2008 350 mpi mag timing

[Mac525]

Hi all I need some help I have a new distributor for my 350mpi mag and I can not find the proceedure for setting the initail timing from #1 tdc the serail # for the motor is 1a075822

 

[Don S]

Re: 2008 350 mpi mag timing

You don't really set the timing on that distributor. Section 4C in the manual link below explains how to install it.
http://www.4shared.com/office/wRDR7IjA/31_GM_SBC_2001-.html?

 

[Mac525]

Re: 2008 350 mpi mag timing

Thanks don that had what i needed. which was where to aline the rotor to the distributor for installation

 

[Fun Times]

Re: 2008 350 mpi mag timing

How come you needed a new distributor? Corrosion related?

 

[Mac525]

Re: 2008 350 mpi mag timing

one of the tabs that hold the caps screw broke and there seems to be some wear that has been causing my intermitant miss fire issue that was presenting as a fuel problem I will let you know how it all works out its been over a year chasing it down

 

[Mac525]

Re: 2008 350 mpi mag timing

well hopefully ive tracked down the problem to an improperly installed distributor now that i have the new one in I am triple checking the plug gap and checking to see if all the wires go to the right holes. I have two more questions does my engine 2007 350 mpi mag sea core use the three prone plug on the side of the distributor? everything I can find says no but there is a harness plugged into it???? very odd and second how do you get at #2 spark plug is there a trick to getting at this plug or is it just a real pain to try and get it. Thanks to all who have been following this in this and other threads

 

[Mac525]

Re: 2008 350 mpi mag timing

I dragged this out of the other thread from last year so everyone could see where this all started


OK so some more news I picked the boat up and it ran great, but as stated you can the rev limiter @ 5150???@ 46 mph gps. This is 200 rpm below all the specs I could find didnt give it much thought at the time. Went fishing two evenings and all was good. Tried to go fishing a thrid time and it died completly 100 yards out we thought it was a fuel issue but nope I have a raycor as well as the merc set up everything came up clean when we checked the gas after the filter change. So off to the shop it goes and they're looking into it now. But I was looking at the stickers on the side of the arrester cover and it also says wot @ 5200 . On an older scan tool one code was that it had hit the rev limilter @ 5150 this is getting me thinking that the ecu has been changed out for some reason in the past and if it is an older 4600 - 5000 wot unit would it also be making less power due to the wrong fuel map? How much is a new ecu or can it be reprogramed? Is there a way to tell if it is the original ecu for this engine? The other thing that points to a swap is the ecu engine hours says 1400. This motor was installed in feb 08 and was in a weekend cabin boat before mine it was also out of the other boat for a year before being installed in mine and in a crate. The estimated hours where 350 to 400 as no scan tool was availible at the time. Would the hours from a different motor carry over in the ecu if it was swapped into another motor? The engine serial number 1A075822. The drive serial number 0W900649 also 4-44C06MU S 350 MPI BRAVO SEA any answers or info would be great thanks

 

[Fun Times]

Re: 2008 350 mpi mag timing

Running your serial number shows a lot of warranty work has been done to this engine and the last recorded engine hours for repair was on 09/01/2009 that shows Hours Operated: 1108.

If you look at the pcm there should be some numbers and dates on it. Post the numbers to see if they fit your engine.

The three prong plug on the side of the distributor is your Hall Effect, Camshaft Position sensor.
Pin A should be a BLK/PNK wire
Pin B should a purple?/red wire
Pin C should be a gray wire

Since this engine is new to this boat, Being down 200 rpm could be anything from normal to this boat to being in Mercruiser guardian mode @ 90% available power, To wrong size props, gears, all around weight of every factor that is different between the old boat and the new boat. Without a scan tool it's hard to tell + you can't go by the old/past PCM reading to what is happening now.

Each PCM internally stores its own engine hours. The hours are recorded in the pcm while the engine is "running" only. Only a very small handful of speciality marine shops have the ability to change any programing in the marine ECM/PCM's.

This engine was in a stanley 28 bullnose with a width of 012.

By the way on 10/03/2008 it needed a new cap and rotor. FAIL: DIST CAP /HARD START, WATER ON TOP OF CAP. NO SPARK.

 

[Mac525]

Re: 2008 350 mpi mag timing

thats great thankyou but this brings up an new question it was sold to me as a 2008 engine that had been swaped out for a desiel can you tell me what year it really is ?? last year after I had the trouble with it i tolk it back to the shop that had installed it and they did a bunch of stuff which included rebuild all the injectors, fuel system, heads, at there exspence. When I got it back it was with a new prop which was a 22 pitch so there was a new variabile (that in hind sight thru me off) as the one i had was a loaner while waiting for the ordered one. When i drove the boat home the engine seamed to run well enough but now it would only hit 4200 wot @ 42 mph. The trial prop was measured by a prop shop to be a 20 pitch but had been repaired at some point the new one is a 22. Them i go away for 9 months to work and now im back, I order a 19 which should have put me back up 600 but alas it doesnt, also now the motor is pinging again under load so i pull it out of the water and start looking at the only thing that was not touched last summer, the ignition system, alas this evening i found the wrongly installed distributor and I'm reinstalling everything to make sure it is right. back to your reply every manual I have says the merc does not use the hall effect ( is this correct?) I have to pick up a new screw for the cap tomorrow then I will try and fire it up. I would be very interested to get the whole history on this motor if at all posible?

PS I will post any numbers off the ecu tomorrow thanks again

 

[Mac525]

Re: 2008 350 mpi mag timing

This is on the front before the plugs
8M2002294
This is with a bar code behind the plugs
YO00086Z

I was at the merc dealer this morning and looked at a new 350 mpi mag and it does have the hall effect plugged in so that answers that question and also I can see that I will have to remove the raw water hose in front of #2 spark plug to get at it. I can't say as I'm very happy to find out that this engine came out of a sea truck and not a cabin commuter as I was told. I am very sure this will come as a shock to the guy that resold it to me as he has 60 hrs of work and a couple of grand of his own into making it right for me. Just a thought does any one know the price for the 383 or 350 remanufactured engine so if this doesn't get solved I know what I'm looking at. IF this is not fixed I'm gona have to send this engine back to the guy it came from and we will work out how much extra a remaned one will cost me. What a pain.

 

[Mac525]

Re: 2008 350 mpi mag timing

Ok update I put everthing back to gether tonight with the new distributor, cap, and rotor, the boat runs great again, but I have two new questions it is idleing at 800 rpm and shifty hard because of this. So is there a condition that would raise the idle rpm. Second i can only get 4900 at wot even if i trim to the point of ventalation. It is not hitting the rev limiter. Is there a way i can tell if it is guadian mode without a scan tool nor the smartcraft gauge's. Thanks guys for all your help it has been a long road with this one and I finally feel Im getting somewhere with it after alot of hair pulling.

 

[Fun Times]

Re: 2008 350 mpi mag timing

Your engine manufacture date was on 10/09/2007, so this engine is considered a 2008.

Sorry, those PCM numbers won't tell us much, only mercruiser technical support has the cross reference chart to decode the numbers i believe. The service manual only tells basic info to look for like found in this link,
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=533610&p=3645077#post3645077

I was thinking maybe you could compare the date code on the pcm to the actual engine year of 2007 or 2008.

If your at 4900 rpm and your specified WOT RPM range is 4800?5200 then you most likely do not have a engine problem at all because you are technically within range. To get closer to the 5200 range could be boat/gear weight and prop size combination. One thing you could check to see is if the throttle cable is giving you both full throttle and closed throttle by physically pushing/pulling on the throttle cable stud of the throttle body. if not all the way closed that would give you a higher idle at 800 rpm, etc.

The only way to read the pcm is with a marine type scan tool, auto obd2 scanners will not read them. You may need one to help find the high idle if its not the cable setting.

To see the engine history, maybe your local mercruiser dealer will run the engine serial number for you so that you can see what was done to it over the years. But don't let this info discourage you about the engine, It sounds like you have it running pretty good now.

Good luck to you.

 

[Mac525]

Re: 2008 350 mpi mag timing

Thanks I am thinking of buying the rinda diacom full laptop system do you have any idea where I could buy one here in bc? plus checked the throtle linkage and yep it was ever so slightly not closing all the way but I am getting wot on the linkage at least. after so searching I found the guardian code index on here and if it where only giving me 90% then there would be and alarm beeping ever minute. Does any one know if the harmonic balancer of these is prone to movement as the older chevys did

 

[Fun Times]

Re: 2008 350 mpi mag timing

Thanks I am thinking of buying the rinda diacom full laptop system do you have any idea where I could buy one here in bc? plus checked the throtle linkage and yep it was ever so slightly not closing all the way but I am getting wot on the linkage at least. after so searching I found the guardian code index on here and if it where only giving me 90% then there would be and alarm beeping ever minute. Does any one know if the harmonic balancer of these is prone to movement as the older chevys did

You or anyone could call rinda and order it directly from rinda technologies. Don't need to a be a dealer.

So you're idle speed is back to normal at 540 rpm with the cable readjusted?

It sounds to me from what you're describing, the engine is now running fine and there is nothing else wrong with the engine at this time.

Just because you're not hitting 5200 RPM does not indicated there is an engine problem at WOT. Your engine is within the maxum RPM range allowed. You are not supposed to be at or hit the rev limiter like a car, you need to be under the rev limiter but be within the recommended RPM range like you are now in. You'd control this by having the right prop and gear size combination and you're combination you have now is now putting you within recommended range.

The rev limiter is there so that in case your boats propeller comes high out of the water at high speed, the engine will not rev past the recommended safe RPM allowed for your engine model in hopes of preventing damage to the engine & drivetrain.

Get out there and enjoy your boat.

 

[Mac525]

Re: 2008 350 mpi mag timing

The problem I have is when I first picked the boat a almost two years ago now we had a loaner 20 pitch prop that had been repaired and I had it messured at a prop shop and they said it was a 18. At that time we got 42mph (gps) at 5150rpm and the hitting the rev limiter. Now with a 19 pitch I'm only getting 36mph at 4900 so I know something is still not right. So my next follow up wil be to check that the line on the harmonic balancer is indeed tdc for #1 piston, the engine feels very strong and it gets to 4900 very fast but stops climbing. I have checked the tach with an optical one and its bang on. The real problem is I can't trust any thing because I don't know what may or may not have been removed and reinstalled incorrectly but a prevois tech.

 

[Pete104]

Re: 2008 350 mpi mag timing

The problem I have is when I first picked the boat a almost two years ago now we had a loaner 20 pitch prop that had been repaired and I had it messured at a prop shop and they said it was a 18. At that time we got 42mph (gps) at 5150rpm and the hitting the rev limiter. Now with a 19 pitch I'm only getting 36mph at 4900 so I know something is still not right. So my next follow up wil be to check that the line on the harmonic balancer is indeed tdc for #1 piston, the engine feels very strong and it gets to 4900 very fast but stops climbing. I have checked the tach with an optical one and its bang on. [The real problem is I can't trust any thing because I don't know what may or may not have been removed and reinstalled incorrectly but a prevois tech.]

Welcome too our world!
Fun Times is right! You want the boat propped to the upper end of the recommended RPM range with a light load. THEN prop it the way you use it! If it don't hit the limiter, EVER, that's fine!

 

[Mac525]

Re: 2008 350 mpi mag timing

Hi pete to be honest boat setup and prop is what I do know alot about and I do it as a side thing here on the island and if you have a light load of fuel and no passenger then you should be able to hit the rev limiter If not when you load the boat with fuel, gear, people, and everything else you should at least get to the lowest wot range that the manufacture specs for that engine but this is not what I was talking about in my post this engine in this boat with a 18 pitch prop same make model and size hit 42 mph while hitting the rev limiter and now a 19 pitch is only doing 36mph at 4900 this does not make sense so the only variable is horse power. I have another 22 pitch prop that is out on loan for a guy to see if it works for his boat sends it back to me so I can try that one and see if it will turn at 4900 or 4300 where the math says it should = 200 rpm per inch. All of the hull/ horse power calculations that have been done shoe that it should be turning a 24 pitch at 5200 at 53 mph but despite all the math this has never been posible because of engine issues to date. I still feel there is a underlying condition holding the engine back but untill I can verify the position of the harmonic balancer and get a scan tool showing me spark advance while running Im kinda stuck where I am

 

[Fun Times]

Re: 2008 350 mpi mag timing

The problem I have is when I first picked the boat a almost two years ago now we had a loaner 20 pitch prop that had been repaired and I had it messured at a prop shop and they said it was a 18. At that time we got 42mph (gps) at 5150rpm and the hitting the rev limiter. Now with a 19 pitch I'm only getting 36mph at 4900 so I know something is still not right. So my next follow up wil be to check that the line on the harmonic balancer is indeed tdc for #1 piston, the engine feels very strong and it gets to 4900 very fast but stops climbing. I have checked the tach with an optical one and its bang on. The real problem is I can't trust any thing because I don't know what may or may not have been removed and reinstalled incorrectly but a prevois tech.

Your harmonic balancer is keyed to the crankshaft, see item number 4. http://www.mercruiserparts.com/Show...bdesc=Cylinder+Block(Camshaft+and+Crankshaft)

For me, this seems obvious the harmonic balancer is installed correctly, How come? because the info you posted above tells us the engine is running fine and at one point you were at or above the recommended RPM with higher boat speeds to go with it.

The only thing that seemed to change was the propellers pitch, diameter, cup, manufacturer, rake, slip and so much more propeller geometry it could make your head spin.
http://www.halepropeller.com/PropellerTerminology.html

Just about any little change on a propeller will give you different running results.

If you're determined to get your 6 + MPH back & your rpm back up to 5200, then you may want to find a better propeller to suit your needs by going up to the propeller forums and post all the info you can about your boat/engine and see if the knowledgeable members of iboats can help you find the right propeller for you.
http://forums.iboats.com/forumdisplay.php?f=35

Or go to mercruiser propeller guide and have a look around.
http://www.mercurymarine.com/propellers/prop-selector/#

Bear in mind you have a bravo 2 drive,
http://www.mercurymarine.com/propellers/elite/bravo-two/