Please help me find the right replacement parts.

[fulano]

Hi everyone,

I have searched and searched and found so many conflicting info. I'm stuck!

I would like to service my boat before we take it out Sat, and I need your help finding the right parts.

Please see my sig line for my engine serial number, hopefully that has my engine's year in it, but the boat is a 96 sea ray 175 with a 3.0 lx motor.

Here's what I want to do, and the part numbers I have so far, I don't know if they are correct or not, please double check for me?

Oil - Quicksilver 25w 40
Can I use a synthetic instead? I know, I know.. I'm not trying to start another oil thread :lol:

Oil Filter - Mercruiser #14957
QuickSilver #35-802885Q
PHRAM #PH6606
WIX #51086
NAPA Gold #1086
Purolater #L24736
Sierra #18-7824

Spark Plugs - AC MR43LTS
NGK BPR6EFS
gap is .035

Plug wires - ?

I would say cap and rotor but my spark arestor cover says electronic ignition. Is there anything I can do to service it?

I fired it up today and noticed it's missing on one cyl occaisionally.


Thanks for all your help guys!

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Please help me find the right replacement parts.

you have EST system and a cap and rotor 817377 cap -
811635 rotor
Examine the plugs to check their color. whitish or pure white could indicate water from a bad riser in #4 cylinder.

 

[fulano]

Re: Please help me find the right replacement parts.

awesome! Thanks for the great info, I'll check the plugs. What is "water from a bad riser in #4 cylinder" is that serious?

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Please help me find the right replacement parts.

water getting into an engine is always serious. a leaky riser will mimic a miss fire untill it dries out and begins firing.
not noticing this will lead to a stuck valve and ither damage.All it costs is a riser gasket to be sure. just make sure to drain it first.

 

[Volphin]

Re: Please help me find the right replacement parts.

As I recall, the Quicksilver is synthetic... It's what I run.

35-802885Q for the oil filter. Same internals as K&N filter at a lower price.

 

[CharlieB]

Re: Please help me find the right replacement parts.

The #1 web site for genuine Mercury Mercruiser engines, parts and propellers

Have your model and Serial #'s handy and use the Search with pictures

You can find every part of your motor, transom, and outdrive. Once you have the factory # you can search anywhere for the comparable part.

If it is water getting into the motor and the riser gasket fails to stop it, then remove the exhaust manifold and have it pressure tested as they can rust thru and leak water.

Stay on this until resolved, if left untreated it can get more expensive than replacing just the manifold.

 

[alldodge]

Re: Please help me find the right replacement parts.

Merc's 25W-40 is a synthetic blend
Synthetic Blend MerCruiser (25W-40) Engine Oil | Mercury Marine

Or petrolium
MerCruiser (25W-40) Engine Oil | Mercury Marine

 

[fulano]

Re: Please help me find the right replacement parts.

guys, Thanks so much for all the info you share.

So I pulled the plugs today and had a look. I don't know what I'm lookin' at to be honest. The first one (closest to the aft) was wet with oil, but mostly below the threads, how does oil seep past the threads? the rest were pretty black, which from what I'm reading means I"m running too rich.

The ones installed are champion brand rv15yc4... im not even sure if those are compatible. are those the long reach ones that should be in there?

here are the pics. What do you guys think is causing them to get fouled like this?


I suppose I should do a compression test. Do you know if the harbor freight compression test tool is accurate enough?

 

[Volphin]

Re: Please help me find the right replacement parts.

They do look oil fouled and too rich. What you are looking for is a light tan color. Install Spark Plugs - AC MR43LTS, the OE plugs and retest. I wouldn't be so quick to call it cylinder oil fouling yet, judging by the amount of oil around the base of the plug holes. A leaky valve cover gasket can dump a lot of oil there over time, and as you pull the plugs, oil coats them. I would do plug wires while you are at it. Auto wires are OK, you can find them at any NAPA store. They will probably have a hard time looking up marine parts, but remember... this engine is an industrial package and they should be able to look it up from that.

 

[fulano]

Re: Please help me find the right replacement parts.

Volphin, Thanks so much for your advice. I was not able to find the AC or NGK plugs so I used Champion...for now... I also did an oil change.

So I fired her up expecting to see a huge change, but it was acting exactly the same. There is an occasional miss, even at high rpms. I haven't tried wires yet though. but there doesn't seem to be any leakage near the valve cover there.

 

[CharlieB]

Re: Please help me find the right replacement parts.

The actual psi reading of the cyl's isn't near as important as the consistency of the numbers.

We are looking to find that all cyl's measure very near the same number as a cyl with a number reading greater than 10% different indicates a problem needing attention.

You want a tool that screws in, that way you eliminate the possibility of holding it differently and not sealing well enough for reliable numbers.

 

[alldodge]

Re: Please help me find the right replacement parts.

Champion plugs are fine and were the OEM type Merc put in many of their engines. My 95 model list them on the decal

 

[fulano]

Re: Please help me find the right replacement parts.

Hi guys,

Just wanted to let you know the results:

I changed out the plugs and still had that misfire going on.

Turned out to be the carb wasn't adjusted properly. I messed with the fuel/air mix screw, and it brought the rpms way up, so I turned it down with the idle rpm screw. My terminology is prob not correct but you get the gist.

Anyway, starts and runs like a champ now! Thanks for all your help!!!

BTW, I did go and buy the harbor freight compression test tool. Here's what I'm getting

#1 - 150lbs
#2 - 160
#3 - 150
#4 - 155

Cyl #1 didn't come up to that 150 range as fast as the others though, it took another couple of seconds of cranking. What should I make of that?