[Mike Uliasz]

Gskyward,  I’m no expect here.  But one big theme on this website is to make sure the boat is prop right.  So 3100+ RPM’s at WOT for those motors under a full load.  I have the same motors, so like reading the articles posted on them.  Your boat is 30K dry weight too.  That’s alot of boat.  I’m at 14K dry, ~20K rigged up.    vicprop.com is another good reference point to use for prop recommendations. 

[Mike Uliasz]

Check out this link:

Oil Leak 6bta 330

[Mike Uliasz]

 

Check out Tony’s tips.  Here’s a key link on maintenance: 

Cummins Marine Aftercooler Maintenance

Plus SMAR has the maintenance kits with everything you’ll need.

[Mike Uliasz]

Tom, This a a little off subject regarding the engines, but the Pursuit express 3000 and 3400 are balsa core boats above the water line.  I have the 3400.   And the sale brochure numbers are bare bones boats without options like a hardtop, enclosure, tower (do you have an upper station?). Waxed bottom vs bottom paint …. etc.  The balsa core has the potential to hold moisture/water which = weight, another factor to look at.  Mine had issues with the hard top & fish box hatch. Search the hull truth:

• ‘1999 Pursuit express 3000 balsa core’, might have some moisture/weight issues
• ‘1999 Pursuit express 3000 4bta’ and you might find someone’s sea trial results which would be a much better bench mark than the sales brochure

Good luck Mike

[Mike Uliasz]

Throwing this out there. Have you tried changing the fluid to potentially fix the issue (probably have to do at least twice)?  

Get an oil pump out and give it a try, worth a couple $100 bucks.  Even if it doesn’t work, there will be oil in the tranny rather than the water mix and do the cooler at the same time.   

Memorial day is coming up, I can’t image many marine mechanics are available to jump on the job especially if you’re price shopping estimates.  I had a Shamrock with a PMC/Hurth? tranny that got water in it, no issues, just changed the fluid and it was fine. 

[Mike Uliasz]

I’ve had good results with prop-speed.  Basically extended cleaning the running gear for 12 months and not having to pull the boat last season.  

Prop-speed applied May, 2020

No running gear cleaned in 2020

1st cleaning Labor day weekend 2021 (had lost 2 knots), one side was fine the other had a barnacle strike 

Had diver clean running gear again in Nov B4 the water got to cold as a pre-caution 

Once its scape it’s lost it’s effectiveness. 

[Mike Uliasz]

Bob,
I’ve got a sister ship, 97 Pursuit 3400 Express with the same engines and battery configuration. Port charges 2 engine batteries, Starboard charges 3 house batteries.

So if you get in a jam with the engine battery’s:

1. Like Francis said, There a battery parallel at the helm which will give you the opposite side engine battery power in case the one of the batteries is dead. If that does not work.

2. Parallel off the house batteries, there is a switch to do so under the steps to the cabin.

3. Before starting your engines, start the generator, which will power the battery charger as a backup just incase the batteries get drained trying to start the engines.

4. Then start the engines

Speaking from experience as I had a bad alternator on the Port and my engine batteries were weak. Was trolling all day on the Starboard and when I went to start the port it killed the starboard. O’shot monument. Generator crank was weak, so paralleled off the house and fired up the generator. Then started both engines and headed in.

Last week I had a 7-8 second SB start and a 3 second Port cold start after sitting 3 weeks with no shore power plugged in during that time. Boat is in Virginia.

[Mike Uliasz]

Tony,
QQ, I’ve got the orginal setup on my Pursuit, Racor with the 10 Micron element and the FF5285 Fleetguard Fuel (20 Micron) on the engine.

Is there a better micron filter configuration with the Racor element or with the last chance engine filter?
Thanks

[Mike Uliasz]

Bill,

My boat had a 10 micron filter in racor when I purchased. I asked if it should be a 30 micron. A local mechanic said it should be a 30, but actually the 10 is the way to go.

See Tony & Rob’s reply’s:

6bta hard starting

Thanks

[Mike Uliasz]

You can go out to this link, plug in the numbers and it will come back with a prop recommendation.

https://www.vicprop.com/free-propeller-sizing-calculators

[Mike Uliasz]

I’ve been using ValvTect for the past 2+ years. Still have the Racor fuel filter setup. 100 hours a year. Each time we’ve change the fuel filters my mechanic bubby says there really clean, no need to change if you don’t want, but I still do. He has to change his filters a lot more oven when his boat is in the Outerbanks. Motors are 6BTA which from what I’ve read filter like 5 – 8 gallons of fuel for each gallon used. Not sure on the QSC8.3 but it’s good to burn some fuel, since it will polish the unused fuel in the tanks as it cycles thru the fuel system and returns to the tank.

[Mike Uliasz]

I’ve had good results with Super Clean on my vehicle engine and with oil clean up in the bilge. Spray on, wash off with water. Make sure there is some air ventilation with the aerosol spray.

[Mike Uliasz]

Check out the Tony’s tips video:

The Benefits of Fresh Water Flushing your Marine Diesel Engine

Use the intake strainer flush like Gene mention. Straight forward, no special connections. You could even hook it up to the fresh water hose if you have a fresh water connection in your cock pit that pulls from the fresh water tank and close the raw water intake. Be low volume water. I hook up to the dock water, leave the raw water intake valve open, since the strainer will get back flushed too.

[Mike Uliasz]

Here’s a good read:

Understanding Marine Fuel Coolers

[Mike Uliasz]

Corey at SBMAR did have some used VDO tachs too, that was second option I was considering if I could not get the tach fixed.

[Mike Uliasz]

Steve,
If you’re going to remove the tach and open up it up like Rob recommended:
(1) look into opening up the tach and replacing the failed plastic gears

I’d do a test with the hour meter to see if it’s the connections before replacing.

Remove the tach’s top plastic cover, then the RPM pin, then the second cover. The hour meter will be attached to the 3rd layer, the back side of the rpm display. Remove the hour meter, then install the hour meter back into the tach without the RPM display (4 wires off hour meter into the tach body). Hook it backup with no covers/display and start the engine and see if it works.

Long story short, fixed a tach/RPM issue (pin falling off), but when I reassembled the hour meter did not work, so had to reassemble multiple times because the tach/hour meter assembilily was slightly out of line and the hour meter moved slight to loose it’s connection.

[Mike Uliasz]

Check out this link and the pic may help, SB engine with the magnetic pickup on the bell housing. I had a similar issue with my port tach not coming up till I was up to 1800 rpm’s. It was 2 fold, but I startred with the magnetic pickup.

Now my SB tach does not come up at startup, but will once I touch the throttles and is fine even at idle after that ….

Magnetic pick-up/Tach trouble shooting

[Mike Uliasz]

Terry,
3/4″ MIP on the motor flush, I used SBMAR caps for the engines. Made them for the Gen and AC using rain barrel fittings and a hose value. The rain barrel fittings were 3/4″ garden hose with the inside being 1/2 MIP.

[Mike Uliasz]

Jimmy,
Check the temps with the laser thermometer, it might be the gauge.

My port always reads 190, went thru the AC and HE service and replaced the anti-freeze no change. Checked with a laser thermometer and 177 was the hottest spot I could find.

Starboard side was 195+ at purchase, but once the AC & HE were serviced 180 at cruise. Both drop ~5 degrees when dropped back to trolling speed.

You could also swap the gauges around, that is next on my list.

[Mike Uliasz]

Here’s the Aftercooler bench service link:

Cummins Marine Aftercooler Maintenance

Need to check the heat exchangers too. Did you change the zinc’s in the after cooler and heat exchanger this season? If not they could have dissolved and clogged the raw water tubes. This is what my boat looked like when I purchased 2 years ago, one engine was running 190 on a plane, fine at idle.

[Author]

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