Buying a pontoon with a Mercruiser 3.0

[beermunk]

Hey all!

Wife and I just put money down on a 2004 Tracker Suntracker Party Barge 22' Regency Tritoon. Boat has a 3.0 Mercruiser IO. Driving from Wisconsin to Oklahoma to pick it up this weekend.

So tell me I didn't make a huge mistake! Really my biggest concern is the IO engine because I've never dealt with one before, always had outboards. But I trust the Mercury name - anything to look at when I get on site?

We're going to take it out on the water first before we give them the check so any advice on what to look for? I'm not a new boat owner (still have the Whaler) but new to IO's and this type of boat.

[HandymanHerb]

Welcome to the family, sounds like a good one but I'll let others with IO's tell you but I haven't heard nothing bad about them, but I did want to say Hi and Welcome

[beermunk]

Welcome to the family, sounds like a good one but I'll let others with IO's tell you but I haven't heard nothing bad about them, but I did want to say Hi and Welcome

Thanks HandymanHerb - we're looking forward to buying it and ending this 6 week search. Finally found exactly what we wanted for the price. Then it'll just be another month and half before we can get it out in some nice warm weather!! I'll get some photos up when it's in our hot little hands.

[lakerunner]

Welcome and congrats on new toon. Where you picking it up in Oklahoma?. I have a 22 two log regency with 90 Merc 4 stk. Great boat as far as I can tell. Ours is 4 this May. The 3.0 as Badnoon will attest is a sweet engine.

For me the worst part of an I/O in a toon is they are buried in log. If your nimble enough no biggy.

Make sure the bearings are good and plenty of grease. I personally don't like Trailstar trailers. It seems awful sloppy on a rough road. Mine is pretty good now that I disconnected brakes and bolted coupler up solid.

Does it have a spare??? I sure wouldn't tow without one. Also take a good jack and 4 way just in case.

Good luck and post some pics

[beermunk]

Welcome and congrats on new toon. Where you picking it up in Oklahoma?. I have a 22 two log regency with 90 Merc 4 stk. Great boat as far as I can tell. Ours is 4 this May. The 3.0 as Badnoon will attest is a sweet engine.

For me the worst part of an I/O in a toon is they are buried in log. If your nimble enough no biggy.

Make sure the bearings are good and plenty of grease. I personally don't like Trailstar trailers. It seems awful sloppy on a rough road. Mine is pretty good now that I disconnected brakes and bolted coupler up solid.

Does it have a spare??? I sure wouldn't tow without one. Also take a good jack and 4 way just in case.

Good luck and post some pics

Thanks for the heads up! Can you explain more why you disconnected the brakes and what you mean by "bolting the coupler up solid?" Is there an issue with these trailers I am not aware of?

Our trailering will be at some good distances but all highway with minimal rough road travel that will be at pretty minimal speeds.

[badmoonrising]

Welcome ! I have 2 boats with Mercruiser 3.0 liter engines, they are fantastic, fuel efficient and easy as hell to work on. My 1968 Starcraft Chieftain has a 1999 3.0 that I installed in 2000 and has about 400 or so hours, only issue was a rebuilt carb 2 season ago and I had to replace the exhaust flapper and water pump last season. Not bad considering it's going into it's 10th season used in brackish and saltwater. The Starcraft's original 3.0 liter engine (actually a 2.5 but the same basic engine block) lasted 32 years, and was used in saltwater since new... The only reason why that motor went bad was lack of proper maintenance and winterization. I have a friend who has a '72 Starcraft Chieftain and it's original 2.5/3.0 is still purring like a kitten.

My pontoon is a 2006 Tracker Party Cruiser 32 with a 3.0, going into the 4th season without issues. The TKS carburetor is a vast improvement over the Mercarb.

Maintenance is tight because the motor is under the deck, but only requires basic knowledge and no special tools. Be sure to change the fuel/oil filters (fuel pump bowl filter and carburetor inlet filter), regularly change the plugs and inspect your manifolds every other season using the fore and aft inspection plates on the intake manifold.

If you are in an area that gets cold winters, be sure to winterize properly and it'll last many, many years.

I haven't had any issues with my Trailstar trailer, but others have. Then again, I tow twice a season, once into the slip in April and out of the slip in November.

Things I would check:

Condition of engine oil, alternator/water pump belt, condition of lower unit oil (milky shows there's water in it, black, not changed often enough, gold, it's been maintained properly.)

Hook up cuffs to the motor, start it up (should start right up without choke because it's a TKS carb) look for water flowing out the exhaust reliefs (should be ALOT OF water, not a trickle). Watch the temperature gauge. (It shouldn't go above 160-165 idling hooked up to water). Oil pressure usually runs about 38-40 PSI on every 3.0 I've ever had.

Listen for abnormal engine noises like knocking, etc. If you can. take it for a cruise prior to buying. Run in wide open, idling, shut it off, restart it hot and cold as if you were out on a typical day. There should be no hesitation or sputtering cold or hot engine.

If you're not mechanically inclined I'd recommend bringing a friend who is, sometimes a second pair of eyes finds things you don't...your all exited about buying that boat and may miss major or minor issues.

Tracker makes nice boats, you'll be very happy with it. Good luck !

[lakerunner]

Welcome and congrats on new toon. Where you picking it up in Oklahoma?. I have a 22 two log regency with 90 Merc 4 stk. Great boat as far as I can tell. Ours is 4 this May. The 3.0 as Badnoon will attest is a sweet engine.

For me the worst part of an I/O in a toon is they are buried in log. If your nimble enough no biggy.

Make sure the bearings are good and plenty of grease. I personally don't like Trailstar trailers. It seems awful sloppy on a rough road. Mine is pretty good now that I disconnected brakes and bolted coupler up solid.

Does it have a spare??? I sure wouldn't tow without one. Also take a good jack and 4 way just in case.

Good luck and post some pics

Thanks for the heads up! Can you explain more why you disconnected the brakes and what you mean by "bolting the coupler up solid?" Is there an issue with these trailers I am not aware of?

Our trailering will be at some good distances but all highway with minimal rough road travel that will be at pretty minimal speeds.

Where I live we have winding black top roads. They also are very uneven, the trailer seems to jerk around a lot. This is my 4th toon and first Tracker. All other trailers pulled like a dream or hardly knew they were there. Tracker puts a 45 mph warning on their trailers and I don't exceed that much as it can start to sway. Have moved axles back about 6" to get a bit more tongue weight. I have the extended transom and that may be part of my problem.
The brakes were always grabbing and may not release for 30 or 40 feet. I had my crappy dealer look at them 4 or 5 times with no help so I gut the brake line and drained off fluid, removed coupler and drilled 2 holes and put hardened 1/2 bolts with lock nuts plus replaced the slide bolts with solid ones. It has made a big diff in towing.
But I may just have a junk trailer because I see them flying down the highway all the time.

[FloterBoter]

welcome! where in wisconsin?

i would have someone down there confirm that the trailer tires are not dry rotted before i towed that far.
i'd probably have new tires put on. make sure the load range is right.

i have a 35 year old mercruiser 140 (181 cu in, basically the same engine as yours) with the late model 1
stern drive. i've owned it for about 10 years. i take care of it, so far so good. you will need to winterize
here in wisconsin, or you will have a cracked block and maybe a cracked stern drive case. some people
just drain the block but i always run in some food grade glycol antifreeze and fog the engine. mine is
carburated.

check the engine oil for any water (milky oil).
check the stern drive lube for any water (milky lube).

you will probably want to replace the water pump impeller, which is probably down in the lower unit.
they moved it to the engine on some i/o's. you might want to do a dry-run impeller (blue) like the
navy uses. buy the water pump kit--the labor to open it up is there anyway. replace the plastic pump
base, too (not in the kit).

check the condition of the cooling water hose that goes from the upper unit to the transom pass-thru.
they wear out. check the condition of the two bellows. check the condition of the shifter cable housing
where you can see it with the stern drive up all the way.

check the exhaust flapper, they burn off or fall off sometimes and you don't want water coming into
that engine.

merc used to provide a webbed strap as a transom saver--it supported the stern drive between the aft ends
of the two logs. i wouldn't tow it that far without stern drive support.

if it was me, i'd do a compression test on the engine. it's easy to do and doesn't take long. merc has the
specs. one bad cylinder can cost a bunch. i would also probably have someone measure the runout on
the prop shaft with a dial indicator. outboard or stern drive, if the shaft or gears are bent you're gonna
have trouble some day.

like bmr said change both fuel filters regularly. i change them every spring, along with new plugs (after
burning out the fogging oil). i am also a believer in techron fuel treatment--i run one bottle through
every summer. makes a big difference on an older engine like mine.

if it's running flaky and you think it's electrical start with new plug wires and then make a point to
keep them clean (no oil on them).

btw bmr, my gear lube is GREEN--i use the Mercury High Performance Outdrive Gear Lube+ (synthetic).
i also use the Mercury 4-Cycle 25W-40 Marine Engine Oil which is part synthetic, part dinosaur.
what merc says to do, i do. my warranty is long gone but she's still runnin.

change your stern drive lube every fall. always put a new seal on the drain and vent screws.
make sure you got the old one out and throw it away. they are CHEAP. water in the gears is EXPENSIVE.

for what it's worth, i've had bad luck with the new permanent magent starters. get 'em wet once and
they're junk. i might put the old one back on some day but it weighs so much more.

i prefer the i/o to an outboard because i can work on every system and actually understand it. and my big
hands don't get in the way so much.

[FloterBoter]

oh i forgot to add--if you're in oklahoma you HAVE to stop and see lakerunner (lr).
you might even get lucky and be there for the annual parade he mc's, lol.

[beermunk]

Thanks all for the advice. I was able to get a hold of the pdf manuals for the motor and stern drive from the guys at the iboats forum. I'm somewhat mechanically inclined. That is - I work on lab instruments for a living but never have gotten my hands dirty on anything bigger.

Annual maintenance doesn't sound that intimidating. Sounds like you just need to spend a good day doing it before putting it away.

Btwy I'm in Stevens Point WI.

[curtiscapk]

beermunk,

I'm glad I sent you this way. Welcome I told you you'd get a lot of feed back from these guys If you are swinging through KC and have an issue in area shoot me a pm and Ill give you my number just in case. Have a safe trip. Don't forget pics.

[lakerunner]

oh i forgot to add--if you're in oklahoma you HAVE to stop and see lakerunner (lr).
you might even get lucky and be there for the annual parade he mc's, lol.

FB PLEASE SEE NHB

[WaltF]

Hay beermunk!
First off.. Welcome!
Second, we have a 2007 22 foot Regency with the 3.0.
Love IT!
We've pulled a skier with 6 onboard.
We dont have a GPS (hope to change that), but ill guess we get 25mph +.
Dialing in the prop has been my biggest challange.
Started with a 16x16. Way too much prop.... Now have a 16x13 and i could still drop another 'notch'
Course we are way up here at 5000 ft.
Im thinking of going to a 15x12 or something....

Anyways, Love the thing! Fires rigth up everytime so far!
Have 52 hours on the engine now. Changed the oil/filter n drive lube out at 20 hours, and alls been good...

Cant wait to get it back into the slip! bout 5 more weeks..

[mike]

Great answers guys!! This is why we have a forum...

Glad to have you aboard Beermunk!

[beermunk]

beermunk,

I'm glad I sent you this way. Welcome I told you you'd get a lot of feed back from these guys If you are swinging through KC and have an issue in area shoot me a pm and Ill give you my number just in case. Have a safe trip. Don't forget pics.

Thanks man really appreciate that. We'll be going through the St. Louis Area I think. That's what the gps is telling me so far. Anyway yes I'll get photos up ASAP!!