I just bought a boat with a Mercruiser 4.3 lx v-6 carbureted. I was told the boat needs the timing reset. I discovered that the starter bolts were half way tightened after hearing a loud metal on metal noise when i went to start it for the first time. I tightened up the bolts, reset the timing and it ran great. I then had to trouble shoot the fuel pump, and figured out the connection on the starter solenoid was rusted out. I then removed the starter, cleaned all the connections and reinstalled it. I then went to start the motor and one of the starter bolts had broken off. I am assuming i overtightened the one bolt when i went to reinstall it, i did not use a torque wrench. So my question is, is this a common problem on these motors? Or is it possible that the fly wheel or the starter is warped or somehow caused the bolts to come loose or break. I ordered a new bolt and am waiting for it to arrive, but i just had second thoughts because i don't remember tightening the bolt so much that it would break.
