Hello all,
Newbie here that is anxious to test the water with my new toy. According to the previous owner he has taken very good care of the engine, drive, hull and electrical/mechanical systems in general. The boat shows very well and a test start in his driveway confirmed that it would run.
After bringing it home and polishing her up, I turned her on for the first time.
I had a bit of trouble getting it to stay running (I think I flooded it) and when I finally got her started and warmed up to about 150ish on the gauge (running at 1100 rpm) I dropped it back to idle and she ran a littler rough 750 rpm. iT WOULD SMOOTH OUT AROUND 800-900 rpm. That seemed a little high for idle compared to published specs.
My concern arose after shutting her down. The lower end around the intake vents was covered with a blue-green lube and the next day (I lifted the drive to trailer position that night) there was a puddle of the same lube on the ground. it may have ran to the lowest point on the stern drive and collected there, then dripped, forming the puddle. But I do not know where to begin looking for the source.
All the fluid levels were fine (oil, Trim, stern drive) and they still look unaffected from the drippage. The viscosity of the fluid was higher than the oil but lower than grease. All sight glasses are clear indicating good fluids.
My thought was to run it again for a short period and inspect closely before too much (if any) would come out again? Good or Bad idea? I did notice a large oil type slick in the water (I did not use the flush ears, the previous owner had made a container that the whole stern drive would sit in while running). That may be normal but it seemed in excess of what should be going into the lake water.
Questions for the experts>>>
1) The boat trim mechanisms had been looked at prior to me buying/bringing it home. The concern I had was that the trailer position worked fine, but the trim buttons were suspect and I thought that the limit switches (upper) was bad. So I had the owner take it to the shop for a looksee. They came back with some labor charges for the inspection but claimed all electrical/electronics checked out ok. If they had needed to add new fluits or new lube, would there be anything like what I had described as a result of adding too much? and then once it had blown out all would be fine?
2) On the fron to the stern drive (Alpha 1 unit) there is a mechanical connection that was not reconnected. It is a strange looking connector on the end of a clear tube, about 1/4" diameter tubing. It does not look like fluid passes through it but it was not connected when I was trying to find the source of the leak. Any thoughts on what that is and should I reconnect it?
3)Before I take her out for its "Shake Down Cruise" what else should I be looking at 1) for a boat this old and 2) for this particular year/model?
I am a motorcyclist with 3 to maintain and this little 3.0 litre 4 cylinder looks like childs play. But I am still learning the ins and outs of the boating lingo and my names for things might be confusing (or probably in error), but f you can muddle through it all and come back to me with some ideas I would greatly appreciate it. She is in dry-dock until the problem is resolved and the sooner the solution the quicker I can try out my sea legs!!!
Thanks all and I look forward to getting so good at this that I can help out the newbies to come after me!!
Regards,
Jeff T.
Maryland
Newbie here that is anxious to test the water with my new toy. According to the previous owner he has taken very good care of the engine, drive, hull and electrical/mechanical systems in general. The boat shows very well and a test start in his driveway confirmed that it would run.
After bringing it home and polishing her up, I turned her on for the first time.
I had a bit of trouble getting it to stay running (I think I flooded it) and when I finally got her started and warmed up to about 150ish on the gauge (running at 1100 rpm) I dropped it back to idle and she ran a littler rough 750 rpm. iT WOULD SMOOTH OUT AROUND 800-900 rpm. That seemed a little high for idle compared to published specs.
My concern arose after shutting her down. The lower end around the intake vents was covered with a blue-green lube and the next day (I lifted the drive to trailer position that night) there was a puddle of the same lube on the ground. it may have ran to the lowest point on the stern drive and collected there, then dripped, forming the puddle. But I do not know where to begin looking for the source.
All the fluid levels were fine (oil, Trim, stern drive) and they still look unaffected from the drippage. The viscosity of the fluid was higher than the oil but lower than grease. All sight glasses are clear indicating good fluids.
My thought was to run it again for a short period and inspect closely before too much (if any) would come out again? Good or Bad idea? I did notice a large oil type slick in the water (I did not use the flush ears, the previous owner had made a container that the whole stern drive would sit in while running). That may be normal but it seemed in excess of what should be going into the lake water.
Questions for the experts>>>
1) The boat trim mechanisms had been looked at prior to me buying/bringing it home. The concern I had was that the trailer position worked fine, but the trim buttons were suspect and I thought that the limit switches (upper) was bad. So I had the owner take it to the shop for a looksee. They came back with some labor charges for the inspection but claimed all electrical/electronics checked out ok. If they had needed to add new fluits or new lube, would there be anything like what I had described as a result of adding too much? and then once it had blown out all would be fine?
2) On the fron to the stern drive (Alpha 1 unit) there is a mechanical connection that was not reconnected. It is a strange looking connector on the end of a clear tube, about 1/4" diameter tubing. It does not look like fluid passes through it but it was not connected when I was trying to find the source of the leak. Any thoughts on what that is and should I reconnect it?
3)Before I take her out for its "Shake Down Cruise" what else should I be looking at 1) for a boat this old and 2) for this particular year/model?
I am a motorcyclist with 3 to maintain and this little 3.0 litre 4 cylinder looks like childs play. But I am still learning the ins and outs of the boating lingo and my names for things might be confusing (or probably in error), but f you can muddle through it all and come back to me with some ideas I would greatly appreciate it. She is in dry-dock until the problem is resolved and the sooner the solution the quicker I can try out my sea legs!!!
Thanks all and I look forward to getting so good at this that I can help out the newbies to come after me!!
Regards,
Jeff T.
Maryland
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