Bought my first ski boat - 93 Echelon LX

[jbower]

Looking really good. Did you end up going with a vortec head engine or not?

 

[oldjeep]

Looks good.  One question though - the thermostat housing outlets, what is up with the lower one?  Looks like it is packed full of mud?

[95echelon]

That is awesome! My 95 echelon had a shower that lacked a pump. It was direct plumbed to the engine. It was not a good setup at all. Yours should work nice. I went for a night set in 60 degrees the other day in my VLX and it was phenomenal to have coming in.

 

Are you getting super excited to turn that key? Make sure to videotape it for us.

 

I still miss the lines and sportiness of the Echelon a lot! Such a fun boat to drive. See if you can scrounge up a jump seat from somewhere...

Edited June 16, 2016 by 95echelon

[Woodski]

@iwam:  Nice progress, you did the right thing by moving the engine, you don't want a side load on the shaft.  The black ground wire, Michigan Boarder should also know what it is, I am thinking it might be either the ground for the navigation light receptacle just above where you see it or maybe for the shower.  On the tstat housing, there should be an odd stainless rod/spring/white ball contraption that serves as a pressure relief water bypass system to ensure the exhaust manifolds always get water whether the tstat is open or closed.  Diagrams available if you google Mercruiser water circulation diagram.

[footndale]

31 minutes ago, oldjeep said:

Looks good.  One question though - the thermostat housing outlets, what is up with the lower one?  Looks like it is packed full of mud?

Along these lines, check your exhaust manifolds for clear passage too. Mercury's were known to plug up.

[iwam]

1 hour ago, jbower said:

Looking really good. Did you end up going with a vortec head engine or not?

 

Went pre-vortech.  I decided prop and carb tuning might be too much work for my first engine rebuild

1 hour ago, oldjeep said:

Looks good.  One question though - the thermostat housing outlets, what is up with the lower one?  Looks like it is packed full of mud?

I think its rust

54 minutes ago, 95echelon said:

That is awesome! My 95 echelon had a shower that lacked a pump. It was direct plumbed to the engine. It was not a good setup at all. Yours should work nice. I went for a night set in 60 degrees the other day in my VLX and it was phenomenal to have coming in.

 

Are you getting super excited to turn that key? Make sure to videotape it for us.

 

I still miss the lines and sportiness of the Echelon a lot! Such a fun boat to drive. See if you can scrounge up a jump seat from somewhere...

Nice shot!  Looking forward to starting her up for sure

43 minutes ago, Woodski said:

@iwam:  Nice progress, you did the right thing by moving the engine, you don't want a side load on the shaft.  The black ground wire, Michigan Boarder should also know what it is, I am thinking it might be either the ground for the navigation light receptacle just above where you see it or maybe for the shower.  On the tstat housing, there should be an odd stainless rod/spring/white ball contraption that serves as a pressure relief water bypass system to ensure the exhaust manifolds always get water whether the tstat is open or closed.  Diagrams available if you google Mercruiser water circulation diagram.

Thanks for the info, I see the bypass system using a quick google search, definitely don't have that on my boat yet

32 minutes ago, footndale said:

Along these lines, check your exhaust manifolds for clear passage too. Mercury's were known to plug up.

Will do.  The manifolds are aftermarket GLM brand.  Lesser quality apparently, but at least they are newer

[Michigan boarder]

Sorry, I meant to get back with you on that black wire, I'll be on the boat this weekend and will take a peek.

DEFINITELY get that rust and blockage out of the thermostat housing.  The last thing you want is any kind of restriction on your water flow, and subsequent overheating.  Who knows - maybe that was the problem in the first place and cooked the engine?  I would check all passages and hoses all the way thru the system.

Wish I had the shower!

[iwam]

Previous owner said the exhaust manifolds are "new".  These look like a crack in the jackets to me.  What do you guys think?  

 

[Rednucleus]

Don't look very healthy to me, maybe time to go shopping to protect your new motor?

[MadMan]

35 minutes ago, iwam said:

Previous owner said the exhaust manifolds are "new".  These look like a crack in the jackets to me.  What do you guys think?  

 

I'd just fill the water jackets in the manifolds with water and see if the leak.

[iwam]

Decided not to risk it and I'm going to pick up some new manifolds this week.  The previous motor had water in all cylinders, I'm pretty sure the only way to do that is with cracked water jackets 

 

Today I finished the fuel pump and shower pump mount.  It's got 2 stainless straps going around the tank to hold it on.  Tested the wiring and the oil pressure safety switch doesn't seem to be working, no power to the pump when you hit the starter.      Another fail by the engine supplier, as they included it with the motor 

 

Edited June 20, 2016 by iwam

[iwam]

Got her assembled today.  I was waiting on the new oem exhaust manifolds and some fuel fittings.  

heres the wired and plumbed fuel pump and shower pump.

 

Couldnt get her to start unfortunately.  Starter issues!  The starter can't even get one rotation of the crank.  So far I've tried jumping the hot wire directly from the battery, as well as the ground, so it's not a cable issue.  Battery is new.  I yanked the starter and brought it to an auto parts store, and it tested to be good.

The next step I'm taking is to add a shim, in case the starter is too close to the flywheel.  If that doesn't help I'll pick up a new marine starter.  Any suggestions would be great

[Okladadadam]

Really clean setup. I just bought a 93 echelin also. I love it. I do wish I had that shower setup also. 

[Woodski]

@iwam: nice workmanship, looks great & yes those old manifolds look cracked.  Just a quick word of caution for a newbie, if you are thinking slalom skiing is a priority, transom weight is your enemy.  Typically, the slalom crowd will run the fuel tank low (1/4 tank or less), remove rear seat and all stuff back there.  So with that in mind, be thoughtful on where you add components.  As an example, I mounted my shower pump up in the bilge next to the pylon and the water controller there also.

Did you swap flywheels, or use the one from the old engine?  Check all the connections and those at the solenoid box up high by the driver seat at the front of the rhs cylinder head.  Should have a black plastic cover with color key index decal for fluids.

Question:  do you know what the part number on that MSD distributor is?  Looks like my distributor gear is worn and I am considering an alternative distributor, thanks in advance.

Another note:  as your engine cools after running, there is a tendency for it to draw any water collected in the manifolds back towards the cylinders, so those manifold cracks can be lethal to the engine

[iwam]

Good insight, it is where it is at this point but I'll have to watch for the wake difference between a full tank and quarter tank.

Took apart the starter today and it's pretty trashed inside, I'm surprised it worked at all.  It looks like a cheaper version, so I'm not going to bother rebuilding it.  Are Oem starters the best?  Any other brands out there that are trustworthy?

MSD PN 83606

[iwam]

Big day today, I picked up a new starter at lunch and threw it in.  After priming the fuel pump, I hit the starter and she popped off immediately.  Bad video, but you get the point!

 

[iwam]

We had our maiden voyage today, boat ran great, and started every time.  We tried to do timing, idle timing was 10 degrees, but the indicator only goes to 12, so we couldn't find what the high rpm timing is set to.  

Also I took a pic of the surf wave our boat makes, turns out I hadn't put the pin in the right place on the wedge and it was floating 

[Rednucleus]

Congratulations! Ready for a great summer now!!

[Woodski]

@iwam:  great to see you have it up and running, nice work.  Make sure the critical electrical parts (starter, alternator, distributor cap) are marine versions that incorporate spark containment.  You can convert several of the parts yourself if needed.

[iwam]

14 Hours have been put on the new motor so far, the boat was a big hit over the 4th.  We spent most of the weekend wakesurfing using one 400lb fat sac (more in the future), and slalom skiing.  Our lake has a ski course on it, so we gave that a try as well.  Life is good!

Couple more questions:

How many wires should go to the fuel sender?  We have 2 currently, plus a black ground wire that is not connected to anything.  Fuel gauge isn't working

Is cavitation normal @ 1500 rpms?  Goes away after that

Thx

 

 

 

[Woodski]

@iwam:  on the fuel sender, IIRC (2), a ground and sender signal.  If you remove the sender wire, pink IIRC and touch it to ground the fuel gauge should read (F).  You might just not have the gauge or sender ground hooked up.  The other wire may be for the anchor light located right near the sender.  I have noticed that the sender can be tempermental and require some 'caressing' to make sure the signal is going to the gauge.  Cavitation should not be an issue @1500 rpm, what are your symptoms leading to that diagnosis?

Now that you tasted the orange buoys, addiction may not be far away.  You have a great boat for that discipline as the SV23 hull provides an excellent wake.  Keep the fuel low, and stuff away from the transom when skiing, that will help the wake.  Your next purchase to make your boating experience much improved will be a speed control system, so you may as well peruse the Perfect Pass website anytime soon!  Where is the lake in Indiana?

[Michigan boarder]

Cavitation might be the rudder shuddering, due to a worn rudder housing.  How is the steering?  Should be able to steer with one finger (so they say).

I meant to take a look at my gas tank wiring last night, but fixed a smoker grill and got a haircut.  Beach volleyball tonight.  I hope to get to the boat on Friday.  Haven't had the cover off of it in almost 3 weeks.

[mnwakerider]

Just put two and two together. Enjoy the new ballast bags you picked up last night! 

[iwam]

5 hours ago, Woodski said:

@iwam:  on the fuel sender, IIRC (2), a ground and sender signal.  If you remove the sender wire, pink IIRC and touch it to ground the fuel gauge should read (F).  You might just not have the gauge or sender ground hooked up.  The other wire may be for the anchor light located right near the sender.  I have noticed that the sender can be tempermental and require some 'caressing' to make sure the signal is going to the gauge.  Cavitation should not be an issue @1500 rpm, what are your symptoms leading to that diagnosis?

Now that you tasted the orange buoys, addiction may not be far away.  You have a great boat for that discipline as the SV23 hull provides an excellent wake.  Keep the fuel low, and stuff away from the transom when skiing, that will help the wake.  Your next purchase to make your boating experience much improved will be a speed control system, so you may as well peruse the Perfect Pass website anytime soon!  Where is the lake in Indiana?

Thanks, I'll try shorting the sender wire to the ground and see what happens.

The slalom course was interesting... I have tons to learn, as I spent the whole time in the inner bouys.

The gas tank was full as well, we were surprised at the larger wake the boat was putting out

1 hour ago, Michigan boarder said:

Cavitation might be the rudder shuddering, due to a worn rudder housing.  How is the steering?  Should be able to steer with one finger (so they say).

I meant to take a look at my gas tank wiring last night, but fixed a smoker grill and got a haircut.  Beach volleyball tonight.  I hope to get to the boat on Friday.  Haven't had the cover off of it in almost 3 weeks.

Could be the rudder shuddering.  Are you referring to the linkage, or the rudder itself being loose?

17 minutes ago, mnwakerider said:

Just put two and two together. Enjoy the new ballast bags you picked up last night! 

Thanks for the bags!  The guy who you met is my brother in law.  I think we might pick up one more 400 pounder for the bow and see how that goes

[Michigan boarder]

22 minutes ago, iwam said:

Could be the rudder shuddering.  Are you referring to the linkage, or the rudder itself being loose?

I think we might pick up one more 400 pounder for the bow and see how that goes

The rudder itself.  Mine has some play, and with the beefed up engine it binds some.  There is about a 1/8 inch of play side to side, which is too much.  Should be tighter.

Surf weight for me works best like this:

750 bag in rear corner

370 bag in floor ski locker

wedge down

1 person in bow

1 driver

1 person on surf side gunnel

1 person on rear seat with it in sun deck position.  If no rear seat, then sitting on the rear corner.

I have stuff on order from Amazon to make a "suck-gate", that will be a game changer for our little boats.