REPLACING CAMSHAFT IN A 4.3 LH MERCRUISER

[MERTZ60]

WHAT SHOULD A CAMSHAFT REPLACEMENT COST IN A 1998 1830 CHAPARRAL WITH 4.3 LH MERCRUISER?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Depends on what caused you to need a new camshaft.

Normally in a roller motor like your '98 4.3, the cam would be the last thing to fail.

 

[alldodge]

Guess between 150 to 700 depending on what you have. Also as Scott mentioned, what caused the cam shaft to go?

 

[Scott Danforth]

motor is coming out of the boat to drop the pan to get the front cover off, so if you are paying a marina to do this, it will cost you about 4 hours of labor

 

[MERTZ60]

I purchased the boat in late August and there was a slight ticking in the engine. Got louder after one day on the water. Took to nearby mechanic who pulled the heads, changed spark plugs, changed the oil and then put it all together and said the cam is shot. Told me I should replace cam and rebuild whole motor since the motor will have to be pulled out anyway. His fee is ^grand which sounds high. Just wanting to know if this sounds right.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Your mechanic told you that you need a rebuid. Simply swapping the cam will have you rebuilding it shortly after.

Most likely a crank or rod bearing let loose, the debris from the bearing got wedged between a cam lobe and the roller on the lifter.

Pull the motor and do a full tear down.

 

[MERTZ60]

He actually said, well since it needs a new cam you might as well rebuild it. Does 6 thousand sound right?

 

[Bt Doctur]

You need another opini0n and another mechanic

 

[Bt Doctur]

V-6 Comp. Mercruiser ????.$3,425 or
You could drop in a 5.7 complete running motor for just under 6K

 

[Bondo]

Took to nearby mechanic who pulled the heads, changed spark plugs, changed the oil and then put it all together and said the cam is shot. Told me I should replace cam and rebuild whole motor since the motor will have to be pulled out anyway. His fee is ^grand which sounds high.

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,..... You need a different Mechanic,...

 

[Lou C]

​If he felt the cam was shot, when he had it apart, why then did he put it back together? That just does not make sense and was a waste of the labor you paid for him to put it back together. At that point he could have given you the options: rebuild current engine, or replace short block if the heads are good, or install new long block (prob best option for the money).

 

[Silvertip]

Glad this mechanic is not a surgeon. He would likely open your chest, look at your clogged arteries sew you back up, then tell you you need bypass surgery. This guy is not a mechanic but rather a thief -- unless it was you that misunderstood what he told you he did and what was needed. That's happened many times before.

 

[Scott Danforth]

New 4.3 longblocks are $1800. Complete motors $3100