Bought my first boat - '94 Echelon LX

[blk93jeepzj]

16 hours ago, nosnarb said:

yeah I ran a new heavy gauge ground to the engine block and ended it in the storage compartment behind the spotter with a distribution block.  I'm gradually moving all of the wiring over to the positive and negative blocks.  I might add a sub or some tower speakers in the future so I was trying to make that job a little easier later.  I dunno about the barefooting...looks a bit painful.  New 4" blower and vent are in....existing blower evidently was 3" but oh well, I made the 4" work without much issue.  Bilge pump is working good.  I don't remember if the hub I used was a grant or not but it is a solid aluminum body with the slot for a tapered shaft so it fits nice and snug with no slop.  Steering wheel is a wood and aluminum grant wheel.

Make sure to have separate distribution blocks or at least ones that have an isolated side to put all of the stereo equipment on.  Don't want to introduce noise into the system and have more work to do later.

[nosnarb]

@blk93jeepzj thanks!  good point!!

[nosnarb]

9 minutes ago, Michigan boarder said:

I found a pic of the other rear seat.  Similar set up, maybe a little nicer.  But also more weight.

When I do mine I might add some stringers at the 3rd points to stiffen it up.  If I use aluminum stock instead of PT 2x hopefully I can keep the weight down.

[Michigan boarder]

Just now, nosnarb said:

When I do mine I might add some stringers at the 3rd points to stiffen it up.  If I use aluminum stock instead of PT 2x hopefully I can keep the weight down.

Good plan.  The sundeck really is a nice feature to have for lounging around if you are parked, and then also for putting ballast bags under it if you are surfing.

[footndale]

Just now, Michigan boarder said:

Good plan.  The sundeck really is a nice feature to have for lounging around if you are parked, and then also for putting ballast bags under it if you are surfing.

Add food if at the sandbar.

 

[HHARRIS]

Nice find! A few little issues up front but no biggie with the right attitude. When you are ready to get into the gauges hit me up. I'll cut out a lot of BS that you will go through! 

HUGH

[nosnarb]

@HHARRIS Thanks!  I really like the larger faria gauges....really cleans up the dash.  As much as I'd like to install a PP setup I don't think I'm going to get to it on this boat.  Maybe the next one.  I will def hit you up when I tear into the dash.

[Woodski]

@nosnarb:  forgot to add, don't forget these boats are negative ground and use reliable 12 volt systems...        (it will be interesting on who picks up on this).

An alternate option for stringers as you note being weight conscious, make a foam core / carbon fiber stringer, super light and stronger than most other materials.  As a side note, I use my boat primarily for slalom skiing, the rear seat has found a home in the garage and pretty much never sees the inside of the boat so for my use, ease of stepping to/from the platform and standing room behind the engine box are high priority items along with absolutely minimizing rear weight.

[nosnarb]

Just now, Woodski said:

@nosnarb:  forgot to add, don't forget these boats are negative ground and use reliable 12 volt systems...        (it will be interesting on who picks up on this).

An alternate option for stringers as you note being weight conscious, make a foam core / carbon fiber stringer, super light and stronger than most other materials.  As a side note, I use my boat primarily for slalom skiing, the rear seat has found a home in the garage and pretty much never sees the inside of the boat so for my use, ease of stepping to/from the platform and standing room behind the engine box are high priority items along with absolutely minimizing rear weight.

lol....as opposed to vintage Lucas "the prince of darkness" and Positive earth wiring

[Woodski]

Yes sir, my TR-4 came standard with intermittent windshield wipers and overdrive unit, thanks to the consumers of warm beer...

[nosnarb]

On 6/23/2017 at 12:12 PM, Woodski said:

Yes sir, my TR-4 came standard with intermittent windshield wipers and overdrive unit, thanks to the consumers of warm beer...

Nice!  I've got a '65 Austin healey sprite that I've been messing with for around 10 years.  Everything was going well until I decided to build a race car with a Mazda 12a rotary.

http://www.motortopia.com/cars/1965-austin-healey-sprite-mk-iii-11483/car-pictures/sprite-progress-13257

Edited April 22, 2018 by nosnarb

[Okladadadam]

Great post. I'm in Oklahoma too . my echelon looks alot like yours..  tmc is a great place . Lots of great info and help. 

[Michigan boarder]

On 6/23/2017 at 1:12 PM, Woodski said:

Yes sir, my TR-4 came standard with intermittent windshield wipers and overdrive unit, thanks to the consumers of warm beer...

 

On 6/23/2017 at 2:24 PM, nosnarb said:

Nice!  I've got a '65 Austin healey sprite that I've been messing with for around 10 years.  Everything was going well until I decided to build a race car with a Mazda 12a rotary.

http://www.motortopia.com/cars/1965-austin-healey-sprite-mk-iii-11483/car-pictures/sprite-progress-13257

Funny how like minded people from wherever USA gravitate towards the same things.  I had a TR-7 that fortunately did not need any wiring repairs.  The twin Zenith/Stromberg side draft carbs, however, were a whole 'nother issue.

[jk13]

2 hours ago, Michigan boarder said:

 

Funny how like minded people from wherever USA gravitate towards the same things.  I had a TR-7 that fortunately did not need any wiring repairs.  The twin Zenith/Stromberg side draft carbs, however, were a whole 'nother issue.

Spitfire 1500 here...

[Michigan boarder]

14 minutes ago, jk13 said:

Spitfire 1500 here...

Ha!

[John I.]

Also owned a TR7. What a P.O.S.! I don't know who was more inept, the folks who assembled it at the factory or the local repair shop specializing in British cars. (Which was always packed, btw.)  

[Woodski]

@Michigan boarder:  Those British vehicles are a 'learning experience' and a great training tool.  Training tool because not only do you have to learn how the thing operates, how to fix it but also how to get home (maybe with an empty wallet) when nothing will make the Lucas electrons fire the sparking bolts (as the brits call them). 

And we had those super reliable vehicles before the cell phone was even thought of, holy cow how did we survive in such a primitive world?  Amazing we actually had to get ourselves out of a jam by thinking of a solution rather than calling 'mom' or somebody to come and bail out our stupidity. 

[Michigan boarder]

32 minutes ago, Woodski said:

@Michigan boarder:  Those British vehicles are a 'learning experience' and a great training tool.  Training tool because not only do you have to learn how the thing operates, how to fix it but also how to get home (maybe with an empty wallet) when nothing will make the Lucas electrons fire the sparking bolts (as the brits call them). 

And we had those super reliable vehicles before the cell phone was even thought of, holy cow how did we survive in such a primitive world?  Amazing we actually had to get ourselves out of a jam by thinking of a solution rather than calling 'mom' or somebody to come and bail out our stupidity. 

Crazy expensive, not the car to fix on a tight budget.  I had mine in college, sold my Fiat Spider 124 (that I did a great resto on) to buy it.  Bought the TR7 from a guy that collected British cars.  I can't even remember where I met the guy.  Picking it up with my girlfriend at his airplane hanger full of cool cars, mostly were in "project" mode, he says to me:

"Hey John, have you ever driven an E-type?"

"No.  What's an E-type"

Walks me over to a corner of the hanger.  Pulls off a cover and shows me a little black Jaguar convertible.  Has "his guy" pull it out to the front.

"Lemme know what you can get it up to.  Go easy on second gear, the rest are fine to fly through.  Let her drive it too, it's a blast!"

Take it down the runway and almost buried the speedo, close to 150mph, with the front end getting a little goofy.  Had to hit the brakes hard at the end.  This guy doesn't even know me.  My girlfriend (now my wife) drove it back.

"When you're done with that Triumph this needs to be your next move!"  yeah, ok.

 

Fast forward a couple of months.  The TR7 convertible (my daily driver) never seemed to run right, and was going thru coolant.  This is in 1992...pre-internet.  Ordered a head gasket, and a repair manual, and some other stuff from JCWhitney.  Yank it apart.  Head bolts/studs came off really tough, we need to replace them.  Only place to get them - the Jaguar dealer.  I stroll in there in my finest college 90's grunge (flannel, bandana, baggy pants & Mickey Mouse boots), past the new cars, past the sales guys  and ask for new bolts.  "Yep, got those in stock".  Sweet!  Wow, this is great.  How much?  "That'll be $85".  For like 10 bolts.  I was like "are you kidding me?!?" and he responds "Look around kid, this is a Jaguar dealership.  Wake up".  I wrote a check and took my fistful of bolts home.  And that would be the last little convertible I've owned, but now I have the Jeep.

 

 

 

 

[nosnarb]

2 hours ago, Michigan boarder said:

Fast forward a couple of months.  The TR7 convertible (my daily driver) never seemed to run right, and was going thru coolant.  This is in 1992...pre-internet.  Ordered a head gasket, and a repair manual, and some other stuff from JCWhitney.  Yank it apart.  Head bolts/studs came off really tough, we need to replace them.  Only place to get them - the Jaguar dealer.  I stroll in there in my finest college 90's grunge (flannel, bandana, baggy pants & Mickey Mouse boots), past the new cars, past the sales guys  and ask for new bolts.  "Yep, got those in stock".  Sweet!  Wow, this is great.  How much?  "That'll be $85".  For like 10 bolts.  I was like "are you kidding me?!?" and he responds "Look around kid, this is a Jaguar dealership.  Wake up".  I wrote a check and took my fistful of bolts home.  And that would be the last little convertible I've owned, but now I have the Jeep.

I've certainly benefited from the internet / Moss and Victoria British catalogs with my Sprite.

New transmission on the boat is supposed to be in on Wednesday of this week so hopefully I will get her back towards the end of this week/early next week.

Edited June 26, 2017 by nosnarb

[nosnarb]

Got our Echelon back on Monday this week from Wilson Watersports with a shiny new velvet drive (no rebuild  ) and trans cooler.  Went ahead and had Wilson's replace the impeller while they had it and diagnose my oil leak since they pulled the entire motor to change out the transmission.  Turns out the oil pan gasket was leaking in a couple of spots and also the gasket around the mechanical fuel pump.  Got both of those changed out and changed the oil.  I went ahead and put a new set of spark plugs in when I got it back, replaced the PCV breather tubes and started diagnosing some of my gauge issues.  Neither the fuel or water temp gauges are working.  Put a jumper across the signal wire and the ground on the fuel sender and sure enough it spiked the fuel gauge.  Anyone replaced that sending unit in their Echelon and know what part # it is?

I did the same thing with the water temp sender and got the same result.  That part was easier to track down and I got one ordered with an anticipated delivery for Thursday.  Once I get the 2 sending units replaced then all of the gauges will be functional again except for the speedo's....someone previously cut the hoses going to the pitots.  I tried blowing into the lines (my lungs no compressed air) and couldn't get the needles to move.  Odds are the lines are probably blocked and need to be replaced.  I am thinking about going to a GPS speedo though, maybe a faria Euro series one.

The next two items I need to tackle are the steering (turns right with my pinky but requires some effort to turn left) and the fitting on the throttle cable has snapped.  Ive got it temped in place with some zip ties for right now.  It looks like the throttle cable itself is OK but the plastic adapter is cracked

What Im trying to figure out is what part is that?  it looks like this:  https://www.marineengine.com/newparts/part_details.php?pnum=MER64-892790A01 but I'm not 100% sure.  Any ideas?

Edited April 22, 2018 by nosnarb

[MikeDe]

Nice Echelon! Hopefully we see it cruising around on the local lakes sometime soon. 

 

 

[nosnarb]

Thanks!  Had her out at Lake Murray this last weekend and she ran great.  Had a couple of minor issues, first time out the buzzer went off and oil pressure had dropped to around 20 psi.  Shut the motor off an immediately went looking for an oil leak.  We weren't burning any and there was no oil in the bilge so I restarted the motor.  Pressure came back up and stayed up the rest of the weekend.  At idle it drops to around 10-12 psi and is around 40-50 psi under load.  The second issue we had after that is that the buzzer would go off randomly.  Gauges all read fine, water temp was under 200 degrees, oil pressure was good, oil level and transmission fluid levels were all good so I'm not sure what was causing that.  It resolved itself and didn't go off again.  When I bought the boat the buzzer was disconnected so I wonder if its faulty.

I ordered the part to repair the throttle cable and a few other odds and ends.  Next major jobs are replacing the carpet with the Chinese seadek like material, installing a subwoofer under the helm and a couple of tower speakers.  I still need to replace the motor cover supports and brackets, figure out my stiff steering to the left, and rewire the navigation light and stern/swim deck lights, touch up some fiberglass/gel coat in some places and wetsand/polish the hull. 

My '14 4runner tow vehicle squats quite a bit with the boat and trailer attached so I ordered a pair of the Airlift 60809 1000 series rear air bags to help with that.  I suspect that my lift kit causes the nose to ride a bit high anyway and the trailer just exaggerates it.  We will see how much of an impact the bags make.

Edited April 21, 2018 by nosnarb

[Michigan boarder]

The buzzer will go off for 3 things that I know of:

1. Oil pressure less than 5psi
2. Temperature (I don't know the upper limit)
3. Key on but engine not running

I would start with replacing the oil pressure switch.  It is located just above your fuel filter, and here is a pic.  It will need to thread into a NPT fitting, which is shown below.  The plug with red paint next to it was in my engine after the rebuild to seal up that hole until I installed the pressure switch.

Temperature - there should be two wires going to your thermostat housing, one supplies temp to the guage the other supplies temp to the alarm.  Maybe try cleaning those up so they are making good contact?

You really do want to have that alarm working, it can prevent you thousands in rebuilding an engine due to a simple issue.

[Woodski]

@nosnarb:  Glad you are enjoying your Echy.  From your description, I would check all the electrical grounds, you might have some intermittent ground issues.  As for stiff steering going left, one item to check is the rudder bushings, if they get sloppy, the rudder can bind a bit (I am assuming easy steering when on trailer or out of water and harder when underway steering left).  If stiff out of water, then a steering cable may be the culprit (lots of threads on this site for corrective action from replacing to lubing cable).

[tvano]

consider disconnecting the temp and oil switches for a short test to see if the buzzer is better behaved.

if so, reconnect one of the switches and re-test.

repeat w other switch.