3.8L v6?

[ready4lake]

I have not seen alot of 3.8L v6 in boats. Is this a reliable motor? I am repowering my boat from a 4cylinder, and I am getting a donor boat. The motor I'm looking at is in an 84 invader 18ft. What do you think?

 

[Bondo]

Re: 3.8L v6?

Ayuh,... It wasn't used much, 'n is now obsolete...

Many parts are NLA...

So,.... It's Not the best choice for a repower...

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: 3.8L v6?

I guess it depends what you are getting as a donor. Is it reliable? well yes. It's a Chevrolet 90 degree V6. Based on the 305 V8, it is just as reliable as any SBC.
Not sure why you haven't seen a lot. I suspect OMC sold more 3.8's than any other V6. Mercruiser, Crusader, and Volvo Penta used them too, but in much smaller numbers.
Condition is everything for a 27 year old engine.
Probably the biggest issue for people around that motor is the points ignition. That's dated. Some don't want points, and all 3.8's are points.
Other issue is exhaust. Original Exhaust manifolds are not available and the conversion to newer (OSCO) ones is expensive for an OMC application, but that's the same deal for an OMC 4.3 stringer too....OSCO is the only aftermarket part that fits.

 

[ready4lake]

Re: 3.8L v6?

Ok, well I am up in the air between two boats. The one I previously mentioned with the 3.8 and the other one is a 1984 galaxy with a 4.3. I was wondering about the 3.8 because that boat is cheaper. Would the 4.3 be a stringer in the 84? I have not seen these boats yet. I have only made phone calls, but each boat is about an hour away in oposite directions. I am just wondering which one I should look at first. I would rather have the 4.3 because I have heard good things as far as reliability. The age of the 4.3 motor is not an issue for me because I am going to rebuild it. I am going to do a compression check when I look at it. The man with the 3.8 says it was put in the boat a year ago rebuilt, but he is selling it very cheap. Seems questionable.

 

[Bondo]

Re: 3.8L v6?

Ok, well I am up in the air between two boats. The one I previously mentioned with the 3.8 and the other one is a 1984 galaxy with a 4.3. I was wondering about the 3.8 because that boat is cheaper. Would the 4.3 be a stringer in the 84? I have not seen these boats yet. I have only made phone calls, but each boat is about an hour away in oposite directions. I am just wondering which one I should look at first. I would rather have the 4.3 because I have heard good things as far as reliability. The age of the 4.3 motor is not an issue for me because I am going to rebuild it. I am going to do a compression check when I look at it. The man with the 3.8 says it was put in the boat a year ago rebuilt, but he is selling it very cheap. Seems questionable.

Ayuh,... They're Both stringer drives....

Why, O Why don't you look for a boat with Volvo, or Mercruiser power...

OMC is Dead, 'n Gone, for well over a Decade now....

 

[ready4lake]

Re: 3.8L v6?

Well looks like I need to do some studying on boat motors and drives. I am not aware of all the differences in each year range. So I should be looking for boats after what year? What I'm trying to do is find a boat with a v6 or small v8. I want to basically swap engine and drives between boats. I currently have a good running 89 3.0l mercruiser w/ cobra drive. Once I have the motors and drives swapped I am going to resell the donor boat. I'm just trying to find something that I wont have to make too many alterations, especially to the transom. I already have side mounting points in my boat. My boat is too big for the 3.0, but I don't want to sell it.

 

[Don S]

Re: 3.8L v6?

86 - 93 with Cobra drive. Don't forget, when you change from a 3.0 to anything else, you will need to change the gear ratio in the drive also. The 3.0L drives also used a smaller lower gear case than the larger engines.
You would be better off to start looking for newer doner boats with working Mercruiser engines and drives. The transom cutout is identical to the Cobra.

 

[Don S]

Re: 3.8L v6?

I also notice you had a Mercruiser engine with an OMC drive. Sounds like things have already been pieced together, another reason to start over with a new used complete setup.

 

[ready4lake]

Re: 3.8L v6?

Well I will be looking for some newer model boats then. Thanks for the help. If not I will just have another seasone of not being able to plain out with more than 2 people.

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: 3.8L v6?

1984 galaxy with a 4.3.

GM began production of the 4.3L V6 in late 1985.

as others suggest, you have a dog's breakfast of pieces and parts and info coming at you there with those deals

better to buy a running boat you can water test. These unknown's usually all add up to disappointment and expense.

Easiest to deal with is always a sbc V8 Chev in front of an Alpha One Mercruiser.

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: 3.8L v6?

Well I will be looking for some newer model boats then. Thanks for the help. If not I will just have another seasone of not being able to plain out with more than 2 people.

could be waterlogged hull, or gummed/stuck advance weights in your distributor. compression test and then start the diagnosis and start a thread for advice.

3.0 should plane an 18 footer with 4 adults.

 

[ready4lake]

Re: 3.8L v6?

My boat is a 21 ft boat that weighs around 4k. I have read many posts from people with the same boat and motor that have the same issue
I think bayliner just simply underpowered it.

 

[scipper77]

Re: 3.8L v6?

I'm sorry I'm late to this thread. Mercruiser did make a 3.8 for a couple of years. There are still parts available. It is not a bad motor at all, it just was replaced by the 4.3 so it was no longer needed.

I have the Mercruiser 3.8 so I am absolutely positive that it was made and is not actually an OMC 3.8 which were much more common.

The 3.8 uses the same marine specific parts as the 4.3 for the most part. I'm sure there are exceptions that I have not yet come across yet. Non marine specific components are easy to find like any gm based product.

Let me reiterate, the assumption that this is an OMC motor with a mercruiser outdrive is false. I skimmed some of the posts, so if I missed where it was verified that this is in fact an OMC I apologize.