Raising 175 EFI on the adjustment holes...

[Sam I am]

Folks-

I'm about to undertake my first wrench session on the Pulse. I'm going to raise the motor to the second from the bottom adjustment hole. I'm currently on the top hole and this new adjustment will leave one left before it's maxed out at top factory adjustment holes (Max engine heigth). I have a few questions before I attack my prized Pulse and would appreciate any tips and answers to my questions:

I ordered the eye bolt that attaches to the fly wheel for lifting the motor. Will the motor be balanced when I lift it from that eye or will it want to "topple" once removed from the transom? I'm using a 2000 lbs winch so the weight should not be a problem...the guys at the marina said it probably weigh around 800 lbs.

I'm planning on siliconing the four through bolts...anything special I should worry about there?

I don't think I'll need to unhook the steering...is this ok?

Should I be worried about water temp and pressure if I'm still with in the factory adjustment range? I have one more hole...should I just put it all the way up and be done with it?

My prop is a 3 blade Tempest Plus SS 21P. I'm anticipating that I will rev higher at WOT, gain more speed, allow more hull to get out of the water when trimmed up, and eliminate some nasty chine walk...are my expectations accurate?

What should i torque the through bolts on the transom to?

Should I do this myself or should I just take it to the shop?

Thanks, I know there are a lot of questions there, but maybe I can save myself some pain down the road by tapping into the knowledge pool on this board. Thanks once again.

Sam I am

 

[Rob B]

Folks-

I'm about to undertake my first wrench session on the Pulse. I'm going to raise the motor to the second from the bottom adjustment hole. I'm currently on the top hole and this new adjustment will leave one left before it's maxed out at top factory adjustment holes (Max engine heigth). I have a few questions before I attack my prized Pulse and would appreciate any tips and answers to my questions:

I ordered the eye bolt that attaches to the fly wheel for lifting the motor. Will the motor be balanced when I lift it from that eye or will it want to "topple" once removed from the transom? I'm using a 2000 lbs winch so the weight should not be a problem...the guys at the marina said it probably weigh around 800 lbs.

No worries the motor will hang straight down

I'm planning on siliconing the four through bolts...anything special I should worry about there?

Make sure you have plenty of silicone in the holes. I used 3m 4700.


I don't think I'll need to unhook the steering...is this ok?

No need to unhook the cables. I added a jack plate to mine without unhooking the cables.

Should I be worried about water temp and pressure if I'm still with in the factory adjustment range? I have one more hole...should I just put it all the way up and be done with it?

I would add a water temp and pressure gauge if you don't have one already. You should be ok with the next hole up, not sure about all the way up.

My prop is a 3 blade Tempest Plus SS 21P. I'm anticipating that I will rev higher at WOT, gain more speed, allow more hull to get out of the water when trimmed up, and eliminate some nasty chine walk...are my expectations accurate?

To gain more speed you need a jackplate and try different props. As for the chine walk I don't think you'll ever get rid of it totally, it depends on the hull ,driver, setup etc. I'm sure others will chime in on that one.


What should i torque the through bolts on the transom to?

I know I torque mine pretty tight, but didn't have a torque ratchet to tell.


Should I do this myself or should I just take it to the shop?

You can do it with some help tightening the bolts.

Thanks, I know there are a lot of questions there, but maybe I can save myself some pain down the road by tapping into the knowledge pool on this board. Thanks once again.

Sam I am

Hope this get's you started.

 

[Jimboat]

Sam - raising your motor on it's manual mounts will almost always help to increase your speed. It may even help your chine walk. The suggested jack plate would make engine height adjustments much easier and will alow much more range of adjustment too.

When raising the engine higher on the hull, you should ensure that you've always got sufficient water pressure. the best way to do this is by using a water pressure gage.

Note that there are many contributing factors to the chine walking of vee hulls and vee-pad hulls.

check out the article on "Chine Walking", as it may help solve your problems there, anyway.

/Jimboat

 

[Blizz]

You will have no problems with water pressure even if you go to the bottom hole. We always mounted our motors that high and 25 years later some are still running without ever needing a rebuild. If you raise it anymore than about 2 1/2" then you will have to start watching more.

 

[Sam I am]

CM-

You are the man and thanks to all who rang in. I know the Hyd. Jack Plate is the way to go...I think I'll have that done this winter, but this is quick fix (hopefully) to an unsafe condition. I'll let you know how it works out.

Sam

 

[supergenius74]

800 lbs ha ha, sorry i couldn't resist.
I'm not sure i would go to a marina that thinks that a 175 merc weighs 800 lbs. try 400 lbs. It's reallly not that heavy, at least in my opinion, I have by myselft lifted my old evinrude 140 off the transom of my old mx and that engine weighed 330 lbs.

 

[Sam I am]

yeah, the dry weight is 400 lbs on the motor. So I guess he's a "little" high. I'd love to see you lift it though.

 

[supergenius74]

I can't lift a V6, but I can do a V4. I am a pretty big guy, 6 ft 240, but it takes me an my buddy to do the V6. I did a V6 powerhead only does that count?

 

[Sam I am]

It's all good! I can lift my 3 yr old, a 2 month old, a diaper bag, a duffel, a back pack, AND a pack and play. THAT'S RIGHT BABY!! Who's yer daddy?!

I can't wait until I can quit hauling all that crap around.

 

[Rob B]

It's all good! I can lift my 3 yr old, a 2 month old, a diaper bag, a duffel, a back pack, AND a pack and play. THAT'S RIGHT BABY!! Who's yer daddy?!

I can't wait until I can quit hauling all that crap around.

Sam i've got a 4 yr old and when we go somewhere everything but the kitchen sink goes with us. I feel your pain.:cheers Just going to the river/lake it takes an hour before we even leave.

 

[Mark]

Nothing to lifting a motor off. Your only concern might be prop ventilation. (A jackplate setback moves the motor back into cleaner water where it can get more bite as you move the motor up.)
Try it and then decide if you need to move it up or down one hole. Use silicon to seal the bolts since you are experimenting. Once you get a jackplate (manual is probably fine) seal the holes with 3M 4200. The #1 cause of a rotten transom is poorly sealed bolt holes.

 

[LAAllison]

Silicone

Silicone is NOT a good bolt sealer. I don't know if 4200 is a silicone but if it is don't use it. Silicone cures to a single mass and once any part of it turns loose you've allowed water into your transom. On my Enchanter all the holes in the transom were leaking and after I took the motor off I pulled the silicone off in big chunks, was moisture under the clear silicone. You need a sealant that remains sticky,maybe 5200 or a good urethane. I'm using 5200 now. JMO

Art



If it's slow it must be an OMC.

 

[Mark]

3m 4200 is the removable version of 5200 which is non-removable. Both are polyurathane and are the only way to permanently seal transom bolts. Silicon is fine if you are experimenting with differently holes...it will seal, but may break loose over time. The polyurathane is really hard to get off if you taking things apart again.

 

[Rob B]

Sam after rereading my original post I used 3M 5200 on the transom holes when I added the Jackplate. I mistyped on my original post. My Bad.

 

[PapaMaC]

800 lbs ha ha, sorry i couldn't resist.
I'm not sure i would go to a marina that thinks that a 175 merc weighs 800 lbs. try 400 lbs. It's reallly not that heavy, at least in my opinion, I have by myselft lifted my old evinrude 140 off the transom of my old mx and that engine weighed 330 lbs.

evinrude 140hp 330lbs? must've been the old ones rated at the motor... my 120 johnson weighed 370 and it was the same engine/mid/lower as the 140

 

[PapaMaC]

I had no problem getting my 120 off with a 2ton rafter winch and putting the 150 on with a hydraulic engine lift (other than engine height). I'm going to be lifting my 150 back off to seal the bolts up and put the engine up a little higher before I get her wet. theres existing hooks on the powerhead that work fine with keeping level and I use a 1/2 ton load strap.

 

[Sam I am]

Finally got it done...

...and found out some very interesting things. The biggest thing I found out was that one of the through bolts was stripped and had almost no torque on it. I'm no expert, and while I don't think it was the sole cause of my instability problems I'm pretty sure it wasn't helping.

Anyway, I took the motor from the top adjustment hole to the bottom adjustment hole. I think the motor went straight up about 3 inches. The center of the shaft looks to be about 3 inches below pad now...so that should help a lot.

The motor steers A LOT easier now. The cables don't have such a drastic bend in them coming out of the hole in the splash well...now they go straight and level to the engine. And lastly, there is now about 3 inches of space from the top edge of the transom to the motor.

I did not install a temp or pressure gauge for the H2O...so I hope I don;t turn my motor into a big anchor.

So what do you guys think, how big a difference should I see. The speedo was showing 64 @ 5800 RPM at WOT. I know speedos aren't accurate, but it should at least accurately show the increase in performance in mph. I'm thinking my handling issues will be gone completely.

I'll let you know tomorrow after I drop her in the lake.

Sam I am

 

[hotdaddy27]

I don't know what type of speedo you are running, but considering your boat should theoretically get "higher out of the water" now, a "pick-up" type guage will be even more inaccurate.

JMO.

Good luck.

 

[JW]

...

Anyway, I took the motor from the top adjustment hole to the bottom adjustment hole. I think the motor went straight up about 3 inches. The center of the shaft looks to be about 3 inches below pad now...so that should help a lot.

The motor steers A LOT easier now. The cables don't have such a drastic bend in them coming out of the hole in the splash well...now they go straight and level to the engine. And lastly, there is now about 3 inches of space from the top edge of the transom to the motor.

I did not install a temp or pressure gauge for the H2O...so I hope I don;t turn my motor into a big anchor.

So what do you guys think, how big a difference should I see. The speedo was showing 64 @ 5800 RPM at WOT. I know speedos aren't accurate, but it should at least accurately show the increase in performance in mph. I'm thinking my handling issues will be gone completely.

I'll let you know tomorrow after I drop her in the lake.

Sam I am

Just keep your eye on your pisser as you trim the motor. If you see the pisser starting to waver then trim back down until you get a steady stream. I think you'll find a lot less chine walk. You might gain more speed, but that depends on your prop. If your prop still has good bite now that it's 3" higher, then you'll gain speed. If your prop needed to be buried, and now you lose bite before you get good top end, you may need a different prop. You were at 5800 rpms before, you'll be higher now

 

[JUPITER PULSARE]

Sam I Am, before remounting your motor, I would install at least a manual 6" jack plate. They are very inexpensive ($150-$250) and will improve your handling by moving the motor away from the transom (cleaner water flow) and be able to lift more gear case out of the water (less drag). It should improve your chine walk issues. You can also buy water pickup "Scoops" from Mercury for about $45. to help retain water pressure as you raise the motor. They are very easy to install over the water pickup holes on the side of your lower unit...