v 6 Mercruiser 2004 Model.

[MEG-A-BITE]

Does anyone here have a boat with a mercruiser stern drive? I don’t know much about this motors. Im looking at a boat it’s a Whittley 630 Sea legend with a V6 Mercruiser Stern Drive 210 hp 4.3 Litre

1-whats the fuel usage like, are they economical? Any stats would be good.
2-performance can you tow a water skier, are the quick out the hole for bar crossings.
3-reliability are they reliable?


This particular motor has 238 hours on it and has not been used much at all over the past year.
Any other information would be good.

Thanks.

[snatchy]

Hi mate

i have one, slightly newer than the one you are looking at but same thing. mine is the 220hp rated 4.3L engine

1) Before i bought the engine i looked at heaps of boat test reports and various bits of info on fuel usage. The 220MPI uses the same amount of fuel as a similar sized four stroke outboard. from what i found 1.25L/Nm was about standard on a 21ft boat at cruise speed. Once fitted and running, that is exactly what i got. Rough weather brings that number up to 1.5 at worst, and maybe 1.6 offshore when you get caught out going on and off throttle and on and off plane - days when the forecast isn't quite correct and it is a bash to get home!! They are real world loaded offshore fuel figures. i am sure there are people who get better in their 21ft boat with a 250hp engine, but maybe not set up to go 40Nm offshore.

2) get a decent propeller and it is great acceleration. The standard 3 blade alloy Black max prop is woeful compared to a decent stainless 4 or 5 blade prop for acceleration. I haven't towed people with mine, but there is no reason for it to be a problem with 4.3 litres.

3) i think they are generally a reliable engine. Regular use, maintenance and fresh fuel will go a long way to keeping any engine reliable. Watch out for crap old fuel in the tank. The Gen 2 alpha leg (assuming that is what it is?) has a great reliability reputation. I had an alternator sieze and the water pressure sensor malfunction (minor issue). both common to newer mercruisers.

at ?? 6+ ?? years old, that motor will want to have the risers and or manifolds replaced soon if not already done. not sure if you are aware, but prices are very high for this (up to $400 each piece plus bits and labour) Fresh water cooled engines should be OK with the manifolds for a lot longer. Factor this in if there isn't any evidence of having them replaced recently.

Caution, rant follows;
Mercruisers get a real bashing because they are the same name of engines that were produced since the 1960's. They are guilty by associaton because 25 year old mercruiser engines are having problems, so a brand new mercruiser engine must also be unreliabe too, right? Same name so it must be the same thing! Who associates brown band Mercury outboards with a new Mercury outboard?.......No one... but that is effectively what happens when people mention mercruiser and start recounting how their old 165 mercruisers (kept in the salt on a mooring) were crap and had to be replaced so never buying a mercruiser again. There are a lot of one eyed (or outright blind) amateur commentators around so be aware of comments you read about mercruiser. In particular note the age of the relevant engine being criticised, how it was maintained and by whom over that long time period. nuff said! //rant over.

good luck and ask if you need more info

[The-easyrider]

Hey Megabite, I have to agree with Snatchy coments, I have the same motor as him in a 650 sea legend and use about 30 to 32 liters per hour running at 42 to 45 kph wit three to four up running out to hutchies and beyond. Have not had any big issues ,did have a bit of corrosion under the dizzy that caused a few head aches untill it was detected. We have towed the kids around on tubes and knee boards with plenty to spare so it would pull a skier no sweat. I run a mixture of props I like the four blade for grip in rough water and a little extra stern lift but my 3 blade ss fury gives me a better top end and slightly better economy and the old black max is good if you are planing to go into snagy areas as it wont matter when you bend it.
PS oh and great tourque and quick off the mark when needed while crossing the bar

[sleepygreg]

good choice of boat/motor combination wayne. As above re stats on fuel usage. Have a couple of mates down south with similar rigs....and one with the same hull with an outboard....the ride in the mercruiser versions is a lot smoother than the outboard. The 140 and 210 mercruisers are very reliable donks when looked after (the 140's even when they arent looked after :S).

Cheers
Greg

[PADDLES]

yep, we've got an MPI one in a whittley 660 cruiser with a hi-five prop. chews around 25-30l/hr for a cruise of 20-22kn. great motor in my opinion, it's a pretty old design that's basically 6 cylinders of a 350 ci v8 so is fairly strong and reliable. our throttle bypass valve (for idle control, so you can still get it home with some revs) died which apparently is reasonably common but other than that it just goes. it doesn't seem to care about old fuel and just starts and runs every time. further to the comments above, the new dry joint style mercruisers are a step ahead of the older style motors, they've got good corrosion resistance and generally you can see when your risers need replacing because they will visibly leak, unlike the older ones where it just leaked straight into your motor.

[terryc]

I also have 2003 whittley cruiser 660 with the mercruiser 4.3 (220hp) all the power needed fuel usage as stated, the manifolds n risers seem to have max life of 4 yrs with salt water usage, I spent $2000 and self installed stainless manifolds riser combo, plus I went for higher riser height to further protect against water reversion, expecting to get longer than the 4 yrs with the cast iron. I have only had outboards before and had great trepidation about getting into the sterndrive, however I continue to be impressed by economy smoothness power and low noise plus I think inboard gives better feel to boat. Negatives are that you lose some deck space for motor cover, and maintenance costs will probably be higher than outboard, i believe reliability is determined by individual maintenance n regular flushing after use whether in board or outboard. My rig is quick out of the hole for crossing southport bar and plenty of power when coming back over bar against run out tide, hope this helps

[The-easyrider]

Bad luck with the risers Terry mine are at 6 years but I am expecting the job will need doing befor long and am planing to go the stainless road so I may be posting questions when the time comes. On the sea legend you dont lose any deck space with the inboard as the out board has a stowage area under the sink in the same spot as the inboard. Also I insulated the engine covers as the sea legend is not insulated like the cruisers, what a difrance that made. You can carry out a conversation at cruise speeds with out having to yell.

[kizza1]

hey megabite
what sort of money are you looking to spend on the sea legend?

[MEG-A-BITE]

Bad luck with the risers Terry mine are at 6 years but I am expecting the job will need doing befor long and am planing to go the stainless road so I may be posting questions when the time comes. On the sea legend you dont lose any deck space with the inboard as the out board has a stowage area under the sink in the same spot as the inboard. Also I insulated the engine covers as the sea legend is not insulated like the cruisers, what a difrance that made. You can carry out a conversation at cruise speeds with out having to yell.

Hi there what did you do to insulate the engine covers as the noise could be rather loud?
cheers

[PADDLES]

our risers are at the 7 year mark now, we inspected last year and figured we'd get another year so this year we'll chuck some new ones on. they're only corroded where the gasket turns up to catch the condensation and the manifolds are clean as and corrosion free. i'm going to stick with mercruiser genuine as i'm not yet convinced that the sheet stainless ones are the go. the cast iron dry joint type last up pretty good and will only come down in price in the future. our boat sits on a trailer too so at least it's not sitting in salt water.

[MEG-A-BITE]

Hi Paddles,

Can you tell me how dose one check this,to see if you need the risers and manifold parts replaced. Is is easy to check this.

I need to check this before I buy this boat.Dont want a 2k bill 3months down the line.

thanks.

[PADDLES]

you'll have to unbolt them and lift them off and inspect. it'll cost you a couple of gaskets, theyr'e not cheap but it'll at least give you a good idea of what it's like in there. i reckon you should put this back on the owner, if he lifts the risers off and they're still good and you then buy the boat then the cost should come off the price of the boat, if you choose to walk away then you should at least pay for the new gaskets for him to put it all back together or alternatively negotiate a price to get the work done. new dry joint risers for this motor are about $450 each and the gaskets will be about $100 or so for 2. i just got northside marine to inspect ours when i last got it serviced but it's a relatively straightforward job if you've got the time and some sockets.

[The-easyrider]

Hi there what did you do to insulate the engine covers as the noise could be rather loud?
cheers

I used a self adhesive foam that is like able flex but about 25mm thick an comes in sheets from whitworths or bias boating. I think it was about 72 bucks a sheet at 1400mm x 1000mm. Then it was just a matter of scribing and cutting fitting and tapeing the edges and joins will post some pics if you want.
http://www.biasboating.com.au/p-1178...1m-x-25mm.aspx
I also just pulled the kill tank out on the weekend and insulated the tub so that it keeps the ice slurry a bit longer as I figure the heat from the motor was transfering to the kill tank

[PADDLES]

the cruisers have that foam the easyrider has used and then cover it all in an adhesive foil that is very similar to sarking for buildings. obviously things do get pretty warm in the engine box.

[The-easyrider]

That insulation comes with one side self adhesive and one side foil faced so all you need is to seal the joins and edges with a reflective foil tape it is the same stuff they use on the cruisers. I checked out the cruisers befor I bought the gear to do the job and was also mindfull of causing overheating problems by insulating the covers, but after checking the cruisers and drawing on experience from my own ski boat days went ahead and after keeping a close eye on engine temps for a while have found no adverce efects over a few years.