New Member & My CM23

[Big Block Power]

Yes that's great to have that kind of talent so close to you. We'll wait for the report.

[slideruleracer]

Good luck, Nola! I know how it feels!! I'm running mine now and breaking in the rings, but if it still has lowish vacuum at the end of the season, then I'm going to be digging back in and seeing if I need to pull the motor again. I'll make a toast to your engine when I tip a few back this weekend.

[nolaboater99]

I went an visited my boat today in the hospital. Turns out the #4 cylinder exhaust valve is stuck in the guide. Not sure how that happens. The head is at the machine shop and they have been instructed to pull it all apart and check every valve and guide. If we find more issues I am going to have them pull the port side head and go through it as well. I'm this far in so what the hell.

On the positive side.... I went to check out my exhaust manifolds. They are probably 14 years old and the are IMCO Power Flow Aluminum manifolds and replacement cost is about $1400 for the pair. When I got to the shop to look at them I remembered (duh) they are part of the closed cooling system and filled with antifreeze and not raw water. The raw water that runs through the heat exchanger is discharged into the exhaust elbows which are stainless. We put a borescope in both pieces and they were spotless. Whew….

[nolaboater99]

Good luck, Nola! I know how it feels!! I'm running mine now and breaking in the rings, but if it still has lowish vacuum at the end of the season, then I'm going to be digging back in and seeing if I need to pull the motor again. I'll make a toast to your engine when I tip a few back this weekend.

Thanks. My engine appreciates the good thoughts. Me too....

[nolaboater99]

Another update. We heard back from the machine shop. All of the exhaust valve guides are too tight and the guides on the intake valves are too loose. Pulling the other head Monday and they are both getting new guides and seals.

I had this done 3 years ago, at what I thought was a reputable machine shop, in California. Really glad I found out about it now and having it done by what I hope is a more reputable shop. Does anyone take pride in their work anymore?

[AsLan7]

Another update. We heard back from the machine shop. All of the exhaust valve guides are too tight and the guides on the intake valves are too loose. Pulling the other head Monday and they are both getting new guides and seals.

I had this done 3 years ago, at what I thought was a reputable machine shop, in California. Really glad I found out about it now and having it done by what I hope is a more reputable shop. Does anyone take pride in their work anymore?

.
ooooh man. sorry to hear about that nb99. You're rolling with these punches very well. I can definitely relate after my engine pull. Keep the faith brutha...you'll be on the water before you know it....with a boat that was done right!

[nolaboater99]

I guess for continuity, and just to keep this thread up-to-date, I'll repeat what I said in another post.

After the head work was done I put the boat in the water and ran it for about 90 minutes but something was off. It was down a bit on power and there was a lifter noise. Not a hard tap like a collapsed lifter but more like a rocker arm was loose. So back to the shop and after an inspection it was determined that a lobe on the cam was flat. Here is what the old cam looked like....

IMG_0199.JPG

So new cam and lifters ordered overnight and the motor should be back together tomorrow and in the boat Thursday giving me the boat for the weekend. Hoping that works....

[nolaboater99]

Well I see I have not updated this in a while. It seems like the new kitchen in the house has kept me busy along with some travel this spring and like everyone, putting up with the crappy weather.

So, the new cam and lifters went into the boat and all was well. We last used her last Thanksgiving weekend and she ran great. I cleaned her up and put her to bed for a few months which turned into a few more. As the rain began to cease I started to focus on making my yard habitable again. I have 10, 70+ feet oak trees on my 1 acre and they drop leaves from mid October until about the end of March. We can't burn the leaves so my only choice is to bag them. It's a lot of work. But I pulled the boat out of the carport to clean the leaves and noticed the outdrive on the boat was leaking gear lube from a weep hole at the bottom of the drive. I figured it was probably a lower shift shaft seal. A pretty quick fix so I pulled the entire drive and found lube oil everywhere inside the bellows plus a lot of water in the lube oil when I drained it. Took the drive to the shop for a pressure test and discovered it was pretty much junk. I really am not too surprised as the rest of the boat had been pretty neglected. This is/was an SEI drive and they are OK if maintained....this one was not.

So looking at options, and tired of putting money into the boat, I started shopping.... New Merc....$2995 + shipping. New SEI....$1795 + shipping. Rebuilt Merc....around $1995. Rebuilding my old one, that I really didn't want to do....about $1000. I started shopping eBay and found a fully rebuilt Merc Alpha I drive for $799 plus $100 shipping....with a warranty! Apparently, Bill's outboard and Marine in Hingham, MA continuously rebuilds Merc drives and sells locally and on eBay. They are an authorized Merc Service Center and have been in business for 45 years. I talked to them and asked why the low price and they stated they've been rebuilding and looked around the shop and realized they had way too many drives laying around so they started selling them for what they had in them. Their normal price is $1995. So I bought one and it should be here this week. I hope to be on the water in a week or so depending on the weather.

Also kind of sad that I have been away. I hope to contribute a bit more in the future.
Shawn

[akorcovelos]

Wow, that’s a crazy good deal for a properly rebuilt alpha.

[AsLan7]

Well I see I have not updated this in a while. It seems like the new kitchen in the house has kept me busy along with some travel this spring and like everyone, putting up with the crappy weather.

So, the new cam and lifters went into the boat and all was well. We last used her last Thanksgiving weekend and she ran great. I cleaned her up and put her to bed for a few months which turned into a few more. As the rain began to cease I started to focus on making my yard habitable again. I have 10, 70+ feet oak trees on my 1 acre and they drop leaves from mid October until about the end of March. We can't burn the leaves so my only choice is to bag them. It's a lot of work. But I pulled the boat out of the carport to clean the leaves and noticed the outdrive on the boat was leaking gear lube from a weep hole at the bottom of the drive. I figured it was probably a lower shift shaft seal. A pretty quick fix so I pulled the entire drive and found lube oil everywhere inside the bellows plus a lot of water in the lube oil when I drained it. Took the drive to the shop for a pressure test and discovered it was pretty much junk. I really am not too surprised as the rest of the boat had been pretty neglected. This is/was an SEI drive and they are OK if maintained....this one was not.

So looking at options, and tired of putting money into the boat, I started shopping.... New Merc....$2995 + shipping. New SEI....$1795 + shipping. Rebuilt Merc....around $1995. Rebuilding my old one, that I really didn't want to do....about $1000. I started shopping eBay and found a fully rebuilt Merc Alpha I drive for $799 plus $100 shipping....with a warranty! Apparently, Bill's outboard and Marine in Hingham, MA continuously rebuilds Merc drives and sells locally and on eBay. They are an authorized Merc Service Center and have been in business for 45 years. I talked to them and asked why the low price and they stated they've been rebuilding and looked around the shop and realized they had way too many drives laying around so they started selling them for what they had in them. Their normal price is $1995. So I bought one and it should be here this week. I hope to be on the water in a week or so depending on the weather.

Also kind of sad that I have been away. I hope to contribute a bit more in the future.
Shawn

.
Hey thanks for the update Shawn. Sorry to hear about the leaking but sounds like you got a good plan going forward for a killer price. Please take a pic once installed (or during the labor process)

Thanks for the resource too. Great to know about properly rebuilt drives with a warranty no less.

.