www.iFourWinns.com

Hi All,

I have just spent the last two nights looking through posts on this incredibly informative site!! There is certainly a lot of boating knowledge on here. Great job!

I just got my new-to-me 1998 FW Horizon QX last Sunday, and can't wait to get it ready for the water. It has not been in the water for the last two years. It has been dry-stored (no AF), and I'm not sure if any of the fluids were changed during the last winterization. The oil that is in it is a little milky, and the battery was dead (already replaced that) I am expecting to change the engine oil and gear oil, but was wondering what else I should be looking at?

I spoke with a local shop about the gimbal bearing and the tech told me that they would probably just grease it from the zerk for this season unless it was making noises, and then replace/re-lube during this upcoming winterization. Does that sound ok? Obvisiously I want to get the boat in the water as soon as possible to salvage what is left of this season, but will it be ok if it isn't making bad sounds? I am also looking to do as much DIY as possible. I am very mechanically inclined and I work on my own cars, ATVs, motorcycles, lawn & garden equip, etc.

Anyway, I was just looking for some oppinions, tips, tricks, mods, whatever....

Thanks, and again... great site!!

_________________
- John

1998 Four Winns Horizon QX
OMC 4.3L GL, Cobra SX

If you want to have a trouble free beginning as a new boater here's what I would do:
change engine oil, filter and drive oil
change water separating fuel filter
check spark plugs, distributor cap and rotor, replace if needed
check drive belts, change if worn
Pull outdrive, check bellows, gimble bearing and u-joints.
Run the motor on the water hose before putting in the water, check for water leaks, overheating and proper shifting of the sterndrive uint.

this stuff needs to be done each season, and if you don't know when it was done last, the best time is before you start using it.

_________________
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, thanks for the outline / hit-list, that was exactly the type of information that I was looking for.

Is the outdrive really as hard to pull and re-install as the owners manual makes it out to be? And what is the deal with the special alignment tool? Like I said before, I would like to do as much DIY as possible. I still need to pickup a repair manual, and that might better explain the engine alignment to me.

What would I be checking the bellows for? Cracking, holes, or clogging?

Thanks again for the quick response!

_________________
- John

1998 Four Winns Horizon QX
OMC 4.3L GL, Cobra SX

Which engine & drive? Is it the engine oil or the drive fluid that's milky?

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Pulling the drive is not hard, they are heavy, though so I built a stand out of 2x6s to make it easier to R&R my old 88 Cobra. They weigh close to 100 lbs, so you do not want to be straining you back with this job. Now getting them back on can be harder, the stand really helped because it has adjustable casters underneath so I can set the height just right and don't have to worry about hefting it up and trying to keep the drive shaft lined up getting it back on. The alignment tool basically is aligning the engine to the gimble bearing, so that there is no strain on the splines in the engine coupler. The alignment should be checked when pulling the drive because if it's off, it can ruin the coupler and then you have to pull the motor to repalce the coupler. Sierra makes and aftermarket tool you can buy at local boat parts stores, I got one last year when I decided to try the R&R myself. You put grease on the very end of it and slide it through the gimble and look at the pattern of the splines on the grease, it should be even all the way around. Also the gimble bearing can swivel a little and the alignment tool gets the bearing in the proper position so the driveshaft will slide in, otherwise you can be fighting it for a long time. If you are going to do this get the tool. If the alignment is off, I'd take it to a pro to get it right, this can be hard for an I/O beginner. It can change because the engine mounts can settle a little over time.

You have a 98 Cobra SX so that is a joint venture (OMC/Volvo) product. I'd see if you can get a Volvo manual for the same year and take a look at it first. When I pull the drive I check inside the bellows for water. There will be grease in there from the gimble but there should be no water. Any water and you need a bellows. Not a terrible job but if you're an I/O beginner maybe better left to a good mechanic. Then I turn the gimble by hand and make sure it rotates smoothly. I grease it while turning it so the grease (Pennzoil Marine trailer wheel bearing grease) gets all thru the rollers. Then I check the u-joints for any loosness or binding, and grease them with the same stuff. I put OMC triple guard grease on the splines and check the seal around the drive shaft where it comes out of the upper unit. Finally I put some motor oil on the 2 orings on the driveshaft. Then I reinstall, the old style pure OMC Cobra does use a gasket, yours may not. I also clean out and lube up the shifter bellcrank in the pivot housing as these can get sticky and cause shifting problems. The first time I replaced the drive it took me about 1/2 hr to get it all lined up so it would slide on. It's a bit of a struggle, but doing the drive service and the tune up myself saves me over 500 every season. If I find a problem that is beyond me though, (leaking seal on the drive) I just take it to the mechanic.

Get the manual and read through and build a stand first if you have ANY back problems!

I put pix of my stand on the I/O forum over at
http://www.iboats.com that you can check out. Others have too.

_________________
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

Hello and welcome to the site. I'm not very familiar with your set up, but if you're going to have the lowwer unit off it will be a great itme to replace the impeller if in the out drive if so equipped. These are made of rubber and if the boat has sat for 2 years it probably needs replaced or at least inspected. Good luck and hope your able to get it on the water soon.

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Mike
Smithville, MO
08' Hayabusa, 2011 Subaru Outback, 03' Infiniti G-35 S.C.

Welcome to the board.

I agree with Lou in establishing a maintenance starting point on a used boat hand having all typically scheduled maintenance performed. Since you have milky liquid in the drive, I'd have that taken care of right away or you may open yourself up to greater problems down the road.

It's a little more expensive starting out, but it's a better feeling on the water knowing the maintenance has been performed than wondering what will happen.

_________________
-Rob.


Current boat: 2011 Yamaha AR210
Previous boat: 1998 Horizon RX 4.3GL SX

Thanks for all the comments. I decided to drop the boat at a local shop to have them go through it and get it ready for me. I figure it is better to have someone who knows what they are looking for take a look at it after sitting idle and empty for two years. They are charging $80 per hour plus parts, and estimate around two hours. They will be changing the engine oil & filter, gear oil, water separator, and maybe the spark plugs. They will also grease and lube everything. They said it should be done by the 15th, so hopefully I will have it in the water that day!

I really wanted to start working on it myself, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Maybe I will start with this years winterization!

I will post an update once I get the boat back.

*** Lou, thanks for the very detailed posting about the drive removal and maintenance!!

*** 230 Mike, it is an OMC 4.3L GL, with the Volvo Cobra SX drive. And the milky oil was in the engine (didn't even look at the gear oil in the drive before I dropped it off).

_________________
- John

1998 Four Winns Horizon QX
OMC 4.3L GL, Cobra SX

Ah yes winterizing, well we are officially not allowed to talk about that, until after Oct 1st at least, but remind me and I'll write out my procedure for you, I do use antifreeze but do not use the suck it up the drive method, but drain all the water first then backfill with AF. Actually the owners manual that came with my old OMC did a really good job explaining how to winterize. Takes about 3 hrs to do the whole thing. Then I pull the drive off and store it in the garage for the winter. If there is any sign of water in the gear lube I take the drive to the shop to be re-sealed.

_________________
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 just got a call from the Marina, and it looks like I have a bent prop shaft. He said it was about a 3hr job, plus parts and lube, should be another $300 on top of the $150 that he already has into it for checking it over, changing the oil, filter, water filter, checking plugs, etc.

I just told him to go ahead and order the part and do it, that way I can still get it for this weekend.

How do those prices and job times sound? It sounds fair to me, if that is really a 3hr job.

Other than that he said the boat looked and ran fine.

_________________
- John

1998 Four Winns Horizon QX
OMC 4.3L GL, Cobra SX

Sounds more than reasonable to me, if he's charging the average for shop time. I don't know how realistic the 3 hour estimate is.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

The hourly shop rate is $80.00 (pretty reasonable).

_________________
- John

1998 Four Winns Horizon QX
OMC 4.3L GL, Cobra SX

$80 is good for shop time. it is $90 around me as far as I have found.

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Troy
2008 Centurion Avalanche
1994 Four Winns Horizon 180 SE 5.0L OMC Cobra (Sold)
2002 Ford F150 Harley Davidson Edition (http://www.nhtoc.com) 378 hp & 465 tq at rear wheels
2008 Honda Accord EX-L w/Nav

I was thinking $80 per hour. So he's only charging ~$60 for parts. That sounds low to me, but hey - take it!

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Thanks for the comments, it's seems like a pretty fair price. They were ordering the shaft today, it should be in and done tomorrow, and I should be able to pick it up Friday afternoon. Then it will be in the water on Saturday, my first launch!! Note to self... remember to put the plug in, remember to put the plug in!!! Hopefully it will float!

I am finishing my boating safety class tonight, and with any luck will pass the test and get my certificate, OR the boat will NOT be going in the water on Saturday.

_________________
- John

1998 Four Winns Horizon QX
OMC 4.3L GL, Cobra SX