New to forum...new 201 Liberator owner....just a few questions.

[Al Czervik]

Hi all.....I'm a new member here as I deciided to join after buying my 1988 201 Liberator a few weeks ago. I previously owner a Rinker Captiva a few years back which had a Mercruiser motor and drive. I was hesitant about buying the Liberator because of the OMC drive system but it was a two owner boat and it seems like it was well maintained and it's very clean. It has a 5.7 motor and what I'm assuming is a King Cobra drive but after reading here I'm not so sure. I know there have been threads about how to determine what is what but I thought I would start a new one. I've only had her out a couple of times but it runs strong and starts easily although it seems hard to get to neutral....in other words when I was pulling into the dock at the ramp and tried to go from reverse into neutral it stayed engaged in reverse. My big concern is that I should have stayed away from OMC and stuck with Mercruiser...any thoughts on my ramblings?

 

[Boats-A-lots]

Re: New to forum...new 201 Liberator owner....just a few questions.

My OMC shifted very well for yrs and yrs. It started doing what yours is so I took it to a shop and had the lower cable replace. This didn't fix it, but in many cases it does. Mine was a sticking shifter rod. I did it myself instead of taking and trusting a shop to do it right. Problem is in my town only 2 shops, and neither one understands the OMC way of shifting. I was waiting for parts that came yesterday, so I dont know if I'm fixed or not yet. Also could be your cable just needs adjusting.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: New to forum...new 201 Liberator owner....just a few questions.

My big concern is that I should have stayed away from OMC and stuck with Mercruiser...any thoughts on my ramblings?

Howdy, and Welcome Aboard! ................A Liberator! I have one of those!

Well, your concern wouldn't do you much good now if you already "pulled the trigger" on this boat.......... if you had asked those questions before buying the boat, most of us would have told you to avoid getting any boat with an OMG engine and drive......just saying......Sorry........

But here you are! You have a Dog-clutch Cobra. If the lower shift cable is mal-adjusted or defective and/or the ESA is NOT working properly. It may be very hard or impossible to get out of either FWD or REV when the boat is in the water.

If the cable is "OK" you may be able to get it into and out of gear on the trailer, but if the ESA (system) is not working it will not easily come out of gear or at all in the water.

If you want to fix it yourself, you'll need to get an OEM OMC service manual and educate yourself on how they work. You can start by reading the following "stuff" http://www.hastings.org/~stuart/cobra/

There's other stuff out there. Also, if you want to have someone else fix it for you, be SURE that they know what they're doing. even draining/replacing the drive oil incorrectly can destroy the drive in short order!



Cheers,


Rick

 

[Al Czervik]

Re: New to forum...new 201 Liberator owner....just a few questions.

Thanks for the responses and fortunately I know a guy well versed and very experienced when it comes to OMC. It seems like there are a lot of them out there so I'm hesitant to buy into the doomsday scenario when it comes to them.

 

[LAC_STS]

Re: New to forum...new 201 Liberator owner....just a few questions.

It's no doomsday scenario. It's just that for the average person buying an OMC can be a very bad thing. You are luck in that you know of a good mechanic that will work on an OMC. A lot of people cannot find anyone. Where I live (SW FLA) there are TONS of marine mechanics. But only 1 within 100 miles that will work on OMC. And hes one of those guys that will get you any way he can.

And on top of that there are some OMC drives/engines/setup a than have some show stopper parts that are NLA.

Would you still feel the same way if you had to look for 8 months and pay 2K for some used exhaust manifolds?


I guess it just depends on the specific OMC setup you have and your ability to do your own repairs. And as you can see a lot of people just buy without seeing what the parts status of they're setup is. Or it when they know they can't do repairs themselves and not checking to see if anyone near them will work on an OMC.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: New to forum...new 201 Liberator owner....just a few questions.

Thanks for the responses and fortunately I know a guy well versed and very experienced when it comes to OMC. It seems like there are a lot of them out there so I'm hesitant to buy into the doomsday scenario when it comes to them.

For your case, I don't think it's a "doomsday" scenario at all. For some others with newer engine and certain drives it absolutely IS.

For them the "fix" for EFI and/or ignition problems and possibly certain NON-SX cone clutch drives is Big $$ component replacement. Certain parts are simply no longer available.

For you, with your 1988 (or possibly 1987) engine and dog-clutch Cobra, Most everything is still available.

 

[Al Czervik]

Re: New to forum...new 201 Liberator owner....just a few questions.

For your case, I don't think it's a "doomsday" scenario at all. For some others with newer engine and certain drives it absolutely IS.

For them the "fix" for EFI and/or ignition problems and possibly certain NON-SX cone clutch drives is Big $$ component replacement. Certain parts are simply no longer available.

For you, with your 1988 (or possibly 1987) engine and dog-clutch Cobra, Most everything is still available.

Thanks....I didn't do a lot of research before buying this boat....I feel better about it now

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: New to forum...new 201 Liberator owner....just a few questions.

Thanks....I didn't do a lot of research before buying this boat....I feel better about it now

OMC went out of business more than 14 years ago.....parts, service and support won't get better........


Just make sure you educate yourself on this thing. Like I said before, just changing the drive oil wrong can destroy your drive. AND a "professional" can screw it up too.....so be sure of them also!


My brother bought my current 1987 Four Winns Liberator new with the 460 OMC King Cobra. In the 90's, he took it to 2 different dealers 2 different years for yearly service.

Both "changed" the drive oil. One didn't bother to put oil in it at all and the other filled it like a Mercruiser (from the drain hole!!)

The drives self destructed BOTH TIMES about halfway around the lake! (both dealers to their credit replaced the drive each time respectively with no "lawyering-up"..........good on them!!)



Good luck!


Rick

 

[bruceb58]

Re: New to forum...new 201 Liberator owner....just a few questions.

most of us would have told you to avoid getting any boat with an OMG engine and drive......just saying......Sorry........

Freudian slip?

 

[LAC_STS]

Re: New to forum...new 201 Liberator owner....just a few questions.

OMC went out of business more than 14 years ago.....parts, service and support won't get better........


Just make sure you educate yourself on this thing. Like I said before, just changing the drive oil wrong can destroy your drive. AND a "professional" can screw it up too.....so be sure of them also!

My advice is to learn as much as you can to do any work yourself. I didnt know much of anything when I bought my boat. But after almost getting ripped for thousands of dollars (at the ONLY marine mechanic in town that would work on OMC) I learned to do everything myself.

Get an OEM OMC service manual. Not a Seloc or Clymers an OMC one. They are around and not that much more than the cheapo ones.

Read all the info you can on this forum. Nearly anything you would want to know is right here.

Do maintniance items on your boat when they are supposed to be done. You should be doing this anyways but especially if your running your setup. Then you can prevent big things happening which you might not be able to fix yourself.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: New to forum...new 201 Liberator owner....just a few questions.

Freudian slip?

Who, Me? NEVER!

 

[Al Czervik]

Re: New to forum...new 201 Liberator owner....just a few questions.

Thanks again everybody...even though I just joined it's fairly obvious that this place is full of information and people willing to help and share it!

So I just checked the service manual that came with the boat and it's Seloc so I went on eBay and found a new factory manual for 1988 models....my question (yet another one) is how much difference is there between the 5.7 liter and 350 King Cobra which is what I have?

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: New to forum...new 201 Liberator owner....just a few questions.

Thanks again everybody...even though I just joined it's fairly obvious that this place is full of information and people willing to help and share it!

So I just checked the service manual that came with the boat and it's Seloc so I went on eBay and found a new factory manual for 1988 models....my question (yet another one) is how much difference is there between the 5.7 liter and 350 King Cobra which is what I have?

Make sure you actually have a 1988 model......compare by actual model number...... Boat manufacturers frequently use "last-years" model engines/drives in new boats......

 

[LAC_STS]

Re: New to forum...new 201 Liberator owner....just a few questions.

Thanks again everybody...even though I just joined it's fairly obvious that this place is full of information and people willing to help and share it!

So I just checked the service manual that came with the boat and it's Seloc so I went on eBay and found a new factory manual for 1988 models....my question (yet another one) is how much difference is there between the 5.7 liter and 350 King Cobra which is what I have?

I was wondering the same thing before as there are 2 350 modes and 2 5.7 models (for a total of 4 models) for 1989.

But I have looked through the parts diagrams on the BRP site for quite a while and I havent saw any difference. Why they did it I dunno. Maybe someone knows better but thats just my 2 cents.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: New to forum...new 201 Liberator owner....just a few questions.

Thanks again everybody...even though I just joined it's fairly obvious that this place is full of information and people willing to help and share it!

So I just checked the service manual that came with the boat and it's Seloc so I went on eBay and found a new factory manual for 1988 models....my question (yet another one) is how much difference is there between the 5.7 liter and 350 King Cobra which is what I have?

Can you post a picture of the drive you have?

 

[Al Czervik]

Re: New to forum...new 201 Liberator owner....just a few questions.

Can you post a picture of the drive you have?

I don't have a picture of it but I'll get one...it does have a round badge on it that says Cobra.