Yep thats in the plans for this weekend or next.
The points look good I hit them with a file and gaped them before I took it out the first time, just to be sure. But I just don't want to have to mess with them. My first truck had points and I can remember having to file & gap them often.

 

You DID NOT just say that...you cant file them. It leaves ridges in them which cause hot spots, which in turn causes them to burn out. Go buy some new ones..Your killin me

Anyway, I would say absolutely start with a new prop, probably the same size you have now. Thats the only way to tell what to do. But if I had to guess, I would drop 1 inch in pitch. That will increase the RPM by about 200. That ,with a good set of blades may put you right in there. If the place by you will let you try some props, take them up on it and get the one you need. Like I said, thats an awesome deal, and no one around here would let you do that.Hurry up..the weekend is close

 

1996 Baja 240 Sport...454.....Was alot of fun while it lasted, but hsad to sell her a while back...Might be looking again soon though.....

 

I'll do that!

LOL.. 600 grit Emory cloth or higher.. (think I grabbed 1000 grit this time.. not an actual file.. I guess it's a local thing to call it fileing the points... Just knocking the rust off of them.

 

WAHHHHHHH

Well I put some new points in this morning plus new plugs, new rotor bug, new cap, new wires,... Pretty much a complete tune up... Took it down to the lake and was going to go try some props out and get one.. but before I did I decided to go for a joy ride and get it warmed up... Went about 4 miles down the lake then turned around. It was running pretty good So after I got it turned around and got through my own wake I decided to nail it and see what it would do for me. It went great for about 100 yards when I heard. POP......and the motor goes Weeeezzz....

I shut it down thinking alright I blow out and captivated.. Let it idle to a stop then started giving it some throttle again... Motor revs. water churns some but boat dosen't move. Then smoke starts pouring out of the engine valley vents and it smells like burnt rubber. Long Story Short I get it to shore and a lady gives me a ride back to my truck then gets her Bayliner off the lift and pulls me to a ramp. I had already called my boss who owns a motorsport shop on the side. "He rebuilds F series trucks + boats, mostly pontoons." He said it sounded like I burnt up the prop bushing... Well I get it loaded up and take it to the Marina. They look at it and tell me no thats what they thought at first until they looked at it. Then said that it appears to be the adapter plate on the back of the fly wheel has stripped out. "I dont know the technical name." They can get it in tomarrow but it will be about $1500.
Thats what I gave for the boat!

So I decide to hold off. Probably just do it myself so they say the parts are about $600-$700 roughly to replace everything that needs to be replaced anyway and might as well fix while I have the out drive off and the motor out.

Well my boss is not convinced that is what it is.... So he asked me to bring it out to his shop tomarrow and we'll tear into it. Hopefully he is right and it is just the Prop Bushing after all. I'm a little concerned right now... Not knowing that much about I/O's my feelings are 50/50 either one or both could be right.

 

THAT SUCKS!!

 

I really doubt it was the prop hub (bushing) since you said there was a lot of smoke, unless you really reved the hell out of it and she overheated. Im not to sure what you mean when you say the adapter plate on the back of the motor. Tear into it and see for yourself. If you give me part numbers I can figure it out and let you know what they should cost you. This way your not getting ripped off. Hope you find the problem. Let me know if you need any more info or anything.


Just a thought, look at your exhaust. There should be rubber tubes that connect the engine riser to the exhaust. A lot of times they will heat up and blow off.

BREW

 

AHHH I know what they mean...the engine coupler. That sounds more like it. Its where the splined shaft from the drive connects to the engine. I'll bet thats it. Its usually a splined collar, pressed into a rubber housing. I'll bet that spun, burnt up the rubber and thats where all the smoke came from.

 

YEHAWWW!

Got my new boat yesterday. Man it is everything I expected and more.

I got this boat for mainly hunting, fishing and taking the family out, so it is designed for mainly river running, and I'll be able to run as shallow as an inch of water.

It's a 20' Sea Ark Predator, 72" wide, rear consol with a 30 gallon bow tank to help keep the back from being too low. It has a modified V bottom with a large tunnel that allows the jet to be mounted above the bottom of the boat so if we sail over gravel bars, we won't suck junk into the jet unit. In case we do, it has a stomp grate to clean out the junk, and you can keep on your way.

The power house is a 175 horse Merc Sportjet inboard. It cruises around 3800 rpms going 25mph and burning about 5 gallons per hour. For those sticky situations, you can give a short burst up to 5700 rpms and kick it up to about 45mph. It puts you back in the seat when that happens.

One of the cool parts is the reverse mechanism. It has been modified to work as a brake as well. The wings are several inches longer than a typical reverse shield, and it is very durable.

Here are a few pictures from out on the Tanana River last night. I'm back in Vegas now, so the boat will sit at my folks until I return in late May. I can't wait to take it back out on the water!



BRAKE CHECK!!!

 

One more picture... The canopy has 4 parts. You can remove the top section 3 ways since it is sectioned out. The back is one solid piece, and it can be removed all together. We had the front section off for running around. The vinyl rolls back and gets snapped into the top section, but I think I'll have to stitch on a couple more snaps to hold the rolled part up a little better.

This thing rocks!

 

i live on a lake ...have 2 boats...a paddle boat and a coleman crawdad...no gas motors allowed here so not worth posting...zap!

 

Yep that's it... and thats what happened.

I took it to my supervisors shop today and after looking at it he agreed with the marina. The coupler is only like $200 but.... the water hose is wore and dry rotted, a boot is cracked, the u-joints were exposed to water from the split boot. So I might as well replace all of that and anything else that might be wore wile I have it apart. We estimate it to be about $600- $700 for parts.

My supervisor is going to call one of his buddies that does Mercruiser and see what kind of a deal his buddy might can do for me for parts and labor. But his friend is an hour and a half away. I don't want to spend more than $1000 on it because I just paid $1500 for it and it probably isn't worth the $2500 I will have invested plus the interior work that still needs to be done. The interior I can do... But this is a pretty big project to be cutting my teeth on.

I've got a family barbeque for mothers day tomarrow after noon. When I get home from that I'm going to go ahead and pull the out drive, starter, carburetor, breaker, etc off. To have the motor ready to pull out. For me, or who ever does it. Unfortunatly I expect it will be me because I dont think anyone will want to pull the motor for $400. Because it's going to be a pain in the **** to do with out tearing up the boat in the process.

 

Although theres a lot to do, to get to the coupler, its a pretty easy job. If your not in a hurry, just buy the parts and do it yourself. As far as the money issue...if your thinking of selling it in the next year, than its prob. not worth putting any money into it and just get rid of it now. BUT..if your plan is to keep it for at least 2 years, then I say go for it. Fix it up and do the interior. You'll be able to enjoy it for a couple years and then have a good looking and running boat to sell. Just my opinion. Good luck with the repairs.

 

welcome to boating

 

BOAT =

Break
Out
Another
Thousand