1986 seaswirl nightmare

[Hamfam2011]

Hi!! Hoping for some understanding. My husband and I got a 1986 Seaswirl with an inboard OMC 4.3 L Chevy engine first time taking about a heated because somebody siliconed the impeller in 🫣…We replaced the impeller and that worked but then it wouldn’t engage into reverse or trim up so he replaced a bunch of stuff. We put the muffs and water on and it was engaging in the forward and reverse. However, today he took it out on the water and whether it was in forward or reverse it was only going forward now it is locked in neutral please help we don’t have thousands of dollars to dump into this boat

 

[Scott Danforth]

Start by servicing the impeller

 

[Hamfam2011]

Start by servicing the impeller

That was already done sorry should’ve specified

 

[Lou C]

There is no way anyone can answer your question with what you’re providing.
What OMC drive? Stringer or Cobra?
The boat is a 1986 it could have either.
It’s 37 years old; you may as well accept that to make it reliable you WILL be putting thousands into it. No one here with a boat that old, hasn’t put a ton of $$$ into it to make it reliable. Cheap old boats wind up being expensive old boats.

 

[dubs283]

If someone.is available locally to get eyes on your setup I'd go that route

Go get some omc!

 

[Hamfam2011]

There is no way anyone can answer your question with what you’re providing.
What OMC drive? Stringer or Cobra?
The boat is a 1986 it could have either.
It’s 37 years old; you may as well accept that to make it reliable you WILL be putting thousands into it. No one here with a boat that old, hasn’t put a ton of $$$ into it to make it reliable. Cheap old boats wind up being expensive old boats.

I get it. It’s a cobra. I just don’t have the money to put that much in and unfortunately the guy that owned it before didn’t maintenance anything.

 

[matt167]

Cobra isn’t a bad drive but it’s got finicky shift adjustments. Sounds like it’s totally out of adjustment

 

[Lou C]

Do a search on my user name I have posted a few times how to check the shift cable & how to adjust it. If done right it will shift like new if the drive is in good shape in the first place. It is a multi step process and you can’t take short cuts.

 

[Hamfam2011]

Do a search on my user name I have posted a few times how to check the shift cable & how to adjust it. If done right it will shift like new if the drive is in good shape in the first place. It is a multi step process and you can’t take short cuts

I dm’d you

 

[tpenfield]

This could be a tough road to travel, considering the OMC I/O, unless you are mechanically oriented. It sounds like you are going to need to go through many aspects of the engine and outdrive to make sure it is all working.

 

[dubs283]

unless you are mechanically oriented.

You ever visit Waukegan? Like the waterfront area?

 

[Lou C]

I dm’d you

I replied back...
you're gonna need to get the special shift cable tools, and a good factory shop manual along with the other stuff I posted in our conversation.
yes keeping one of these going is challenging, I have been able to do it and I'm not a trained mechanic all self taught.
and, all this assumes that the outdrive is in good shape to start with.

 

[Renken2000Classic]

86/88 Cobra, 4.3L.

I did the shift adjustment once, when changing the lower cable. STILL hard to get out of FWD. Doable, just not real pleasant. Forgot to check shift rod height (not blaming that, just including it).

I manage it by turning the boat off as much as is practical, to pull it out of gear (F only), when it's real easy (not a solution, just a get by until I try the adjustment again, if I try it again). The good thing is that it stays solidly in gear F or R.

The most I've spent on it is just under $1000 (b-o-a-t...) for a new exhaust system, and I've got something over $6k in it total including purchase in 2018.

It can still be fun and runs quite well when everything comes together (but the outing that doesn't have elements of stress is rare or non-existent).

Just an example of where another one of these is at, and how it's being used at present.