Reviving a 4.3L Mercruiser Alpha 1

[philsislands]

First time boat owner here and recently purchased a Celebrity 180 with a 4.3L Mercruiser Alpha 1.
Have had experience with jetskis but since this is my first time to own a boat, i would like to find out how to i revive this thing?
Background is i bought it from a guy who has not used it in 2 years. I checked to see if there was oil in the engine and there was some on the dipstick. without wanting to break the engine, after-all, it has not run in two years, what should be the first couple of things i should do?
Is there like a guide to follow on how to prep, maintain a Mercruiser like mine?
Thanks

 

[Stamey]

Re: Reviving a 4.3L Mercruiser Alpha 1

I would first try to fire it up, and see how it runs. You may need to add a few gallons of fresh gas to it. Inspect all hoses to be sure they are in good shape. Once I got and idea of whether I needed a carb kit in it, I'd proceed with changing the engine oil and filter, then popping the stern drive off to see about the shape of the bellows. I'd plan on putting new bellows on soon, if not immediately. If the bellows are in decent shape, driveshaft and shift, I'd check the gear lube in the stern drive, to make sure there's no water in it and its full, then, if possible, take it for a spin to see how it acts. I prefer to do as little as I can get away with until I know how it runs and acts on the water. There's always the possibility that there will be something major wrong with it that causes you to sell it rather than fix it. Keep a close eye on the temperature gauge, as this will tell you if there are any problems with the cooling system that needs to be addressed, such as rusted manifolds blocking water flow. (I had rusty exhaust elbows on one of mine and it was blocked enough to cause blown hoses at high RPM)
After the test run, come back with the list of what I found wrong on the test run and proceed with the servicing. If water or "milk" was found in the stern drive on the initial check, you should have it pressure tested to find the leak and fix it before putting new gear lube in there.
Getting a service manual for it is always a good idea, and performing maintenance per that manual. You should be able to find it in the Adults Only sticky at the top of the forum.

Chris

 

[artificialreef]

Re: Reviving a 4.3L Mercruiser Alpha 1

No man, amateur mistake. You do not try to fire it up. Change all the rubber parts in the cooling system and all the motor and outdrive fluids first.

 

[artificialreef]

Re: Reviving a 4.3L Mercruiser Alpha 1

I bought a boat that was sitting for 2 + - years too and being handy with automotive engines thought this would be no problem. When i got it running i watched the temp gauge got to 150f and then want to keep climbing. Tore the outdrive apart and found a doughnut where the water impeller was supposed to be. If i wasnt cognisant of the temp gauge i would be at the minimum doing a head gasket.

 

[artificialreef]

Re: Reviving a 4.3L Mercruiser Alpha 1

Oh yeah and the twins are running at 145degrees to 155. Still on the trailer though.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Reviving a 4.3L Mercruiser Alpha 1

All good advise!

Make sure there is Good oil in the engine and Good Lube in the out drive. (Two Seperate Items!)
Do not start it unless the out drive is DOWN. Very Bad on the U-Joints!
Do not start it for even 5 seconds unless there is cooling water being supplied! (Muffs)
You will be needing to replace the impeller (Water Pump) soon, but there is no reason to trash it and have small pieces of rubber stuck deep inside of the engine.

 

[philsislands]

Re: Reviving a 4.3L Mercruiser Alpha 1

Thanks for all the input. got to look at everything i need and seems that the engine has alot of TLC needed. I've identified the parts that i need but am having a hard time locating the serial number. All the areas where it should be, it's not. The cover of the flame arrestor, the plate right on top of the starter. No other source of information as the previous owner never kept the record.
How can i retrieve the serial and order parts?
the only info i have is the one below
GM 12552422 (this i saw stamped on the front of the engine between the carb and water elbow)
14099090 (this number i saw stamped on the rear part of the engine right above the starter)
OK 212203 Transom Assembly serial number
Having a hard time ordering the parts since i cannot confirm the serial being requested.
Any other way of going about this?

 

[philsislands]

Re: Reviving a 4.3L Mercruiser Alpha 1

Thanks for all the input. got to look at everything i need and seems that the engine has alot of TLC needed. I've identified the parts that i need but am having a hard time locating the serial number. All the areas where it should be, it's not. The cover of the flame arrestor, the plate right on top of the starter. No other source of information as the previous owner never kept the record.
How can i retrieve the serial and order parts?
the only info i have is the one below
GM 12552422 (this i saw stamped on the front of the engine between the carb and water elbow)
14099090 (this number i saw stamped on the rear part of the engine right above the starter)
OK 212203 Transom Assembly serial number
Having a hard time ordering the parts since i cannot confirm the serial being requested.
Any other way of going about this?

 

[sharkin95]

Re: Reviving a 4.3L Mercruiser Alpha 1

OK 212203 is a 96-97 4.3 v6 Does it have a 6 bolt plastic timing cover or a 10 bolt metal cover? is it a aluminum oil pan or metal ?

 

[philsislands]

Re: Reviving a 4.3L Mercruiser Alpha 1

It's got a 6 bolt plastic cover and aluminum pan.
Thanks

OK 212203 is a 96-97 4.3 v6 Does it have a 6 bolt plastic timing cover or a 10 bolt metal cover? is it a aluminum oil pan or metal ?

 

[fat fanny]

Re: Reviving a 4.3L Mercruiser Alpha 1

If it were me I would pull all the plugs and shoot a couple of shots of motor oil in each cylinder and see if I could turn it over by hand first if all was good pulling the O/D and inspecting all the rubber would be next then replace if needed (most likely) then move onto complete fluid change along with filters,plugs,wires cap and rotor. Empty the fuel cell clean and blow out all the lines as well as the pick up tube. You will most likely be looking at a carb re-build along the way. Don't forget to check for dry rotted belts and hoses and changing out the thermostat no water will kill this thing real quick!