The well traveled 1979 Starcraft 18' V5 SS

[ab59]

That white crap looks like roof sealer , what a group fornication . Sure looks good now , hope it runs just as good .

 

[Watermann]

Alright the Merc 115 fired right up, after years of sitting it took 3 seconds of turning over to fire. Problem was the exhaust cover had water streaming out from under numerous bolts.

Pulled the lower cowls and the cover which had 35 bolts

I was happy to see that there was no water that had leaked into the motor, the gaskets had failed at the bolts is all. No steam cleaning or water inside, just carbon.

I'd have to say this motor was barely used, a closer look inside the cylinders and see the cross hatching from machining is still there!

 

[ab59]

Lookin good , just the value of that motor is worth more than what U payed for the whole rig ! That's got to be the cleanest " Used " motor that I have ever seen.

 

[Watermann]

Lookin good , just the value of that motor is worth more than what U payed for the whole rig ! That's got to be the cleanest " Used " motor that I have ever seen.

Sometimes we get lucky but the motor was neglected big time and sat for years. It took me many many hours to de-grease and clean all the nasty sealant off. The lower unit oil was coal tar black so I'll be changing it out again after a couple runs. The drain and vent plug washers were completely fused to the inside of the LU holes, took me a couple hours to get them cleaned out and new ones installed with new plugs.

Another issue to figure out.

The alarm was sounding the whole time I had the motor running but I think/hope it was because I had drained the oil injection system and it needed to run a while to get the oil flow going. yes I was running it on 50:1 premix to get the oiler system going. The other thought is that the controls had a temp sender wire for a gauge that I don't have so the wire is not connected to anything.

Time to go get the new controls mounted up before my gaskets get here later today.

 

[Watermann]

My exhaust cover plate 4 layer sandwich was a PITA, torquing 35 bolts in a maddening pattern but it tested out water leak free!



But... the motor was running rough with a high idle. Found out why, the accelerator pump diaphragm is bad with fuel leaking out and obviously into the feed lines through the rupture. Repair kit is cheap and I ordered a fuel pump kit too just in case. Old motors sitting around dried up for years, go figure? :lol:

 

[ab59]

Well all i gotta say is that your work ethic must have saved you thousands of dollars through your lifetime. I personally do not think that I have met anyone with the same attention to detail who is also willing to go the extra mile that you do.
My hat is off to you sir.

 

[Decker83]

Looks like you had to go around and around in circles.. NO LEAKS =GREAT JOB!!!!

 

[Watermann]

So after the new parts and a Link & Sync the Merc is running really good on the hose, now for some water adjustments and testing!

I started a Merc section thread on the issues, there's some video.

 

[Watermann]

Guess I haven't taken a pic yet of the SS with the Merc 115 mounted, I decided to leave the CMC unit on, made it super easy to get the motor on and at the right height. Tucked back in the garage until some serious fishing next week and sea trials.

 

[gm280]

What's not to like about a Merc TOP? Looks really nice...

 

[ab59]

Looks good on there, good luck on your trial next week .

 

[Watermann]

What's not to like about a Merc TOP? Looks really nice...

This Merc is a newer 4 cylinder oil injected but I still have the L6 TOP on a stand. Very reliable motors once tuned correctly. No more choke plates and pre-mixing.

 

[Watermann]

If everything checks out I plan on repainting the cowl which looks good in the pic but has numerous gouges and scratches. Then I found decals for it that are a design a year or 2 later.

 

[coostv]

That motor looks to have been a great find! Those decals should look great on it!

 

[Decker83]

Motor looks great on its new perch.. Here's to you having a most excellent trial run..

 

[classiccat]

This Merc is a newer 4 cylinder oil injected but I still have the L6 TOP on a stand. Very reliable motors once tuned correctly. No more choke plates and pre-mixing.

don't blame ya there. sacrificing a bit of the TOP "cool factor" (and hole shot) for a smoke-free / hassle-free ride. She'll look better than factory when you're done with it! :thumb:

 

[Watermann]

Took the SS out for a fishing trip today, we caught around 20 bass in the 16 - 18" range and had some really nice weather.

That's where the good ended though. The 115 Merc started and idled great like on the muffs but the primer bulb was flaccid and no amount of pumping would get it to firm up with fuel. Needless to say the Merc would only idle being starved on fuel. Once home and the fish cleaned we went through the fuel lines starting at the bulb, it was good. Fuel filter replaced, good and still no fuel.

With the main line to the tank off I gave 2 short measured puffs of compressed air into the line as I was now believing the anti-siphon valve on the 3 year old Moeller tank was defective. The tank made a thunk noise and fuel came running out of the line that before not a drop was coming out of, that was it I ran about a half gallon of fuel into the bilge before I could get it back together, what a mess.

Little bugger is a huge pain.

 

[classiccat]

Heck of a haul on the water & Nice detective work there!

Not sure what's worse...smelling like fish, smelling like gasoline...or both! :lol:

 

[bchaney]

Nice fish and it looks like a beautiful day. Glad you found the fuel issue.

 

[ab59]

Well .I heard someone say once that you gotta take the bad with the good. Looks like you got some of both but I've got to think that the good outweighed the bad with all the bass you guys caught not to mention a beautiful day to boot.
You think you found the problem at the tank ? If it's not the line or tank it must be the fuel pump ?
That picture is really making me want to put my boat in up at Lake Shasta and I hope to do just that very soon.