www.iFourWinns.com

So I am making my introductions here, new Four Winns owner of a 170 Horizon 4.3GL/SX. Model Year 2000.



I am new to boating, but have some experience with the GM 4.3L V6 and other metalworking and machine repair experiences via having my own machine/fab/welding shop. Also have lived in Michigan for most of my life and I like the "Michigan Manufactured" Four Winns. Several friends have them and have had excellent experiences. Tow vehicle is a GMC Yukon. I have a fair amount of experience trailering, mostly with big heavy stuff like forklifts and metalworking machines behind a 1 ton truck.

I realize the 170 is small and out of production but figured it would be a good place for our family to start, with literally unlimited room to move up given larger budgets, etc, if. However I sought to find one with the 4.3V6 instead of the many many other choices powered by the 3.0L4. This one seems very clean inside, has a little fading on the color stripe at the back by virtue of being on a hoist for most of the summers. We don't live on the lake and will probably use this 4x or so per summer, a couple of day trips and then we take a weeklong vacation on a rented lake house as an extended family.

So I have a few questions, bound to multiply as I get more into this.

1. Original snap covers are in decent shape. The main defect at this point is not with the fabric but with the stitching which is disappeared or missing. My Mom has some sewing skills and I will ask her to help, but the main question is, what sort of thread/string is the proper choice to make it last a little bit in an outdoor environment.

2. I think I am interested in a swim platform, other than the cost, are there any downsides? We have several small kids in the family and I don't want any to get injured by the structure of the outdrive. I got a quote from SwimPlatforms.com in AZ and while they seem very nice and have good reviews, cost was in the $1200+ range. A lot of the price was crating and truck shipping from AZ, just wondering if there were any other choices locally? Does FourWinns actually supply these as an aftermarket item? Google isn't leading me in many other directions. I'm also a little worried about the struts anchoring below the waterline. Any downsides to doing this? Is it just sealer used to fill the hole created?

3. The boat has what I would call some "hard water scale" below the waterline and I ordered a bottle of marine acid wash cleaner to use in trying to clean this up. However I'm worried about the trailer, do most people just cover this with plastic when using the acid wash?

4. I'm sort of a nut about spare tires, I see hundreds of people on the highways with either blown tires or frozen hubs. I made sure to give 4 shots of grease to each hub (already have significant amount in there...this is good). And I got 2 new Carlisle RH radials, same 205/75R14 size as the original 1999 date-stamp tires. This boat did not come with any spares. Just curious if there is a place people have used to get spare wheels.

Sorry for such a long post, we will probably get 1-2 uses this season remaining, then into winter mode until next summer. Thanks very much for any advice or responses.

Welcome! Nice looking H170, I'm partial to the green FW's as you can see in my pic. With the 4.3, that thing will moooove, I'm sure. Now to your questions:

1. I have never sewed my covers, I have taken my mooring cover to a canvas shop and had all the seems reinforced, tears repaired, and gussets replaced, basically an overhaul. It cost me $70 bucks. See if there is a canvas shop in your area.
2. Yeah, with the short transom shelf on the 170, a platform would be logical. The price quoted is in line with what others here have paid. The supports do go below the waterline, I'll leave it to others here to comment on sealants and such, as I don't have any experience there. One thing I would be cautious of is the outdrive contacting the platform in the full "up" position.
3. Never used the acid wash, sooooo....
4. Don't have a spare either, annnd I only trailer about a mile to ramp. Lots of trailer experts here, I'm sure they will chime in soon.

Again, welcome to the FW's forum, post lots of pics (its kinda a rule here )

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1996 205 Sundowner DLX
5.0FL Volvo SX Cobra
Tow Veh: 2012 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X

So I'm into repairs already. First issue boat would not crank. Loud click from starter heard. Battery is a new-ish Interstate which I had on the maintainer since I got it, reading 13+ volts just sitting there after a day off the maintainer. I cleaned, then replaced battery cables, same issue. I noted the dash voltmeter had no drop when I turned the key to the Crank position. Then used jumper cables from the truck to assist the boat battery just in case. Same condition. Finally got a new starter motor from MichiganMotorz, (part #101 which has a SAE J- rating) cranked right up just as desired. I will say the permanent magnet starter is a lot easier to change (via weight) as compared to those Delco truck starters which weigh a ton. Old starter was an Arco 30470 which I suspect has a bad solenoid. I am considering buying a new Arco solenoid from Amazon then have spare batt cables and spare starter motor in my "inventory". I would also put some V-belts, an ignition module, and maybe a fuel pump if I could afford it.

Took off the Penta black plastic cover to find the motor running in "bug sucker mode" meaning the carb barrels wide open to atmosphere. I picked up a new flame arrestor for now but plan to get a K&N with an actual filter element before next season. Nothing wears out an engine faster than dirt & grit. I realize an air filter isn't traditional but seems like the cheapest insurance one could buy.

So on went the muffs, and I got it started with some extra throttle. Happiness....followed by some head scratching, what's this fast oil drip into the bilge? Pushrod engines don't have very many leak paths for oil under pressure, all of the pressure passages are drilled into cast iron, the rest of the covers, headgasket, etc, are all subject to splash lube. I think the seller had some kind of sock under there when I tested it as it was completely just water under there, and this drip is about 1 per 2 seconds. So off came the engine waterpump, the lakewater pump, the harmonic balancer and the front cover. I noted a very large area on the plastic front cover lower internal lip which was cracked off (GM switched from a metal front cover on the LB4 4.3L to the plastic cover on the L35 4.3L engine, sort of a mistake if you ask me. Part of the move was the old 4.3L had no crank sensing, whereas the L35 has a crank sensor in a fuel injection application...primarily driven by the automotive sector...but there is a special front cover for a carb-boat app which has the mold core removed to block the normal hole for the crank sensor) If I throw around a lot of terminology, I worked on the GM 3800 engine program as a development engineer on the L36 and L67-supercharged engines, I also worked in the 2.4L 4-cylinder engine plant in Tennessee for 2 years so I have a bit of internal experience working on engineering and manufacturing issues.

My dilemma is this, I can get a new front cover and do my best to clean things up to "surgical clean" so RTV will work properly, but if it misses an area and doesn't stick, I'm back to the same issue. As I see it, in the engine plant, the front cover goes on first, then the oil pan second, whereas I'm trying to cheat that assembly sequence backwards in repair. Part of me says pull the engine, put it on a stand, turn it over, clean it ALL up, replace the oil pan gasket at the same time, and be done forever just like the 262 and 454 truck engines I've built, but I realize that's a lot of work. But I might be able to get farther back inside the hull and inspect or replace some more stuff (??? -- never pulled a boat engine before, is it much harder than a truck engine???) What say ye?

So some actual questions...how do I go about finding actual Volvo literature like real OEM parts and service manuals? I have a Clymer's which is amusing, while the basic principles of operation it explains are solid, the accuracy of the publication compared to my actual boat is around 50%. And so I'd be willing to pay for higher accuracy. I checked Volvo Penta's website and they have some manuals for purchase but its really vague about what I really want or if its even available. I put in a "online contact request" but that's nearly a futile thing in my experience with most companies. I have a 4.3GLPWTR if it makes any difference.

Thanks for your input!

Aside...I noted when I pulled off the lower hose (the only hose) going to the engine water pump, like a half gallon or more of water spilled out. I can see how mistakes could be made sucking RV antifreeze up thru the lakewater pump as there is a huge amount of freshwater already in there to dilute the inflow, especially if the tstat was closed...I will be into this soon, but just thought I'd throw out that observation.