Mercruiser 4.3 oil leak question

[AAJagerX]

"Flyin' Low"

Possibly with a pic of Snoopy on his doghouse plane...  Hmmm...  We may be on to something here...

[eagl]

Possibly with a pic of Snoopy on his doghouse plane...  Hmmm...  We may be on to something here...

Snoopy better be kicking up a roostertail like that painting of the B-1 flying low over the lake

[AAJagerX]

Snoopy better be kicking up a roostertail like that painting of the B-1 flying low over the lake

LMAO!!!  That's EXACTLY what I was thinking! 

[AAJagerX]

I was thinking about something similar to this.  I'll let a graphics expert figure out the details, as I'm not very good with the artsy stuff.

[68ZooM]

AAJagerX  nice boat good luck on getting her all back in tip top shape, boats are only money pits if you buy lower end boats or ones that you don't keep up, i have a 1992 MasterCraft Prostar mid engine 325Hp 351 Ford in a 1,900lb Boat i keep it in flawless condition and always take care of it, the boats 20 years old and still has a mirror reflection in the gelcoat, AAJager i suggest doing a wetsand of your hull with 200 grit at first to remove the oxidation and small scratches then finish with at least 600 to 1000 grit, then use some buffing compound followed by a few good coats of wax to seal the shine in, MasterCrafts gelcoat colors go the thickness of the hull, i don't know if your manufacture does so be careful when wetsanding as to not wetsand through the color, Here's some pics of my Girl

[homersipes]

man that wetsanding sucks, I have about 1/4 of my boat sanded with 220 and have countless hours.  Was just reading this morning on a boat forum that they dont agree with wet sanding they rather dry sanding with a da.  I think I will stick to my wet sanding though.  BTW thats a sharp looking boat.  I have redone all trim inside with pine, couldnt afford oak but I did seal everything on the pieces including the screw holes, the wifey is going to redo all the seats also eventually but for now I am just trying to get it on the water and reliable.  You are correct low end boats are expensive to get seaworthy, as mine didnt even have the right shift cables in it, a lot of the wiring was cobbed and so on.

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

Seriously, 320 or 400 is plenty aggressive enough to just remove oxidation. Especially if you do not know for sure what has been used before. Coarse, aggressive sandpaper merely makes much bigger deeper scratches that you must sand or buff out later, and removes a lot of paint, leaving you less to work with. Unless it is horribly oxidized, 600 grit wet will remove any oxidation you could run into. Usually you could remove any oxidation with just an aggressive compound like Meguiar's heavy duty, and not even use sand paper.

[homersipes]

oops yeah I meant 320   I have tried everything on this thing, the only thing that works is elbow grease and sandpaper.  I have tried several rubbing compounds and to no avail, all it does is make the grey shinier.

[morfiend]

oops yeah I meant 320   I have tried everything on this thing, the only thing that works is elbow grease and sandpaper.  I have tried several rubbing compounds and to no avail, all it does is make the grey shinier.

  If you use paper be careful not to cut through the gelcoat!  I agree with Virgil,most cases an aggressive compound is all you need but a dual action buffer isnt the tool to use. an angle grinder with a buffing head will cut though almost any oxidation.
  I would reduce the compound with some water to help stop it drying out on you and burning the gelcoat. If you can get a helper,this is best,the helper can apply the compound while you buff. The biggest problem you have is the compound drying out and then it gets to hot and burns.

  2 guys working together can get a 24 footer done in about 3 to 5 hours depending on how bad it is and how good you are. I've done a couple boats but mostly worked on cars,same principle just need to be more careful with cars.

   After you go over the boat with the aggressive compound,use a polishing compound to remove any swirls or marks then finish with a high quality wax,failing to wax will only cause the boat to reoxidate at a faster rate.

  Any good quality auto compound will work,get a 2 quart bottle,you'll use most of it!


  YMMV.

     

[Shuffler]

Claybar works nicely too.


Every boat I've seen had the color as base. The gel coat is like the clearcoat on autos.

If you beach your boat much then you have to reapply gelcoat to the bottom where it runs onto sand.

[AAJagerX]

AAJagerX  nice boat good luck on getting her all back in tip top shape, boats are only money pits if you buy lower end boats or ones that you don't keep up, i have a 1992 MasterCraft Prostar mid engine 325Hp 351 Ford in a 1,900lb Boat i keep it in flawless condition and always take care of it, the boats 20 years old and still has a mirror reflection in the gelcoat, AAJager i suggest doing a wetsand of your hull with 200 grit at first to remove the oxidation and small scratches then finish with at least 600 to 1000 grit, then use some buffing compound followed by a few good coats of wax to seal the shine in, MasterCrafts gelcoat colors go the thickness of the hull, i don't know if your manufacture does so be careful when wetsanding as to not wetsand through the color, Here's some pics of my Girl

(Image removed from quote.)

(Image removed from quote.)

WOW!  That's a beaut!  The oxidation on mine is definately there, but it isn't horrible, so I think that I'm going to start with an aggressive buffing compound.  I'll keep a spray bottle handy to keep water on it as it gets thick.  Obviously a good wax after that. 

[AAJagerX]

Update...  The oil leak issue isn't an issue anymore.  It decided to resolve itself for the time being.  I ran it over memorial day weekend, with very little to no oil loss.  I'm wondering if retightening the oil filter and blowing out the crankcase vents did the trick. 

She really ran like a champ.  Planes out well, handles well, etc...  I'll take it.

That issue not being such a worry now, I decided to start on the gelcoat. 


Starting with buffing compound and elbow grease.



After about 4 hours of buffing.



After a wash and coat of wax.  (I'll get the lower hull done this weekend)



Now, after much deliberation, the boat name is settled. She's going to be named "Rott'n Rudder", after my Rottweiler "Tira" that I lost to cancer this year. Everyone used to call Tira "Ra" (sounded like Ruh). I took it a step further and called her Rudder (initially in reference to an aircraft rudder) most of her life.  I think it's a great boat name, and a great way to remember Tira.

[Shuffler]

  great name



She's looking good.

[dedonarrival]

Its possible that a plugged PCV could have caused oil to seep out of the front main (internal pressures).  The oil could have seeped out the forward intake seal as well (above the crank).   

Mine never leaked, but I upgraded to a 350 CID in my Four Winns 170 Horizon (had the room for 2 more cylinders).   Now she really flies!     I call mine "waterfront property"..... the best truck accessory I've ever owned!

Enjoy the summer!

[homersipes]

Ordering a starter for mine from psep.biz tonight 69.99 and 7.95 shipping vs the marina 256.78. now its supposed to rain all week. Hopefully its easier to do an oilchange on yours than mine I dont have the suction tube so while starter is out did it. 1 qt drained at a time.  with the starter in I dont see how you would use the drain plug for oil change.  looking good Jager