www.iFourWinns.com

Ok your idle @ 1700 rpm is way too high...you need to get it down to about 550-600 in neutral. The ESA normally should not engage going into gear, only when shifting out of gear. And that's when you're on the water and the load from the water is on the prop. On the water hose it should not be engaging. It could be the very high idle, may be in combination with a slightly sticky transom shift cable. Try getting the idle down and take another vid. My '88 4.3 idles at 600...the ESA will drop it to 400...try lifting the load lever by hand and watch the tach...
The loud exhaust is likely from the same cause...

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

The idle does not sound like 1700 rpm in the video...maybe 800 tops? The tach must be off?

The exhaust sound pretty normal to me for being out of the water.

_________________

"Knot Easy" 2000 Horizon 240 Volvo 5.7GS /SX
tow: 2017 Honda PILOT EXL-AWD
prev. boats:
'87 Chaparral 198CXL 4.3 OMC Cobra
'69 Jetstar 16ft Ski Boat, 115hp Yamaha
'68 Aluminum Jon Boat, 3hp Sears
'64 Water Wings

how can I tell if my tach is not reading correctly? Actually, you could very well be right. I notice the last couple of times I started the boat up, my tach (with engine off) is sitting at 500-600 rpm..once I start the boat, it revs up from there. Its always dropped to 0 rpm before, so not sure why it stops at 500 rpm now.

Thoughts??

Dan

_________________
1990 Four Winns 170 Freedom, 3.0 OMC Cobra 4 cyl.

You need to pick up an Actron engine analyzer (measures rpm, dwell, volts, amps, etc very useful for the home mechanic). Hook it up and you'll know for sure. Even 1200-1000 rpm is too high. You may need a new tach in the dashboard.

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Going out to see if I can figure out what's going on with the tachometer. I'll keep you posted. (damn gauges)

_________________
1990 Four Winns 170 Freedom, 3.0 OMC Cobra 4 cyl.

here is some video of my Tachometer with ignition turned on and off. I understand that the tach SHOULD zero out when ignition is on..which it is doing..so MAYBE my idle is too high?????

Here is video:
https://youtu.be/xPjkKBnU5cA


either way, I am going to head to harbor freight tonight, and they have voltmeters with a tach/dwell reading as well..looks pretty simple..set the meter for 4 cylinder, and then you clamp a clip onto the spark plug wire of one of the four cylinders. suppose to be accurate to .05% +/-

_________________
1990 Four Winns 170 Freedom, 3.0 OMC Cobra 4 cyl.

ok...STUPID question..but I am getting varying replies all over the interwebs. how much OIL to refill my omc 3.0 4 cyl engine? I've seen many say 4 quarts..and then some say 5 quarts.

Figure I'd get the definitive answer right here on the Four Winns forum!

_________________
1990 Four Winns 170 Freedom, 3.0 OMC Cobra 4 cyl.

My '88 manual says the engine takes 4 qts with the filter.
I have found that my '88 4.3 takes less than the manual says so you can start with 3.5 qt and start it up to fill the oil filter and then see if you need to add more to get it full.
The drive takes 60 oz of gear oil...
Idle is 500-600 in the water in fwd gear (on land you can set it to the high end of this spec)
Timing 4 BTDC with 89 octane gas
1 ATDC with 86 octane gas
Note these specs are for the old style points distributor the electronic one may be set to different specs...

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

did you see my new video Lou? the tach. zero's out when ignition is on.

question on the fuel sender too. Last time I replaced with a like OEM "Moeller" float type sender...they also make a "reed" style, you think they are better? more reliable? They are definitely more expensive. a Moeller float style is under $30, and the Reed style is almost $75

Do you know off hand how DEEP our gas tanks are?

_________________
1990 Four Winns 170 Freedom, 3.0 OMC Cobra 4 cyl.

Ha...yep, just found my manual.......for basically ALL 3.0 engines 1987-2000 it's 4 quarts oil with filter listed. cylinder pressure 155-165 psi, idle in water 550-650

So....if my Tach is indeed correct, how do I adjust idle, and should I have the drive "in gear/prop turning" or just sitting idling in neutral??

_________________
1990 Four Winns 170 Freedom, 3.0 OMC Cobra 4 cyl.

As far as the idle you can get it close by just having it idle in neutral on the water hose, if you set it at 600 it should be close enough and you can always re set it on the water next year. Look for a screw on the accelerator cable linkage.
About the gauges, I think you should first check all the electrical connections on the back of the gauges including the power feed from the ignition switch and the grounds. I would not replace the fuel tank sending unit first check it for proper resistance readings. There are diagnostic procedures for checking all of the gauges. Do this before you replace anything. My boat still has the OE sending units and gauges and it's in a salt water environment half the year for 15 years worth. I did have to replace the alternator and remove corrosion from a number of terminals. I did see the vid not sure why the tach does that.

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Lou,

well today I pulled the gauge faceplate away from the dash, so I had good access to the rear of all the gauges. Concentrating right now on fuel gauge. I checked DC voltage across "I" and "G" as directions stated..and I had a good 13VDC. I then pulled the wire "S' which is the one coming from the "sending unit" in the tank. I turned on ignition again, and it stayed at "EMPTY" on the gauge....so that means that the sending unit is "bad"...is that right?

Like I said last night, I just replaced the damn sending unit with a new one this past spring. Guess it's time for another.

_________________
1990 Four Winns 170 Freedom, 3.0 OMC Cobra 4 cyl.

Ok, call me dumb, this is a photo of my Throttle Linkage. I circled two "spots" that can be adjusted. Which of these adjusts my idle???
[/URL]

_________________
1990 Four Winns 170 Freedom, 3.0 OMC Cobra 4 cyl.

Its the screw on the left, the other is an adjustment for the accelerator cable. Yours looks like it has a Holley 2bbl the older ones had Rochester 2bbls...

See what you guys missed out on not growing up in the 60s and 70s lol.

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

well, I AM just old enough to have worked on a few Holleys back in HS!!

Never heard of the other one. Well, now that I know it's time to go out and try and "idle" the old girl down a bit. Also, did you see my post on the fuel gauge? Did I test it correctly?

_________________
1990 Four Winns 170 Freedom, 3.0 OMC Cobra 4 cyl.