1986 Seville for a New Boater

Been where you are.... Done what you are about to do..... You attitude will get this done when your wallet wants you to give up.

My 2 cents only because my Formula deck looked like your SR deck.

YANK EVERYTHING OUT! STRIP IT TO THE GLASS!! Permission to proceed.

Trust me here. In the long run you will know the boat better when all is done.
 
I do think that will be the plan this winter, wanna run it and see how I like the current layout and seating then can change it up a bit if I want later. I did learn a lot today about the wiring, most of it went in the trash but what was left in I know what it does and also verified the the trim motor works. The trailer button not so much, not sure what it is supposed to do but that function did not work with or without the switch. I hard wired so to speak and still nothing. Also ohm checked the reverse lock out switch and seems to work as well. Got all the carpet out and the starboard side panels off. Will take some pics soon and post up progress.
 
It's alive! The new coil plus a jump start from Subzila and a little fiddling with the throttle and it fired up. Now to replace the impeller for the water pump change the gear oil and hook up the garden hose and let her run so I can adjust the timing set the idle and get her dialed in.

Gonna be a busy weekend I think getting the tank back in place and the floor patch completed so I can move on to wiring and steering and then a little interior work and registration so I can have it in the water before may.
 
Warwgn said:
Thanks, I am having a hard time being at work today, I got all the plans and boat repairs floating around in my head.
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Now there ya go.... Don't go getting all emotional with this thing or the next thing you know you'll be out a half a dozen boat units.
 
Warwgn said:
Thanks, I am having a hard time being at work today, I got all the plans and boat repairs floating around in my head.
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This is me from April - October!!! Boat repair plans, float plans, girls' lake day plans....
 
Good call on the impeller, this one was not in optimal condition.

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Got the timing set now and it stayed nice and cool the whole time. Next problem is the steering, turn the wheel and nothing happens. Has plenty of fluid and everything looks connected so will trouble shoot that this weekend. Time to read up and see what I can find out about it.
 
Warwgn said:
Good call on the impeller, this one was not in optimal condition.

20160316_202414_zpsx4rmqcki.jpg


Got the timing set now and it stayed nice and cool the whole time. Next problem is the steering, turn the wheel and nothing happens. Has plenty of fluid and everything looks connected so will trouble shoot that this weekend. Time to read up and see what I can find out about it.
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If you are turning the steering wheel and nothing is happening you have something wrong with the mechanicals. Merc power steering will still turn the drive even if it is disconnected. You may have a broken cable or even the steering box it self. Track that down and then focus on the power steering unit. If it turns out you power steering hydraulic cylinder I have one that is older but was working when I took it off of the Cobalt. I would be willing to make you a smokin' deal on it.
 
So did a lot this weekend, first found out the steering cable is bad, it is locked up in the outer cover. Also the geared part of the rack is broken on the end so the cable can slide right through it, in effect the cables stays put and the rack slides back and fourth very smooth. I think with a new cable I can put a nut and washer on each side and sandwich the rack between the nuts and washers and be good to go, or find a deal on a new rack and cable. At any rate I need to get a new cable before I can steer the boat, but moving by hand the out drive feels very smooth.

The rest of the project was fixing the cover and floor over the fuel tank, and putting in a new fuel level sending unit. Made really good progress on the floor and am happy how it is turning out, still need to do a few more pieces and fiberglass all the seams and finish sealing the top side of the new plywood. then find some new carpet I like and will re-do the interior mostly, and finish wiring all the gauges and new lights and such.
 
So back on task, been side tracked a lot the past couple weeks but it was hot out today and i thought to myself how nice it would be to go out to the lake. Spent the morning putting up a tire swing for my 3 little monkeys, they had a blast and kept them out of the way whle i popped a few cold ones and got to work on the Seville.

Got the throttle/shifter bolted back into place and some of the wiring in, then put the power steering lines back on and about 3 gallons of gas in the tank so i could fire this thing up again. Really need to get a new battery this one just barely does the job. Also need to mess with the carb a lot in the future mainly the idle adjustment, and it is missing some of the choke linkage so got a few issues to deal with. Anyway got it fired up and adjusted the throttle cable as best as i could and let her run for a while at idle, also topped up the power steering fluid. It was running very nicely too, so then shifted it into forward and spun smooth and quiet, then back to neutral and went for reverse but no joy. Took a lot of fooling around but figured out the sweet spots and got all the cables adjusted so i got both forward and reverse now.

All in all was a good day got about a half hour of run time on the engine and could still lay my hand on the exhaust elbow behind the engine so the water system seems to be working good with the new impeller. Still need to order the rack steering cable and install it then finish wiring the gauges and lights and stuff just the required basics for now all bare essentials. After i take her out for a shake down and all is in order to my satisfaction then i can worry about a radio and cabin lights and fancy junk.

The plan is to take the family out for memorial day so got a lot to do before then, not just mechanical and electrical, but registration for boat and trailer, life jackets for adults and kids, basic first aid kit and saftey gear and lots of other odds and ends i may not be thinking of at the moment. Pics will be in the work soon too.
 
You may have to do an in the water shift adjustment. I had trouble with my alpha drive (1987) and the shifter was very finicky. Finally, after two summers of iffy shifting, had to have the lower unit looked at to make an internal repair, one small part. I had most of the tools to disassemble a lower unit but never got all of them so had a local marina take that job. I am enjoying your project, have fun and Safe Boating.
 
The new steering rack is on the way should be here becore the weekend, also picked up oil and a filter and new plugs, also some fresh gear oil and a pump to put it in. Lastly i picked up some new ear muffs for the water hose with the rectangular shape instead of round so hope it works better..

Now starting to think i should order a new set of bellows and gimble bearing and cgange it out too, dont know if they leak but the one i can see is not in the best of shape. Just not sure what kit to order.......guess i will just have to take it apart tomorrow so i can be sure to order the right set.
 
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took another look this morning and the top bellow and shift cable bellow actually look Purdy good, it's on the bottom of the bottom bellow that seems to have some dry cracks....I know I should replace them and will but think I am gonna just risk it for now. I want to get it out on the water and see what else shows it's ugly head so I can fix all the issues at once before I take the kids out. I am picking up a new battery tomorrow, a NAPA 7236 Group 31, only 126 bucks, that should get me back to starting easy for a while.
 
Bit of a snag tonight and a little worried......changed the gear oil in the outdrive and made a small mess but no big deal, then fired the engine up with the new muffs on to warm the oil good so i can drain it. Was going great then i noticed a drip of chocolate milk coming from around the fuel pump. Pulled the dipstick and same milky mess, should not look like that and was not like that before i got the engine running. I shut it down after about 10 min of running and about 2 min after i found the drip. Got hasty and just put a bucket onder the boat and pulled the plug and drained the pan in the bilge and let it run out in the bucket. Will clean that up later, easy to do. Now back to the issue.....

Filled the engine back up with oil after spilling about half a quart all over the valve cover and engine before i got my funnel and did it right...which of course once i got the funnel it stopped burping out of the container and poured a nice slow neat even stream into the funnel. So go to start the engine and no joy at all, cant get it to fire up now and the battery went dead again. Either i am out of gas or when it got wet from rinsing the oil off it went wonky somehow.

Tried charging the battery and had enough juice for another try but no luck. Gonna pick up a new battery tomorrow and will get another 6 gallons of gas and put in it and try to start it again. The problem is i gave the previous owner the check today to pay for the boat and trailer. Must be why it is suddenly going south, i own it now. I did check the dipstick again and the oil was clean and normal? But that dont mean much, just spinning the engin over may not be enough to mix it all up good. After i get it to start i will let it run and see what it does. Could just be all the rain we had on an uncovered engine and it got water in it from the vent tube. Dont think i left it off but not positive.

Also not to sure about the fuel pump now either, is it leakinf fuel into the oil or were the bolts too loose and letting oul and milk just leak out?? Should have checked the bolts, but already took a shower and got settled in for the night. So tomorrow i will pull the pump off first and inspect it then clean and put it back on with a new gasket if i can find one, if not will use rtv or some other gasket stuff i have for engine crank cases. Then top up the fuel and install new battery and see what we get.
 
So picked up the battery and a new keyed starter switch, even had a gasket for the fuel pump that I think will work. Anyway I am really starting to think the fuel pump is bad and leaking in to the oil pan, the first time I got it running with just a hose in to a one gallon fuel can it used close to a half gallon and was only running about 20 min at idle most of the time. I didn’t think much about it at the time but now I am wondering if that is why my oil turned to milk shake?
Guess I will just have to take the pump completely apart when I get home and see what gives, the bad side is the new pumps are what I consider high dollar to replace, I would rather spend that money on other things and have been trying to find a cheaper one I can get today so I can see if that is the issue. The more expensive one I have to order and would not get in fast enough……for me.
 
Not sure either way, but looked different than what i have seen with water. Didnt really smell fuel either, but could be either at this point.
 
I could just go to an electric pump and get the plasma cutter fired up and make a block off plate for the mechanical pump. At least that would eliminate one source.
 
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