Possible new boat Edit: bought one Wellcraft 230 open bow

[bigjimmy82]

Sorry I missed that post, I have not had the injectors checked yet, was planning on it this winter and monitoring the plugs until then.

And these plugs have about 25hrs on them.

Edit: would the wire arcing cause the issues I’m seeing?

 

[ryoken]

generally not, just erratic running, rpm loss, etc... plug readings are the tell tale for injector health usually.. uneven, rich, etc...

 

[bigjimmy82]

Update here, have been using it and it’s been idling better after father in law helped me adjust the new IAC pintel stick out. I found a full spare intake setup with fuel rails/throttle body/etc on facespace. So I’ve got a set of injectors to send to rebuild.

The impeller crapped out yesterday, big time, never got over 200 on the gauge so hoping the engine is ok, it ran maybe 10mins total at idle, pulled off trailer and noticed it was warming up quick, switched exhaust, no water…

Debating on stock replacement or the Hardin marine SS housing? They haven’t dredged the ramp this year and it sees river mud each time we launch

 

[bigjimmy82]

Been awhile, but another update to help anyone with the loading up/hard start issues. I got the injectors serviced as recommended by @ryoken, https://injectorrepair.com/contact-us/

Jim was great to deal with and found 2 of the 8 weren’t working 100%. He provided a link to a trusted eBay seller for OEM replacements.

Once changed it would start a little better, ran great, but seemed to “load up” after long bits of idling.

Being a boat it also needed a gimbal ring and bearing, so in the ‘23/24 winter the motor came it for service on the transom assembly and steering pin. Found a piece of the thermostat insert in the bilge. Along with the drive parts it got a new thermostat and all related parts installed correctly.

The thermostat seems to have been the biggest culprit on the running issues, it will occasionally have a hot start issue, but only on the warmest days/quick restarts. Other wise it starts great, runs a solid 160F on the gauge and has good power. It used to run at ~120-140 and I didn’t think anything of it as my previous boat was a 4.3L with a carb and that was its operating range.

I think the cool running was causing it to run rich nearly all time, made worse at idle.

Edit: as for the water pump, I also added a water pressure gauge and can monitor the pressure at the thermostat housing while running, see about 2-3psi at idle and 10+ cruising, ideally will give more warning then temp gauge if the impeller craps out again. Also plan to replace every other season preventively.