I have been searching for a specific motor size for an older boat (1988 Sea Ray 270) I'm looking for and find an area of confusion surrounding the meaning and interpretation of the engine decal. On a Mercruiser 4.3L engine, circa 1988, what does the valve cover decal mean when it says 4.3L4 or 4.3L2? [My interpretation is that the L2 designation is for the engine size/hp rating of 175hp and the L4 is for the 205hp. When I questioned a local boat dealer/repairshop about this I was told that it means nothing. I was told an engine that says 4.3L2 may be a 205hp if it has different size intake manifolds and 4bbl carbs vs. 2bbl carbs. So if I saw the 4.3L2 designation on an older boat, circa 1988, and the mfr states that the boat was originally equipped with the 205hp engines how do I know, from a glance, that the engines hadn't been swapped out in the past and replaced with the smaller 175hps units?] Aside from the engine's serial number which I can get from the mfr via HIN, does the 4.3L2 / 4.3L4 sticker or decal mean anything useful?
Kevin
Kevin
