Official (1998-2002) 310 Sundancer Thread

Hello fello 310'rs. I have an idea and wanted to run by you.
Most of us with the Mercruiser 350's probably have the quick connect flush kit. I use these things every chance I get! Unfortunately, it is a pain when you come back to port and the boat is full of kids and gear to open the hatch, etc... I have been thinking about connecting longer houses right at the current tee connection, where the current 1 foot house connects to, and a running about 10' hoses to the stern so that the quick connect conection would be accessibale through the stern locker. I really only have one concern:

Would the longer hose effect the cooling performance of the engines. (I don't see how)
 
Here's another new one, this is the first fresh water cooled engine I've ever had. This past weekend was the first time I've got to get the boat going and enjoy it since I've bought it. Some concerns...at high speeds I had steam coming out of the bypass exhaust port that are above the water. Engines stayed at a solid 170 degrees and everything else looked and felt normal. Is this steam normal? I've read other things that say to clean the strainers to be sure of unrestricted raw water flow. Others said steam is normal. At the end of the day Sunday the starboard side was throwing steam at low speed too, I'm nervous and don't know what could be wrong or if this is normal. I did notice that the starboard side was pumping less water at the end of the day but all day I was in shallow water picking up bottom on the move all day, maybe I sucked up,too much silt and the strainer is clogged? Either way BOTH steam at high speed/rpm. If this is a stupid question I apologize I'm a bit of a newbie to all of this. I just don't know. Should I feel the risers and if they are too hot to touch I would say there's a problem is that correct? I'm going to pull the strainers this week and clean them but if that's ok...what do I check next?
 
Steam is normal as long as engine temp is within spec. My 350's steam quite a bit if water temp is below 80 degress. Just monitor your temp, if within operating range, steam is ok. Temp above 180 is worthy of some concern 190 or above shut down.
 
Hey All!

Ive been a member here since 2009 when i purchased my first Sea Ray. That is where my happiness ends. I own a 1998 Sundancer 310. In the last 4 years, Ive gone through 3 outdrives, hydrolocked my starboard engine, and replaced both heads on same engine as a result. Why? Apparently (as I'm being told by my marine mechanic, who has serviced my boat the last 4 years, and decided today to drop this nugget of knowledge on me) My boat is severely underpowered. It came with dual Inboard/outboard 305's with alpha gen II sterndrives (1.62 gear ratio). This was a stock option for 1998. Is there ANYTHING I can do to correct this with either a) regearing the drive units b) upgrading to Bravo series ? I just don't have the funds to upgrade the engines as well, although given that option i would quickly drop in 350 mags with bravo III's. I'm sick of being out of the water for 2-3 weeks at a time EVERY year ! I baby this boat, never bring it up over 3200 rpm, always watch my fluids, service it every spring. Any input would be helpful!

Thanks in advance!

A desperate sea ray Lover.
Joe
 
Joe,

So sorry to hear of your problems... while I can offer nothing more than condolenses... I hope your post helps others to understand that the 5.7L 350 with Bravo IIIs is the ONLY way you should purchase this boat. I've been told this by several mechanics as well as boat sales folk.... the boat DRY is 12,000 pounds. Toss in 200 gallons of fuel, water, holding tank, people and 'stuff' - you are looking at probably another 2000-5000 pounds additional...

I have the EFI 350s (260 HP) with bravo III, and I can hit 37 MPH, with nearly full tanks and rations...
 
I'm able to hit 39 mph at 4000 rpm (rating is 4800) half tanks, 4 crew aboard. But I'm looking to keep the power I have but put less stress on the motors and drive units. I'm not looking to go fast, just to plane and get my way to the sandbar and drink my beers lol.
 
brad fraser said:
here's another new one, this is the first fresh water cooled engine i've ever had. This past weekend was the first time i've got to get the boat going and enjoy it since i've bought it. Some concerns...at high speeds i had steam coming out of the bypass exhaust port that are above the water. Engines stayed at a solid 170 degrees and everything else looked and felt normal. Is this steam normal? I've read other things that say to clean the strainers to be sure of unrestricted raw water flow. Others said steam is normal. At the end of the day sunday the starboard side was throwing steam at low speed too, i'm nervous and don't know what could be wrong or if this is normal. I did notice that the starboard side was pumping less water at the end of the day but all day i was in shallow water picking up bottom on the move all day, maybe i sucked up,too much silt and the strainer is clogged? Either way both steam at high speed/rpm. If this is a stupid question i apologize i'm a bit of a newbie to all of this. I just don't know. Should i feel the risers and if they are too hot to touch i would say there's a problem is that correct? I'm going to pull the strainers this week and clean them but if that's ok...what do i check next?
Click to expand...


normal :thumbsup: But watch your temps.....170....is.good
 
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Jenny,

If your max WOT RPM is only 4000, that is likely your problem. It should be propped to reach the recommended RPM range for those motors which, if my memory is correct, is 44-4800. A WOT RPM that is too low puts enormous strain on both the engine and outdrive. 4000RPM is way to low for WOT.
 
All, still working out some new kinks over here. For some reason she is a dog getting out of the water and up on plane. Starboard motor will go like hell but it seems as if my port motor just can't keep up I lose throttle response at about half way and it struggles to get over 3000 rpm. I'm wondering if I need a fuel pump or maybe just replace fuel filters? Sometimes it's ok and others it not. If I jump on the throttles it doesn't want to get up ang go like it should. It just plows through the water...If I slowly and I mean SLOWLY push the throttles up sometimes it will have no issues. My father has a 93 300 dancer and his jumps right up and goes.....very frustrating. When I do get her up on plane with 2 full tanks and one other passenger I max out at about 30mph at about 4400 rpm, I keep seeing posts about 39 mph...its not a trim tab thing for sure. I shouldn't have to baby these throttles to get her up. Anyone have any problems like this before?
 
Brad Fraser said:
All, still working out some new kinks over here. For some reason she is a dog getting out of the water and up on plane. Starboard motor will go like hell but it seems as if my port motor just can't keep up I lose throttle response at about half way and it struggles to get over 3000 rpm. I'm wondering if I need a fuel pump or maybe just replace fuel filters? Sometimes it's ok and others it not. If I jump on the throttles it doesn't want to get up ang go like it should. It just plows through the water...If I slowly and I mean SLOWLY push the throttles up sometimes it will have no issues. My father has a 93 300 dancer and his jumps right up and goes.....very frustrating. When I do get her up on plane with 2 full tanks and one other passenger I max out at about 30mph at about 4400 rpm, I keep seeing posts about 39 mph...its not a trim tab thing for sure. I shouldn't have to baby these throttles to get her up. Anyone have any problems like this before?
Click to expand...

I'm stumpped...

I have never experienced something like that, therefore I am of no help. I can say that your symptoms are not normal. I assume your powerplants are carburated. It could be a float bowl issue?????

Regarding the 39mph comment. Our V drives setup wont allow us to get to those speeds. Those close to 40MPH figures are reserved for our sterndrive brothers and sisters. I get up to 30knots on a good day. Yet, I really never try. I run her easy at 3600 RPM yielding around 20knots. I am in no rush while out on the water. Once in a while I will push her to 3800 RPM to get 23 knots. Since I have her, I have only opened her up to 30 knots once.
 
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How do the props look? Bottom paint? I'd suspect something isn't happy there. If it was fuel, I'd suspect you'd see other issues...

And with a vdrive, I can't imagine you'd see over 30....
 
Well it makes me feel better that you aren't getting those speeds either with the v-drives. Like you said I don't want to push it either no need to go fast in a big boat like this. Butttt, I should be able to get her out of the water better which is driving me ballistic. My engines are fuel injected, does your jump right up and go?
 
Just had the props refurbished before it went in,they are immaculate. There is a couple coats of bottom paint on there but fresh coat before launch 3 weeks ago. Everything seems normal, starboard engine is brand new and was just timed before launch. Port has about 500 hours on it. Just seems like when I'm asking for more fuel on the port side...it's not getting it. I mean besides a fuel issue,is there a throttle adjustment or something like that could go wrong?

Ughhh, you know...now that I'm thinking about it...the boat sat for almost 2 years with no use before I bought it this year, when I did put gas in it the day I launched it, I realized there was half tank of fuel in each side....now each tank has half new and half old fuel...you think that could be part of the problem? Just a shot in the dark here. Does that explain some of the intermittent problem you think?
 
Brad Fraser said:
Well it makes me feel better that you aren't getting those speeds either with the v-drives. Like you said I don't want to push it either no need to go fast in a big boat like this. Butttt, I should be able to get her out of the water better which is driving me ballistic. My engines are fuel injected, does your jump right up and go?
Click to expand...

With a clean bottom she usually is right up within 5 seconds with half to three quarter throttle and trim tabs at full down. If the bottom is a little fouled she fights me a little longer. Once again, I don't force her. Wieght is not a noticeble issue. If I have full tanks or not, if I have 8 or 2 persons I don't feel a significant difference. Clean and dirty bottom is clearly felt.
 
Brad Fraser said:
Ughhh, you know...now that I'm thinking about it...the boat sat for almost 2 years with no use before I bought it this year, when I did put gas in it the day I launched it, I realized there was half tank of fuel in each side....now each tank has half new and half old fuel...you think that could be part of the problem? Just a shot in the dark here. Does that explain some of the intermittent problem you think?
Click to expand...

I would check the fuel pressure and make sure all ignation cables are seated properly. I once had your very same symptoms and it turned out to be a plug cable had come on hooked. Drove me crazy!
 
Need some help on a Port Engine Problem please...
1999 310DA with 5.7 TBI Bravo 3, 290 hours, freshwater only.
Here is the issue...

When under power, at any RPM, intermittently the port engine alarm sounds off for a couple seconds from behind the dash like there is an engine problem. Also, not every time, but sometimes when the alarm goes off, the engine actually hesitates and drops 100 RPM or so then recovers, along with sounding off the alarm again.

What I have done so far...

I have pulled the main wiring harness from the plug, cleaned it out, pried the prongs, added dialectic grease and put it back together. Unplugged the gear lube bottle to see if that was setting off the alarm, it was not. I had a marine mechanic plug in a diagnostic machine to test for codes and it did not set any off when we went for a ride, nor did it show history of any alarms. Before I put it in the water, I replaced all filters, plugs, cap, rotor, fluids, pcv valve.

Has anyone experienced this and if so, where do I go from here? Is it possible it is a brain box? A sensor? Ideas and help VERY much appreciated.
Thank you
 
Looking for new shift and throttle knobs.
1998 310DA.
Any suggestions? Checked FP (SeaRay Parts).
Thanks,
Bob
 
Hello fellow boaters. I have a couple of questions:

1. We used the boat yesterday and I noticed that at some point while we were out, the engine hour meter on the port engine no longer shows anything in the display. Like any good boater, I banged on the display a few times with my finger but still nothing. The RPM gauge works but not the hour meter. Has anyone ever experienced this?

2. Thank you to those of you who recommended calling Imtra about the radio antenna. I removed it from the boat, called them to get an RMA number and mailed it back. A few days later I had a new antenna, cable and all.

3. RPM Question - Our 310 with inboards rides great at 3200-3400 RPM but at this RPM range we are going about 18 mph. When I get closer to 4000 RPM (maybe 3900), the boat really moved along nicely at about 25 MPH. I know there has been a lot of talk about the ideal RPM range but I wanted to pose the question again ... is 3900-4000 too much strain?

4. Has anybody ever been able to find the litter stickers that say "Throttle"? Mine is peeling off and I would like to replace it. When I called Sea Ray they had no idea what I was talking about.

Thanks and happy boating!

Craig
 
cazimmy said:
Hello fellow boaters. I have a couple of questions:

1. We used the boat yesterday and I noticed that at some point while we were out, the engine hour meter on the port engine no longer shows anything in the display. Like any good boater, I banged on the display a few times with my finger but still nothing. The RPM gauge works but not the hour meter. Has anyone ever experienced this?

2. Thank you to those of you who recommended calling Imtra about the radio antenna. I removed it from the boat, called them to get an RMA number and mailed it back. A few days later I had a new antenna, cable and all.

3. RPM Question - Our 310 with inboards rides great at 3200-3400 RPM but at this RPM range we are going about 18 mph. When I get closer to 4000 RPM (maybe 3900), the boat really moved along nicely at about 25 MPH. I know there has been a lot of talk about the ideal RPM range but I wanted to pose the question again ... is 3900-4000 too much strain?

4. Has anybody ever been able to find the litter stickers that say "Throttle"? Mine is peeling off and I would like to replace it. When I called Sea Ray they had no idea what I was talking about.


Thanks and happy boating!

Craig
Click to expand...

Cannot comment on other questions but regarding the label:
I see the "SHIFT" one but http://www.searay-parts.com/Sea-Ray-s/160.htm?searching=Y&sort=13&cat=160&show=240&page=1 do not see the throttle label .. You may try calling them.
 
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