too big to tip over but also too big to fit in the boat ... tow tube, and a tangled mess of ropes just as the lighting was hitting the...
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    Anyone try Using JB Weld to "fill" a ding

    I churned the bottom a couple of times this weekend - stay away from West Branch State Park / Kirwan Lake - and my prop edge got a little filed here and there but there is one genuine ding where the steel sheared a little and pulled back from the edge of the prop blade. I bent it back with a...
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    Hull & Outdrive Cleaning Advice

    I have have a fiberglass boat - always trailed in the past - but do to trailer rebuild issues I have been docking the boat this year. Problem is it sat for the past month without being used, so there is a lot of scum build up on the hull and the outdrive (was stored in down position). I have...
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    Retrieving advice - can't get boat to center

    I am having trouble getting my boat centered when retrieving. There is very little margin either side in order to have the strakes sitting right next to the trailer bunks. Also, there is very little space to the wheel covers, so if I'm off center, the boat ends up sitting on top of one of the...
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    Starter issue on 1997 Volvo 4.3 GL

    Last fall I bought a 20 foot, 1997 I/O with a 190HP Volvo 4.3 GL, 6 cyl. engine. I had it started a couple of weeks ago, and after some hard cranking, it turned over and ran fine. I was never very happy with the sound it makes when starting -- a kind of squirrelly high pitched whine with some...
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    Very basic help needed re: draining out old gas from fuel tank...

    Hello - I've got a small I/O boat that is 3/4 full of 2 year old gas. The boat ran on it this season with any *noticeable* problem but I want put in fresh gas before storing it for winter. I bought the boat this fall and just didn't get much chance to use it up. I figured I'd just siphon it...
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    Recommendation for where to get my boat winterized - Cleveland, OH area

    Anyone here have a recommendation? I've got a Volvo Penta set up and some places don't seem to do work on Volvo's.... the guy's a West Marine down the street said they don't even stock the lower drive oil as Volvo's are rare around here. So far I've had a few people tell me to stay away...
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