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    Mercruiser Pre-Alpha (MC1) Broken Beyond Repair... Options/Recommendations?

    Transom feels very solid, but good point that I may as well check that. What is the best way to tell if there's rot? I see a lot of posts about drilling in, but not seeing anything explaining what to actually look for once you drill. Thanks!
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    Converting Mercruiser MC-1 to Alpha

    Ah ok, thank you. I should have mentioned, this is an old starcraft aluminum, which I guess should make mounting easier. But good point on the extra stuff... water pump, intake, etc. My worry with getting a donor boat is that I don't know how to assess whether or not a used motor is in good...
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    Converting Mercruiser MC-1 to Alpha

    Ah okay thanks. So basically any 1996+ 4.3L (vortec) will work? And will that mount right onto my old mount (GM inline 6)? Any other parts I need, or is it basically just pulling the old motor and dropping the new one in and hooking up gas/electrical? I mean, I know it's more complicated...
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    Converting Mercruiser MC-1 to Alpha

    I have a very dumb question about this conversion. After thinking about what @matt167 mentioned about just switching to a gen II, I'm seriously considering it. I'm calling a few salvage yards and I'm realizing that I'm just not sure what I need to be buying. Will literally any 4.3L mercruiser...
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    Converting Mercruiser MC-1 to Alpha

    hm. Okay, well, this wasn't on my radar before, but I'll consider it as an option (thanks for pointing this out as a possibility). I'm still a little nervous about buying a salvage/damaged boat... anyone have any advice? What's the process? Do I just, like... buy some piece of garbage off...
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    Converting Mercruiser MC-1 to Alpha

    Thanks. I think my gimbal housing is pretty much done for... it cracked trying to get the bearing out; bearing was corroded in there pretty good. I worry a little about buying a new engine, because I know the one I have now is decent, but I just wouldn't trust myself to know how to inspect...
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    Converting Mercruiser MC-1 to Alpha

    Hello all, I have been having some major issues with my MC-1 and I got some good advice here. I think that the best "middle ground" solution for me that is not insanely expensive but also not just putting a band-aid on things is to upgrade my drive to something newer than an MC-1. My engine is...
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    Mercruiser Pre-Alpha (MC1) Broken Beyond Repair... Options/Recommendations?

    hm. So just to give me a super ballpark idea of what's in store... what might I be looking at as far as cost for something like a full transplant at a shop? I don't have the gear to pull and engine (don't have a hoist or anything) and don't trust myself to do it right. Thanks!!
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    Mercruiser Pre-Alpha (MC1) Broken Beyond Repair... Options/Recommendations?

    hm.. okay.. thanks for all that input. So then, another question. If I have to pull the engine basically no matter what, what's my best option given that I'll have a MC-1 shaped hole in my transom? It feels like that opens the door for basically any option... I could replace with any outdrive...
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    Mercruiser Pre-Alpha (MC1) Broken Beyond Repair... Options/Recommendations?

    I'm sorry, yes, I wasn't thinking. It's the gimbal housing end... the bearing was so rusted/corroded in there that it took some chunks out on the way out. I just figured I could bolt on a new gimbal housing pretty easily, I didn't know that I would need to pull the engine to replace that...
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    Mercruiser Pre-Alpha (MC1) Broken Beyond Repair... Options/Recommendations?

    Oh... I didn't realize that I would have to pull the engine even just to replace the bell housing with the same bell housing I have now. Don't you need pretty specialized equipment to pull the engine? How much might I be looking at to get something like that done (money-wise)? Thanks
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    Mercruiser Pre-Alpha (MC1) Broken Beyond Repair... Options/Recommendations?

    thanks for the input everyone! To answer a common question, that gimbal bearing is the one that is corroded, and my bell housing isn't in great shape because of it. Can I ask a clarifying question? Seems like there's some disagreement about whether or not an alpha gen 1 will bolt on. Am I...
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    Mercruiser Pre-Alpha (MC1) Broken Beyond Repair... Options/Recommendations?

    Hello, all! New user here to iBoats (sorta new... had an account a long time ago but forgot it so here I am again). And I have a repair options question. I have an old outdrive that is corroded beyond repair; I tried to pull the bearing and a chunk cracked off, if that gives you any idea of...
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