I had a shoot-thru on my 99 180 prior to my upgrading to a Garmin plotter. I found a spot to the left of the engine that would give ok readings while stopped (or near stopped) in clear or salt water only, but it never worked that great. When I upgraded to the Garmin, I went with the transom...
Haven't had one apart since last year so I cannot remember exactly where the water should and should not come out. I will offer this advise though........the housing is hollow and does allow some "blow by" while under hose pressure. I do remeber mine running water from the side drain hole...
As I posted above, the mounting points for the 4.3 seem to be moulded into the bilge. He has a 180 that is the same era as mine. The 4.3 came in the 182 which is the same hull. My dad has a late 90's 175 and it is a smaller hull than the 180 that I have.
As far as wiring, it should not...
I have often thought the same thing about my 180. I have even gone as far as to compare the mount points etc. with a friends Crownline with the 4.3. When comparing, it looks as though our hulls have the mount points already molded into the fiberglass to accept the mercruiser 4.3 engine mounts...
I have my 440s RAM mounted to the windshield support to the left of the steering wheel above the dash. I didn't want to drill any holes either and there were a few on here that did the same before me. If you search I bet you can find the thread with RAM parts #'s that are needed. I don't...
I still sometimes use the 20p 4 blade for watersports, but have to be super careful with the rpms. I can still get to almost 5k with the 23p......about 43mph on gps. The 20p keeps me around 36-38 mph gps but I have close to 1/3 throttle to go at 4800rpm. These #'s are all with the smart tabs...
I would say it is probably better on fuel but I honestly don't keep track. I had to re-prop though, went from a 20p 4 blade Michigan stainless to a 23p 4 blade Hill Marine stainless. Faster and flatter plane, better while pulling and much faster top speed, especially with the new prop.
The smart tabs do everything as advertised - I would put them on again if I had it to do over.
The reason I went with the stronger struts was based on the experience of a few others who ended up swapping the 60 for the 80. I never tried the 60 myself.
I have them on my 99 and they worked out just fine. I will try and swing by where my boat is stored to snap some pics for you. The tie downs run very close but there is no interference.
I did not contact smart tabs about the placement. Someone else on here has them and posted up some pics...
I had a similar problem with my 3.0. The problem started right after a complete tune-up. I went round and round with the fuel, filters, and separators. I was about to dive into the distributor but swapped the plugs again on a whim (cheaper than a module and coil). Problem solved!
I blew the large fuse at the starter on my 180 and had the same symptoms. Check it again with a meter or test light. If you boat is equipped, it will look like a small box that goes onto one of the studs near the solenoid.
I put smart tabs on my 99 180 this spring and couldn't be happier. They did everything as advertised and are probably my best add-on yet. I did end up with the 60lb. struts vs. the 80lb. struts that their chart recommended.
I am currently running a ss 14.25 x 20p 4 blade (for...
I had a nasty grease stain on the corner of my sun pad this spring. I tried pretty much every spray cleaner imaginable to get it off with no results at all. My mechanic (auto) friend stopped by while in the cleaning process and asked why I wasn't using WD-40 (like it was common knowledge)? He...
What is your current prop?
I went with a 14 1/8 x 20 4 blade last year and it made a huge improvement. I lost a little on top but gained quite a bit on the holeshot.
This year I installed a set of smart tabs and after only a few outings I am hugely impressed. I am going to start playing...
My pulleys have a slight amount of pitting but nothing compared to what I have seen on some of our equipment at work.
I went to change my belt last night after work and found what probably was causing my problem. The hub on the water pump shaft (pressed on at the factory that the pulley...
I've lost two belts in two years on my 3.0. Last time out I did not have a spare with me but caught it right off (no power steering when it goes). I found that if I went 1200 RPMS or so the raw water pump in the outdrive did a fine job of keeping the engine right around 170-175. I only had to...