Mercruiser 5.0 inboard

[timboli]

A friend of mine has one of these gas guzzlers fitted to his hardboat,its the carburated version with a single alternator belt and when I helped him collect it after he bought it,it conked out off hurst.
A quick deployment of anchor and a call to seastart sorted that,and after a new coil,the boat completed its journey to Portsmouth harbour without further problems.
Unfortunately,he has had his faith in the engine compromised and when he went down to take the boat out several days ago,he found the engine seemed "wooley" and was hunting.The engine warmed up to the correct temperature on the gauge but due to the speed limit in the harbour and the fact that he didnt go past the entrance,never revved under load at more then about 2500rpm.
I suspect that the engine never really warmed up properly(despite the gauge) and just needs a good run to get it running smoothly,does this sound right or is it something he should be worried about.
He is a bit reluctant to take it to far with his wife onboard at the moment.
The engine has just had a full service from a main mercruiser agent and the engine is a year 2000 model.

[Simon666]

My old boat had a 3L mercruiser. Nice when it ran ok, but allways a battle at the begining of each season to make it run sweet!
Here goes....
1. Had the gearbox rebuilt after drive shaft gators failed wrecking the gimbal bearing. (£1000)
2. Then a carb rebuild.
3. Then new coil and conversion from dodgy old points to electronic ignition. 4. New starter motor.
5. New alternator after it stripped new drive belts in a weekend.
6. Tilt/Trim pump failed requiring new seal kit.
7. Conked out in the middle of the shipping channel at about midnight after the Cowes week fireworks!!! (water in fuel)
8. Gear shift cable failure
9. Fuel pump failure (converted to electric)

Endless!
Sold!
Got a nice new rib with a outboard now!

[Searider]

Originally Posted by timboli

The engine has just had a full service from a main mercruiser agent and the engine is a year 2000 model.

I suggest he gets in contact with the Agents and has them sea trial the boat. This is not normally done on a service and is the only way to determine if the engine is running properly.

Edit: - You could also acompany him in your RIB as a safety boat to give him some confidence (without wife in attendance of course!) - this would save the expense of an engineer if all is well.

Regards


Duncan

[timboli]

Thanks for the replies,we had a sea trial with the service agent before he accepted it and it was running well,in fact it ran well right up to the point it conked out,he is pretty sure the coil hasnt gone again because the engine is running OK and the old one had sparks running up the outside on cranking and there is no evidence of that now.
He has already said he will carry a spare coil and change the HT leads.
He has now heard from elsewhere(YBW.COM)that these engines are not that smooth until they reach 2000 rpm and the hunting he experienced was below 2000 rpm.
I have indeed offered to do a safety boat job for him,but am not sure how well my little rib will tow 2 tons of searay 21,should the need arise.