Bought a 87 230 Weekender. New to motor boating

[Gyroe1970]

So have some questions. The motor is a 5.7 , I don't know if it's original or not. I assume I use standard motor oil for it. What does the stern drive require as far as gear oil goes? Also, how do I inspect the stern drive for bearing wear and etc? Any info would help thanks everyone. Happy boating!

 

[1990-270-da-lover]

Most marine engines especially ones with higher hours benefit from 10w-40w or 20w-40w because of the high rpm's and heavy load they push. Most, and I'm assuming you have a Merc Alpha drive use 90w stern drive gear lube. West Marine sells it, and most have the engine oil as well. Welcome to CSR, and if this is your first boat, make sure to take the boater safety course.

 

[JVM225]

I use Mercuiser's Quicksilver 25w40 Synthetic in my motors. They are now on their 4th season, and I've been using it since they were new.
I used Shell Rotella 15w40 in my old motors. It was cheaper, and readily available at places like Walmart. Great stuff, and popular with a lot of boaters.
For the oil in the drives, I use Mercuiser's Quicksilver oil. Not much price difference between their best stuff, and the off brands, so I figure what the heck!
For the water pump rebuild kit I use Mercuiser Quicksilver. Lots of guys use the aftermarket stuff with no problem, and save a few bucks, but I had a bad experience with an aftermarket impeller a few years back, so I spend the extra few bucks for the OEM parts.

 

[Gyroe1970]

Thanks For all the info, it really helps. I'm still trying to get familiar with the boat and im sure I'll have more questions.

 

[dvx216]

Welcome to the 230 club .Great micro cruiser for two.

 

[numlaar]

So have some questions. The motor is a 5.7 , I don't know if it's original or not. I assume I use standard motor oil for it. What does the stern drive require as far as gear oil goes? Also, how do I inspect the stern drive for bearing wear and etc? Any info would help thanks everyone. Happy boating!

So have some questions. The motor is a 5.7 , I don't know if it's original or not. I assume I use standard motor oil for it. What does the stern drive require as far as gear oil goes? Also, how do I inspect the stern drive for bearing wear and etc? Any info would help thanks everyone. Happy boating!

Others have already covered the oil types as suggested, just wanted to give you some more "suggestions" since you are new to boating, and I/O's in general. That year would be a 260hp carbureted Alpha One, Gen 1 setup.

You must absolutely flush it very well if used in saltwater.

I highly recommend pulling the outdrive once a season to change the impeller and perform all of the maintenance on it. There is no real check you can do on the actual gears themselves unless you have some very explicit gauges/tools. But it is important to check everything else you can. Its not so much that the impeller itself goes bad, its that this gives you an opportunity to perform all of the preventative maintenance that will save you BIG headaches down the road:

Replace the impeller with a mercury kit... the mercury one uses a brass sleeve as opposed to plastic like the aftermarkets do.
Change the gear oil (as suggested the mercury Straight 90w is the way to go).
Use some Special 101 lubricant from mercury (its really tacky, good stuff)
Lube all of the assembly bolts!! this is a must, or they corrode/get packed with salt and getting them off later is a pain.
Clean out the shift shaft of any build-up/debris, and Lube the shift shaft and all the linkage
Inspect your bellows boots, and shift linkage boots. replace as needed. (some replace them each pull, but I think this is a waste)
Lube the driveshaft u-joints, inspect for any wobble in them, replace as needed. (the wobble would be in the cups themselves where the needle bearings are located).
Those are the main things I can remember off the top of my head

On the engine, if you don't have one already install a fuel/water separator. The 87's didn't come with them from the factory.
Yearly when you do the outdrive pull, also inspect the spark plugs, replace as needed, and anti-seize the threads (this also helps prevent a hefty head replacement or machine work bill later on). Also be sure to lube the spark plug boots with di-electric grease. they can also seize to the plug, and the wire sets are not cheap.
Replace the thermostat/gasket and lube the housing bolts. I know also people go some time without doing this, and it makes a mess.
Inspect your exhaust elbow boots for leakage. Also check that when the engine is running they aren't getting too hot. If they are, or you smell a rubber burning smell, then there is a waterflow/cooling issue that needs to be addressed.
re-torque ALL of the various hose clamps
Clean the spark arrestor (use some carb spray and compressed air, and clean all the gunk out of it that builds up in the fins). Some places say you should replace them, but not necessary, just clean and re-install
Lube all of the solenoid contact points. These have a tendency to corrode, and will lead to starting issues. Also lube the trim pump solenoids for the same reason. Will cause the tilt/trim to go inop.
Clean and lube the battery connections to prevent corrosion build up.

I know that seems like a lot to do, but trust me, if you don't keep up with it, you will end up with a massive bill all at once. I just finished one last month, guy got hit with a 3k bill for not keeping up with things.

If the boat is going to be solely used in Freshwater, you can go a couple years on this instead of every year. As long as the boat is being used. The worse thing for the impellers is for them to sit, and get hard. If the boat sits for long periods, then stick to the yearly schedule, even in freshwater.

Lastly, if the boat is not going to be used for a bit, go out and start it up on the hose, and let it run a bit. This helps keep things all lubed and fresh. Also, mercury solenoids are famous for "sticking" if they don't get used much. So this helps keep the contacts freed up.

(former Mercury service tech here, so speaking from experience, just been out of the business a bit).

Hope that info helps! If you have any questions, please let me know!.

 

[Gyroe1970]

Wow incredible write up, thank you so much! I'm going to print it out to keep. The boat will be in Arkansas lakes exclusively, but it was originally from Houston tx.

 

[El Capitan]

Others have already covered the oil types as suggested, just wanted to give you some more "suggestions" since you are new to boating, and I/O's in general. That year would be a 260hp carbureted Alpha One, Gen 1 setup.

You must absolutely flush it very well if used in saltwater.

I highly recommend pulling the outdrive once a season to change the impeller and perform all of the maintenance on it. There is no real check you can do on the actual gears themselves unless you have some very explicit gauges/tools. But it is important to check everything else you can. Its not so much that the impeller itself goes bad, its that this gives you an opportunity to perform all of the preventative maintenance that will save you BIG headaches down the road:

Replace the impeller with a mercury kit... the mercury one uses a brass sleeve as opposed to plastic like the aftermarkets do.
Change the gear oil (as suggested the mercury Straight 90w is the way to go).
Use some Special 101 lubricant from mercury (its really tacky, good stuff)
Lube all of the assembly bolts!! this is a must, or they corrode/get packed with salt and getting them off later is a pain.
Clean out the shift shaft of any build-up/debris, and Lube the shift shaft and all the linkage
Inspect your bellows boots, and shift linkage boots. replace as needed. (some replace them each pull, but I think this is a waste)
Lube the driveshaft u-joints, inspect for any wobble in them, replace as needed. (the wobble would be in the cups themselves where the needle bearings are located).
Those are the main things I can remember off the top of my head

On the engine, if you don't have one already install a fuel/water separator. The 87's didn't come with them from the factory.
Yearly when you do the outdrive pull, also inspect the spark plugs, replace as needed, and anti-seize the threads (this also helps prevent a hefty head replacement or machine work bill later on). Also be sure to lube the spark plug boots with di-electric grease. they can also seize to the plug, and the wire sets are not cheap.
Replace the thermostat/gasket and lube the housing bolts. I know also people go some time without doing this, and it makes a mess.
Inspect your exhaust elbow boots for leakage. Also check that when the engine is running they aren't getting too hot. If they are, or you smell a rubber burning smell, then there is a waterflow/cooling issue that needs to be addressed.
re-torque ALL of the various hose clamps
Clean the spark arrestor (use some carb spray and compressed air, and clean all the gunk out of it that builds up in the fins). Some places say you should replace them, but not necessary, just clean and re-install
Lube all of the solenoid contact points. These have a tendency to corrode, and will lead to starting issues. Also lube the trim pump solenoids for the same reason. Will cause the tilt/trim to go inop.
Clean and lube the battery connections to prevent corrosion build up.

I know that seems like a lot to do, but trust me, if you don't keep up with it, you will end up with a massive bill all at once. I just finished one last month, guy got hit with a 3k bill for not keeping up with things.

If the boat is going to be solely used in Freshwater, you can go a couple years on this instead of every year. As long as the boat is being used. The worse thing for the impellers is for them to sit, and get hard. If the boat sits for long periods, then stick to the yearly schedule, even in freshwater.

Lastly, if the boat is not going to be used for a bit, go out and start it up on the hose, and let it run a bit. This helps keep things all lubed and fresh. Also, mercury solenoids are famous for "sticking" if they don't get used much. So this helps keep the contacts freed up.

(former Mercury service tech here, so speaking from experience, just been out of the business a bit).

Hope that info helps! If you have any questions, please let me know!.

This should really be a sticky. It's just that good. Many will benefit b