Chap243

What make of engine and drive?

Starbright hull cleaner. You buy it at Walmart. Spray it on and hose it off. It is an acid, so you want to be cautious with its use, especially on skin and some metals. Rinse well after use.

I cant really ell from the pic, but if it had captians call or selective exhaust, there would be a butterfly valve in the exhaust tubing to divert the gas and water out the side or down through the drive .

Engine specifics would help.

I`m sure if I were to look, I`d see similar threads on the SR site from their owners. I`ll keep my Chap.

You don't say what size of motor you had, but I would suggest looking at Michiganmotorz.com. I bought my replacement long block from them and the process went well.

Mine started doing something similar after installing a amp and sub. It cuts out randomly for a second or two, very annoying. No rhyme or reason to the cut offs. Some days, no problem at all, other days, it’s an every minute occurrence. I’ve checked everything, can’t seem to find the common denominator.

What does it drop down to? Mine will also hover in the mid 60`s and then as the engine warms, and I assume the oil too, it will drop a little, generally drops about five psi or so. Because I have a new engine, I have not been able to go WOT yet. I cant exceed 4K rpm for a few more hours yet.

I found my engine and drive manuals on ebay.

Definitely take it back to the dealer and have him do it. While not a critical component it still needs to be done properly.

I`m a Volvo guy, but I`m not sure there is a way to grease the coupler except by applying it to the splines of the drive shaft when the drive unit is removed and re-installed. I`ve never heard of a zirk fitting being on the hub.

Cranked and cranked on my old 243 while backed into the water at the ramp, would not start, blocking incoming boaters. Raised hatch and looked around, jiggled wires and all that stuff. It had always started first turn, just couldn’t figure it out. After what seemed like the longest time with the stares of others cutting me up I was about ready to haul her home when my wife mentions the kill switch. Sure enough that was it, it had slipped off. I felt like an idiot.

Those channels do help, but are really designed to only be effective when the boat is on the level. Any bow up, bow down, left or right lean and water can easily find its way into the storage compartment below.

I agree, but is it wise to spend double the cost for a brand new factory engine on a nine year old boat. Also agree that engine replacement should be the last consideration.

$9500. is way high for a new engine. I just replaced my 5.7 long block and only paid about $4K for it. Check with Michigan Motors.

You can buy aftermarket fuel cells for $200 on ebay. On the other hand I cleaned and rebuilt my old one, fairly easy to do.

Try a closed cell neoprene liner for the noise abatement. The foamfactory.com is where I got mine. Buy it in rolls and cut to fit. It doesn't fall apart.

I`ve wrestling with buying one for years. So far I have not. I don't even know if Ch16 is monitored by anyone on our lake. We have no Sea Tow or Boat Us to call. Perhaps DNR monitors it, but I am not sure and I know that they would not tow us in if needed. A couple times a year we travel to larger lakes such as Dale Hollow or Cumberland in KY. I know they have monitored tow services, it might be a good thing to have for those lakes.

The summer sun can be murder on a boat, even if you have a good quality cover. It would probably cut the life of the cover in half and obviously fade any exposed gelcoat. But having a boat in any slip covered or not sure beats the drama at the boat ramp. I’d maybe consider it for a summer and keep my name on the waiting list with fingers crossed.

The key to a dry bellows that I have found is to apply a liberal amount of triple guard grease to the "nose" taper of the upper gearcase and the rubber ring of the bellows. When compressed back together the seal is formed. It works pretty well.

Guys, need help. As many of you know, I had to replace my engine due to oil system failure (long story). I have a new long block VP 5.7 gxi-j installed and all hooked up. The block and heads are all new. All other components were transferred over from the old engine, ECM, intake manifold, fuel rail, injectors and distributor. I turned the key yesterday attempting its first start. The fuel cell charges. I get the traditional two to three beeps then silence, no continuous beeps. The engine acts like it wants to start, for a second, then dies. I tried several times throughout the day, same result. Brief fire, then goes dead. I am ordering the Rinda Techmate tool today to see if there are any stored codes in the ECM that may be effecting this. Any suggestions before I throw in the towel, admit defeat and take it to the dealership.

I don't change mine every year but I do remove mine during winter so that it does not spend six months all bent over. I pull mine and store in a plastic baggie with a little bit of glycerin to keep it from drying out.

My O rings look like the smaller of those two sizes. Admittingly, I have not replaced them in a couple years, so I have not bought new recently. The drive looks good, at this point, I usually take a Black wide permanent marker and highlight the Volvo Penta, then spray a clear coat on it.

Yes, that’s my understanding of the system as I learned it while the engine was sitting in my garage all winter. The dipstick does not go all the way to the bottom, it just parallels the oil pan and oil level inside it. I just don’t know why, other than for siphoning the oil out, why this system is used to read the oil level over the conventional dipstick directly into the oil pan as found in all automobiles. Volvo blocks, and maybe Merc’s too have the engine blocks dipstick oil hole plugged. Whatever happened to cause my old blocks demise, I am happy to say it has been a learning experience. I now have a new engine, that seems to be running well and am excited about the new boating season. Got about three hours on the new block, still breaking her in.

I towed a similar size boat with a GM 5.3. I would not want to do it every weekend but since you mentioned that the boat is slipped, you’ll be ok for a few tows each season.