how to marinize an automotive engine?-gctid345343

[Guest]

I have a 1989 17 foot 2.3 liter OMC Ford with a cracked block and want to swap the engine out with a 3.0 liter V-6 Vulcan engine from a 1992 Mercury Sable. Where can i find a marine grade altenator, marine starter and marine distributor that will fit this automotive engine and make it safe to operate on the water and not ignite gas vapors in the bildge?

I am going to try and keep the cooling system with the auto radiator to cool the engine with a grill in the engine cover and a fan to move air through it, but will put a heat exchanger in it if i am not gettng enough cooling. I want have a closed glychol cooling system so i wont have to change out engine components that would otherwise be in contact with saltwater in a raw cooled system.

let me know if i'm overlooking anything else please in swaping these engines thanks.

[Guest]

Welcome to BOC!

This topic has been brought up every now and then. Putting a radiator in the bilge (even with a fan) is not adequate and will eventually heat up the air in it and make your cooling less and less effective the longer you run the engine. Even with a grill, you will not be getting the same volume of incoming air a car gets. You will be recycling hot air and heating it up. Also, the water from the river/lake/ocean is a wonderful source of cool water. Why not take advantage of it?

I have provided three varieties of popcorn for this discussion...



Who would like to be the first to chime in?

[dktool]

I have provided three varieties of popcorn for this discussion...

Who would like to be the first to chime in?

I can't, my doctor told me to lay off the popcorn. Thanks for the offer though !

[2850Bounty]

Astral Blue wrote:


I have provided three varieties of popcorn for this discussion...



Who would like to be the first to chime in?

Not me, Ed! I'm here for the popcorn only on this one. Are you using real butter by chance?

.

[Guest]

2850Bounty wrote:
Not me, Ed! I'm here for the popcorn only on this one. Are you using real butter by chance?

.

Of course, Rick. The butter is very real.



Come on guys, no takers? Maybe more popcorn is in order. I putting out every type of popcorn out there. There's gotta be someone who loves popcorn enough to chime in?

[Guest]

Alright, let me teach you how to properly setup for a popcorn post. Trust me I have been doing this for a while

FRESH BUTTERED POPCORN!!!



All that aside, there are a few that have done this and will chime in. Here is a post on a fella that did it, he was shunned by many but never gave up and got a working system with fuel injection.

As far as a car radiator in a boat? I dont think that will work very well, there is a reason closed cooling systems are setup the way they are without a huge radiator that would be kind of ghetto. I also dont know if boats were made with 3.0L v6 engines, so you will probably run into a nightmare trying to connect the engine to the drive, and if they werent made for boats you wont find any marine starter or distributor so the engine bay would not be spark resistant. You also need marine exhaust, which if that engine is not marinezed your also stuck there..... You cant just run car exhaust in a boat, youll start a fire. It just all sounds like a jumble of bad ideas and backyard mechanics.

Replace the engine you have with a maranized engine that will couple properly, do it right...It will be less work then what your planning there.

http://www.baylinerownersclub.org/forum/showthread.php?21513-V8-S10-Sidekick

[Guest]

Last time we were at the movies the guy at the concession stand asked if we wanted butter on our popcorn. The girlfriend responded "yes, but we'll take that #### you're going to put on there". I almost fell on the floor laughing.

[dktool]

I would be VERY tempted to play if someone offered KETTLE CORN !

http://baylinerownersclub.org/media/...corn.jpg[/img]

[Guest]

Wingman wrote:
Last time we were at the movies the guy at the concession stand asked if we wated butter on our popcorn. The girlfriend responded "yes, but we'll take that #### you're going to put on there". I almost fell on the floor laughing.

Ok...thanks to you and the timing of drinking my coffee, my laptop is drenched.

[2850Bounty]

Wingman wrote:
Last time we were at the movies the guy at the concession stand asked if we wated butter on our popcorn. The girlfriend responded [SIZE]4 wrote:
"yes, but we'll take that #### you're going to put on there".[/SIZE] I almost fell on the floor laughing.

That is a very good analogy for this topic of Marinizing an Auto Engine that is not properly designed for Marine use to begin with. Good one!

[Guest]

I've been craving popcorn lately because I'm not supposed to have it . . .

So here goes. Almost all, if not all gasoline engines used in boats started out as auto engines. do some research and then see if you can find a good runner at a recycle yard. Look on crfaigslist and ebay for the parts you need while at the same time selling the parts from your 2.3 liter ford that you don't need. change out the freeze plugs for bronze ones.

All the externals, including the carb need to be marine approved. If you are into the redneck ghetto look you can probably get by with a car radiator by adding some scoops and larger blowers to cool the air. Sounds like a lot of work for little benefit. Just run the thing raw water cooled and flush well after use.

I based my suggestions on "you are trying to get a running boat for cheap." I can't see any other reason for considering doing what you suggest?

[Guest]

I put a wankel engine in my 23 fter

op

[Chief_Alen]

Look at the mounts for a 3.0 and the 2.3 see any difference?

2.3l mustang II was the motor. But you need a marine mani, riser, alt, carb, starter, gaskets, fuel pump,dist.

[Guest]

I dont think the radiator will work but want to give it a shot and see if i can get enough ventilation, but am prepared to to make myself a homemade heat exchanger thet will cool the coolant with raw water. I am just really against pumping raw water through your engine to cool it, i mean its just a one way trip to corrosion town. Plus i'll avoid replacing gaskets and freeze plugs and other inerds of the motor.

The only reason i considered doing the swap is because my only costs would be in redneck engineering the rig to get it all to work and the labor involved is more fun to me than eating that dam popcorn ha ha. I'm not going to put something on the water that is not reliable or safe, im just trying to get away with as little moey put into it as i can and if things dont seem to work out then i'm just as happy to scrap it all for money.

I know that the current engine block i have, the 89' 2.3 liter omc ford came from the mustang or ranger and was curious if the 92' 3.0 liter v-6 from the mercury sable was also used in some other types of boats. I have seareched online for a day or two with no results so was just seeing if anyone on here knew were to find the marine parts to fit on the motor.

[Guest]

pjaec001 wrote:
I am just really against pumping raw water through your engine to cool it, i mean its just a one way trip to corrosion town.

Bringing raw water into the engine for cooling the engine itself is only half the story. The raw water is used to cool the exhaust prior to discharging it. It also plays an important role in muffling the noise. In most cases, it is not legal to pass hot and dry exhaust through the transom and straight into the water. Even if it was legal, it would be obnoxiously loud, and a hull penetration with proper materials and clearances would need to be fabricated. If you don't have the proper manifolds to cool the exhaust in an engine compartment, you will be violating state and federal codes for marine engine installation. Should you have an insurance claim, you will not be happy with the outcome.

If an alternative cooling system that wasn't using raw water was available, Mercruiser, Volvo, etc. would jump on it and engineer it into their engines. There are ways to deal with corrosion; and raw water running through an engine and cooling system isn't the only source of it.

Also, heed your own words: "im just trying to get away with as little moey put into it as i can" If that's the case, a used, properly marinized engine would be the way to go. Most of the people who have responded to your post know what they're talking about. If you took some time and got to know all of the components of marine engines, the proper adapters for mating the engine to the drive, etc., you will likely not give proceeding with your project a second thought -- unless you intend on spending more money, time, and resources only to have a boat that won't pass a Coast Guard safety inspection.

I'm spending this time to give you the glimpse of some of what is involved and the challenges associated with it. None of us want you to be on the water with an unsafe engine installation. Whether YOU feel it is safe doesn't matter. What you are proposing does not even come close to providing the effect of well established standards for marine engines.