Posted: April 23 2009 at 01:42 | IP Logged

Well, it was running the last time I came in after running for a couple of hours, but when I checked the oil, the dip stick showed only white foam, and the bilge was also covered in a white foamy sludge.

I had recently changed the starter and there was a lot of oil on the flywheel, so had suspected a possible bad rear main seal. Nevertheless, as I was looking to have to pull the engine and rebuild, the option of doing a repower vs. rebuilding that old block for $4k +- and then putting all the old parts back on did not sound as appealing as a new engine with fuel injection instead of a carb and no more points or old parts.

Yes, it’s twice the price, but it will then be all new and have more power.

Since Mercruiser does not make the 3.7/170 hp (over rated hp) any more, and the current 3.0/135 hp, is simply not enough power, doing a repower to the 4.3 mpi (220 hp) seems the better or more apealing option for longevity.

Thanks for the reply.