$75 Seized engine

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My brother grabbed this engine with the outdrive etc. for $75. The seller said the engine was seized up and his wife wanted it out of the yard. We put a breaker bar and socket to the damper pulley and she wasn't moving but we knew the outdrive was good and the engine worth taking a shot at.

We took it home, took out the plugs and did a piston soak. A look down the fill hole showed a nice clean cylinder head. 24 hours later the engine turns over nicely now. One valve was stuck open, backing off the rocker and tapping the spring and the valve now moves freely. At some point we will do a compression test and get it running.



 
Looks like a GM Iron Duke or similar. But it's been a while since I've seen one, so I reserve the right to be wrong.
 
Originally Posted By: javacontour
Looks like a GM Iron Duke or similar. But it's been a while since I've seen one, so I reserve the right to be wrong.


That's it. Mercruiser 4 cylinder I think its 120-140 HP. I believe its around a 1990 with very little use judging from how clean the valve train was. It probably sat a long time.

We're either going get it running and flip it, or replace a 75 HP Evinrude outboard with it on a Whaler.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: javacontour
Looks like a GM Iron Duke or similar. But it's been a while since I've seen one, so I reserve the right to be wrong.


That's it. Mercruiser 4 cylinder I think its 120-140 HP. I believe its around a 1990 with very little use judging from how clean the valve train was. It probably sat a long time.

We're either going get it running and flip it, or replace a 75 HP Evinrude outboard with it on a Whaler.


On a Whaler?
 
Originally Posted By: ET16
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: javacontour
Looks like a GM Iron Duke or similar. But it's been a while since I've seen one, so I reserve the right to be wrong.


That's it. Mercruiser 4 cylinder I think its 120-140 HP. I believe its around a 1990 with very little use judging from how clean the valve train was. It probably sat a long time.

We're either going get it running and flip it, or replace a 75 HP Evinrude outboard with it on a Whaler.


On a Whaler?


Quote:
A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized ship, designed for whaling, the catching and/or processing of whales. The former includes the whale catcher – a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bow.
 
Originally Posted By: ET16
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: javacontour
Looks like a GM Iron Duke or similar. But it's been a while since I've seen one, so I reserve the right to be wrong.


That's it. Mercruiser 4 cylinder I think its 120-140 HP. I believe its around a 1990 with very little use judging from how clean the valve train was. It probably sat a long time.

We're either going get it running and flip it, or replace a 75 HP Evinrude outboard with it on a Whaler.


On a Whaler?


I should have used the term 'in' a whaler. My brother has it all worked out. He did it with a hull similar to a Whaler many years ago and it worked out quite well.
 
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I had to buy a used Alpha One outdrive once. They're not cheap. You got a great deal.
 
You got a steal for sure! Looks like a 3.0L Mercruiser. Freshly rebuilt it's worth a bunch, especially with good outdrive parts.
 
Those engines had a water cooled voltage regulator or something like that. It has always sounded like a bad idea to me.

But a good deal for $75. You may have to split it up to sell it. I think one needs to price used Mercruiser outdrive less than what SEI sells theirs for new.
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
Those engines had a water cooled voltage regulator or something like that. It has always sounded like a bad idea to me.

But a good deal for $75. You may have to split it up to sell it. I think one needs to price used Mercruiser outdrive less than what SEI sells theirs for new.


I'm not sure about the water cooled voltage regulator yet, I should know more in a week or so. We just got the big boat in the water, this thing is sidelined for now.

All my brother was after was the outdrive. The guy was selling it motor and all. The picture doesn't do this motor any justice, it is clean with very little time on it. I have a feeling this thing is going to run and run well with very little work and money put in it.
 
Any numbers on this thing to see kits stolen property...?? Get it running... they sold thousands of these things in boats back then... people gotta want running replacement s ... great story on the hull truth about guy restoring old glastron he got for 700$
Had the same engine but very rusted up... he got it running!!
 
It's not stolen, it was a local boat with proper title/documentation.

The motor was/is very popular. I really believe it will run quite well with very little work. I it was a case of a nagging wife wanting it out. We've run into this a few times over the years and scored some good deals as a result.
 
The infamous 3.0! My son has one in his Mariah. Rated at 140 hp, mostly about low end grunt.

Super tough, old school engine. Easy to fix, very simple. I'd be willing to agree you may have got a great deal there...
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
The infamous 3.0! My son has one in his Mariah. Rated at 140 hp, mostly about low end grunt.

Super tough, old school engine. Easy to fix, very simple. I'd be willing to agree you may have got a great deal there...


140 HP we were thinking 120-140HP. Either way it should beat the 75 HP Evinrude if we put it in the Whaler.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
The infamous 3.0! My son has one in his Mariah. Rated at 140 hp, mostly about low end grunt.

Super tough, old school engine. Easy to fix, very simple. I'd be willing to agree you may have got a great deal there...


140 HP we were thinking 120-140HP. Either way it should beat the 75 HP Evinrude if we put it in the Whaler.


His hauls all of us around easily and all we pull is a tube so the fun never stops. I loved that his 3.0 has a Rochester 2 barrel just like my old Chevy!
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
Those engines had a water cooled voltage regulator or something like that. It has always sounded like a bad idea to me.

You're thinking of the "470" engine, a 3.7 liter with the aluminum Mercruiser block and iron Ford 460 head. Probably the least desirable boat engine out there, but not nearly as bad as some would make it out to be. Had one for 10+ years, it was a torque monster and did quite well when properly maintained. But that water cooled voltage regulator was a turd. Permanent magnets inside the crank damper surrounded a coil that cranked out amps whether you wanted them or not, and the water cooled regulator burned off what the battery didn't want. Since the water pump impeller ran off the end of the camshaft, this made for a beltless engine (if no power steering was used). Most people fabricated brackets, bolted on a 1-wire alternator, and tossed the regulator in the garbage.

$75 for a 3.0 that may have some life in it is a good find.
 
Whoa! I just saw this. That is one smokin hot deal. It looks like a mid 1990's 3.0LX. Without getting a good view of the carb, it almost looks like the carb is a different year (older) than the engine. I used to work on those 3.0's all the time. I still do from time to time. If you tune it up sometime down the road, just make sure you shunt the ignition. If you time it without shunting, You will blow a head gasket in short order due to over advancing. Other than that, these are bombproof engines. Congrats demarpaint. I'm jealous.
thumbsup2.gif
 
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