Bought my first ski boat - 93 Echelon LX

[Woodski]

@iwam:  Just as a note, the engine in your vessel (or at least the original one) is rated at 265 hp, when the 1996 Vortec heads came out, the rating went to 310 hp simply due to improved airflow in the cylinder heads.  You should be able to order a long block with either set of heads that will be a simple plug and play setup.  You might check with the vendor to see what you are getting.  The extra grunt is really nice to have, but either way being your first ski boat you did pick an excellent option as the SV23 hull is one of the very best.  What are the main activities you have planned behind the boat?

While you have the engine out, you might consider swapping out the shaft seal, with nothing in the way a dripless one would be an easy install at that point, check the OJ props website for details.  Also, if not equipped or it was changed, when the oil pan is out of the bilge, make sure it has an oil drain tube on it and if not, install one.

[iwam]

The current shaft seal has a water line feeding into it, does that mean it is dripless? 

 

I found the oil drain tube last week!  That went from the worlds most difficult job, to the easiest

[Woodski]

@iwam:  Yes, perhaps a few other nice mods done to the boat over time.  Enjoy the engine swap process.

[iwam]

Update:  Trailer has been lowered to normal height, and hoist has been built.  4x4 sides with a 4x6 on top over a 9' span.  I may add larger angle members to lessen the burden on the top beam

[Michigan boarder]

Obviously you are already there, but a standard cherry picker works too, in case that starts to seem unsturdy.

[iwam]

didn't know it was possible to use a regular hoist, oh well

[iwam]

Engine came out today, its going to take a while now to clean the bilge out and rewire a few items.  Does the blower switch only work if Computron is working?  My computron does not work and I can't get any voltage from the wires that went to the blower.

 

[coldwater-echelon]

I'm sure others will weigh in too, but my computron does not work but my blower switch as well as the automatic blower function work just fine. 

[martinarcher]

Looks like you're making good progress!  Nice work!

Yep - your blower is not dependent on the Computron.  It should work regardless.  Something you want to have for sure before taking her out for the first test drive.  

[iwam]

I put all my disassembly photos into a timelapse.  Its mostly for my reference during assembly, but I thought it was interesting enough to post here.  Unfortunately the pylon kept on swiveling and turning the camera

 

[Michigan boarder]

Good idea!  I've got a pic of every angle of my engine before disassembly, lots of close ups too if you need any help getting it back together.

[iwam]

Cool thanks, I'll let you know if I run in to trouble.  Engine arrives today, will be installing it tomorrow hopefully.

Where should the water lines for the transom shower tap into?  On this boat both lines were T'd into the lines heading to the exhaust manifolds, which seems like both would be hot sources, vs one hot one cold?

[Michigan boarder]

1 hour ago, iwam said:

Cool thanks, I'll let you know if I run in to trouble.  Engine arrives today, will be installing it tomorrow hopefully.

Where should the water lines for the transom shower tap into?  On this boat both lines were T'd into the lines heading to the exhaust manifolds, which seems like both would be hot sources, vs one hot one cold?

Ha!  Well you stumped me, I don't have a shower, never even seen one plumbed in actually.  Sorry!

[Woodski]

@iwam:  hot water line can be taken from one side of the block drain plug & cold water can be tapped off output of raw water pump, after the water strainer if you have one.

[iwam]

I checked the photos, it looks like the hot water was taken from the hose going to the driver side manifold, cold water was taken from the top of the circulator pump.  Any thought?

 

dripless shaft seal is receiving "hot" water headed to a manifold, I think that's going to need to change

 

Also, bilge is cleaned and ready for the new motor, and the new motor just arrived as well

Edited June 7, 2016 by iwam

[Michigan boarder]

Nice!  By the way, that back seat should have carpeting wrapping the front stringer on it.  Also, the whole bottom section pulls out and can be set on top of the armrests for a swim platform.

On your driver's seat, I would fix that vinyl pucker that is on the side closer to the throttle.  That is going to wear weird, will be your first weak link with the interior.

Also - check you engine mounts and make sure they are snug.  I was surprised to find a couple of mine loose.

Not trying to pick it apart, I think it's a great boat, just making some observations/suggestions.

[Woodski]

@iwam:  Good points by M-B on engine mounts, make sure you do a little reading up on engine alignment so you minimize the install time and get it aligned quickly, coupling to trans coupler specification is .003" angularity maximum.  When aligning make sure you take out any droop in the shaft due to weight of coupler at the attachment end.  Not only is there twist, but also vertical and engine angle to be considered.  Don't assume engine mount pads are exactly the same, although they should be very close.

[iwam]

4 hours ago, Michigan boarder said:

Nice!  By the way, that back seat should have carpeting wrapping the front stringer on it.  Also, the whole bottom section pulls out and can be set on top of the armrests for a swim platform.

On your driver's seat, I would fix that vinyl pucker that is on the side closer to the throttle.  That is going to wear weird, will be your first weak link with the interior.

Also - check you engine mounts and make sure they are snug.  I was surprised to find a couple of mine loose.

Not trying to pick it apart, I think it's a great boat, just making some observations/suggestions.

I saw that but I don't understand how it could function as a swim platform?  The base cushion on mine has no internal frame or rigity whatsoever, maybe that was left out when the interior was redone

Would love to fix the seat, just remove staples and restretch?

Will tighten the motor mounts, thanks for the suggestions

1 hour ago, Woodski said:

@iwam:  Good points by M-B on engine mounts, make sure you do a little reading up on engine alignment so you minimize the install time and get it aligned quickly, coupling to trans coupler specification is .003" angularity maximum.  When aligning make sure you take out any droop in the shaft due to weight of coupler at the attachment end.  Not only is there twist, but also vertical and engine angle to be considered.  Don't assume engine mount pads are exactly the same, although they should be very close.

Alignment and setting up timing are my two biggest question marks for the upcoming install.  Will be reading up and taking both slow.  When you say .003" is that in regards to sticking a feeler gauge between the trans and driveshaft coupler and comparing top vs sides vs bottom etc?

[Woodski]

@iwam:  Correct on the feeler gauge, you can hand snug one nut/bolt and measure 180 degrees across to get clearance & do vertical and horizontal plane with an engine swap.  Their are various threads on aligning shaft, do a search on this site and a basic google search for info.  Make sure you use the lock tabs when finished & like head bolts, I would recheck after a few hours on the water for any settling.  As for timing, I assume ignition timing, the spec is 8 degrees BTC, but the small block tends to like 33-34 degrees total advance @ 4,000 rpm which I found resulted in an 11 degree BTC idle setting.  While stuff is out, good time to change trans fluid, I use Mobil hydraulic fluid, non synthetic ATF is also acceptable but het hydraulic fluid is quieter.  The color of your current fluid will tell you what it is (red or light tan) & don't forget the trans cooler.  Remove with a turkey baster or cheap Harbor Freight hand pump.

Your rear seat might have been modified, in fact if there is any wood in it, it has since an Echelon is completely wood free.  As M-B noted it should also be able to sit up on the arm rests with the frame dropping in between the arm rests and not on them, so the seat is fully resting on the arm rest not the bottom frame and also be capable of someone sitting on it or laying on it.  If you go to the resource section and look through some old manuals, there should be a picture of it in the upper position.  I wouldn't panic over that yet, you will probably find the seat base may end up just sitting in the garage, mine is never in the boat but I am primarily a slalom addict.

[Michigan boarder]

Here's how mine is made.  There are two stringers, bolted to a piece of hdpe.  On the side of the hdpe opposite the stringers, there is a piece of aluminum 1/2" thick by 1" wide by 5" long (or something like that).  So there is a bolt going inside the channel of the stringer, thru the hdpe, and thru the aluminum strip.  So there are 4 strips, one on the end of each stringer.  The rigidity of the hdpe and the aluminum strip allow the seat base to sit on top of the armrests.  I had mine sag a couple of years ago, and found one of the bolts was missing - probably when my interior was redone too.  No bolt, no nut, all of it gone.  So before I reassembled it I beefed up the aluminum to like 4"x10" strips.  It is rock solid now, even a big guy can sit on the back seat.  I do use the back seat a lot, this boat is our cruiser as well as out tractor.  And when we surf, I have the seat up on sun deck mode and put a ballast bag underneath it.  Then a rope tender will sit on the surf corner to add weight and grab the rope.  And take pics, etc.

 

[iwam]

Thanks for the pics, my seat definitely does not have any stringers

 

We got the engine in the boat yesterday, ran in to a few snags as usual.  For one, the engine supplier advertised the motor as "Accepts Mechanical Fuel Pump", but the block was not drilled for one.  They they actually sent an electronic fuel pump in the crate, no wiring, and some poor instructions.

Secondly, with the engine dropped back in, the trans and driveshaft couplers were off center laterally by about 5mm.  I played around a bit, and found that the driveshaft end has a bit of play.  Could the cutlass bearing be the culprit?

Thanks

Edited June 9, 2016 by iwam

[Woodski]

@iwam:  Probably not, usually in my experience, it is the last thing (I) did, so in this case it would be the engine is over that amount.  You will note the mounts allow for side to side movement so you can easily adjust to get in perfect alignment.  From the picture it appears the twist is spot on.  There are two types of cutlass bearings, the black rubber version and the white vesconite version.  If the cutlass bearing was the root cause, there would be a lot of play in the shaft.

[Michigan boarder]

22 hours ago, iwam said:

 

Would love to fix the seat, just remove staples and restretch?

 

Yes, should be pretty simple, especially now since the material has been stretched a bit already.  When I pulled my back seat apart to fix the sagging issue I bought an electric staple gun to reinstall the vinyl, but I still had to pound the staples in the last 20%.  I would buy an air stapler, that is what I will do if I need to pull anything else apart.

[iwam]

On June 9, 2016 at 10:32 AM, Woodski said:

@iwam:  Probably not, usually in my experience, it is the last thing (I) did, so in this case it would be the engine is over that amount.  You will note the mounts allow for side to side movement so you can easily adjust to get in perfect alignment.  From the picture it appears the twist is spot on.  There are two types of cutlass bearings, the black rubber version and the white vesconite version.  If the cutlass bearing was the root cause, there would be a lot of play in the shaft.

It's got a fair bit of play, I'm not sure what's normal though.  If you look at the picture, I am able to pull the silver driveshaft coupler over to match up with the black trans coupler.  I may just slide the engine over and run it as is and replace the strut and bearing if there ends up being an issue

On June 9, 2016 at 10:46 AM, Michigan boarder said:

Yes, should be pretty simple, especially now since the material has been stretched a bit already.  When I pulled my back seat apart to fix the sagging issue I bought an electric staple gun to reinstall the vinyl, but I still had to pound the staples in the last 20%.  I would buy an air stapler, that is what I will do if I need to pull anything else apart.

Would be sweet to get that wrinkle out, I think I'll attack that once I get the boat running... Priorities, lol

Any idea where this ground wire should  attach to?  On top of the gas tank 

Edited June 10, 2016 by iwam

[iwam]

Assembly is coming along.  My brother in law and I spent a few hours Monday and finally got the boat aligned, man having the engine hoist is key!  For every change, we'd take some weight off the mounts with the hoist, and then lower it back down.  I think the driveshaft strut may be slightly tweaked, but not enough to warrant replacing it just yet.  We are going to get it running first and see how it goes.

The new engine is in, it just needs water lines, the distributor installed, the electronic fuel pump wired up, and some much needed cable management.  I REALLY wish my engine supplier hadn't falsely advertised that the motor accepts the mechanical fuel pump, but that's another story.  You can see the new oil pressure sensor, it turns the fuel pump on and off depending on whether there is oil pressure.  It also clicks on when the starter relay is powered up.

Lastly, the shower is wired up.  It is switched on by the ignition key, and then the showerer hits the red switch to turn the pump on.