OMC gurus lots of questions

[BASSIN]

I have just picked up an 86 225OMC

model # E225TXCDR
heads 331490-3
block 395531 225 48
power pack CD6L 583030 OA

first question, is this motor a good one and is it a good starting platform to modify

second, I have a 1989 175 GT(crossflow)will the 225(looper) power head mount on the lower unit

Third, I have the gear case but it is for a 25" mid can I just change the drive shaft and shift rod to the 20" or is there more involved

and lastly what would be the rpm limit on the power pack

oh sorry and what kind of rpm can the stock motor turn before I should start to worry

sorry for all the question :D

If anyone has any good ideas on what direction to head or any good tips let me know

Thanks guys any help is always greatly appreciated,
Craig

[Sleekster]

I did just change a 25" to a 20".

You can change the driveshaft, but the lower unit has to be dismantled. For that year the 20" shaft is one piece, the 25" is two.

To swap the powerheads you need to swap the adapter plate, something I have done as well. I put a 225 on a 235 mid and lower. You need to use heat on the ss bolts and the caste aluminum housing. The tuner is different so you might need to modify that too.

You can have that block a 2.7 L with 3.5" holes bored to the 3.0 L, 3.685" holes and use the heads from the 2.7. Call racer about a mod to the head though.

Good luck.

[Jeff Akers]

Your pack is limeted to 6100 rpm. I don't no how high you can go above that? Maybe one of the "guru's" will post on this!.
come on guys!!!!! ...Jeff Akers...

[B.Leonard]

That way you get the cubes and retain the bridged exhaust. The key to the bridge in the exhaust is that it allows the port to be shaped to allow more flow initially when uncovered by the piston because the port can be made very wide at the top with less of a rough transition for the rings to slide over than a single oval port.

Sleek! How've ya been! :)

-BL

[B.Mac]

I'm no guru but I like to keep mine below 7k with a balanced assembly. Now BL built mine and he's been tryin' ta' get me to clip the limiter and gain another 1000 + RPM but I gotta keep my rebuild$ down to a minimum. I bet it would run reliably to 7500 but for 3 mph I'm happy w/ 90:cool:
B.MAC:D

[Sleekster]

Dude, been great. Hit myself in the face wrenching on the Vindicator, 6 stitches, 3 inside my mouth, 3 out. On the final leg of a test ride to sell the Sleek, I broke a rod, venting the front half...lost sale?! Maybe he'll buy it w/o power.

But beyond those things, life is great. I want an openbow that will fit in the garage.

You survive the Second coming of Ivan? and what about Jeanne? And the first Ivan appearance?

What you said about the can shaping the exhaust, I hadn't thought about that, but you are right, so using a crossflow 235 can with the looper might be a good idea......

[BASSIN]

Hey BL the stacks for the crossflow came today. All as I can say is awesome, bolts, gaskets everthing, THANKS

Sleek taking the gear case apart is no problem considering I recieved it in a box. The adapter plate, is it the top part of the mid, and does this adapter match up to the crossflow mid.

just reading sleeksters post, is there some benefit to keeping the crossflow tuner on for the looper power head

Thanks jeff that gives me a good starting point and anyone with any knowledge is a guru to me:p

Also I see some posts about better intakes and carbs does anyone have any input on that

Thanks agian guys

[BASSIN]

Hey BL I forgot to ask, you don't happen to have any of those nice billet stacks for the looper lying around do you? :D

[Sleekster]

Yup, the adapter plate is the part that attaches the block to the mid. Yes it will bolt-up to the crossflow mid. I have a couple one piece 20" shafts. Shimming them, so I've been told, is very important. You will need the top mount to the looper, might be a good time to put in solid upper mount. Land and Sea is the only supplier that I know of, Rickracer should be able to get them for you.

The "bad" intakes are newer than yours. You have the bigger bore carbs, but the '86 GT / XP carbs are the biggest.

I have a set of Monty cut heads, but your 2.7 L would work. As for the tuner, BL might have more to say about that. An idea worth examining. I have a couple that I often thought of scrapping, but now am glad I am a pack rat.

Most of this stuff is really easy.

[B.Leonard]

I doubt it's worth the hassle at the stage you're at, just leave it out. The 3.0 loopers don't have one. Not that tuners don't help at all on any motor, there's just much bigger gains to be had elsewhere, especially in your setup.

B.Macs looper is making some serious grunt. Bore that 2.7 to 3.0, run your 2.7 heads and the medium bore carbs and have someone do some good port work inside that thing and you'll have the same. His motor has relatively high exhaust ports yet is a monster on low end power even on a heavy boat like the Vegas. If he does pull that limiter it'll scare him more than asking his wife for more money for another rebuild :D

Glad you like the stacks, you should see how I got those things! It took about 100lbs of sand to get them like that! No looper stacks. I like the box with the restrictor plate removed (baffle).

Sleek- 4 hurricanes only two came through Tampa and they were nothing but big storms. Barely hurricane status. I did have to bring the trash cans in on the that last one ;) But to me a disaster is when they're pushing bodies into mass graves so maybe I'm not the one to ask :D

What were you doing on the Vin to get 6 stiches? One handed leak-down tests? Nothing like a 1/2" breaker bar in the teeth. Shame about the rod, did the guy ask for discount? :D

Hope all is well with family, good to hear from ya.

-BL

[bulldogdaddy]

hey sleek! glad to see ya back around!when ya get the vin?
btw do you ever hear from scott?

[Sleekster]

Looks like the tuner thing might be a good experiment.

BL is right the porting would be the better focus.

As for the stitches....My drive shaft broke at the weld (had it cut down from a 25"er) my nephew was in town from the Merchant Marine Academy for the next weekend so I tried to hurry and swap the mid and lower of the Vindicator, I have a spare 25"er, it wasn't a 1/2" breaker, it was a 1/2" ratchet slipped and well, we never made the deadline.

Bull, always had the Vindicator on the Sleek....rebuilt it 4 years ago when I got the boat....we'll see why it broke in the next few weeks.

As for Scott, I never heard back from him after the Rumble a year ago. He owed me $245 for new and used parts. He bought a new trailer for his boat, took his family to the Rumble, but didn't have $ for me, made arrangements once to pay $35 a week...never did it... I tried a number of times to talk to him, he never returned my calls. He sold the boat, moved to Tenn. and by chance had I not just stopped by to get my 40 gal compressor 2 weeks before he settled, that would have been gone too. I thought we were friends. Just goes to show you, some people make their own rules as they go along. $245 to learn who a person is is cheap.

I know BL had his own experience w/ the guy.

Didn't mean to hijack the thread.

[BASSIN]

Thanks for the replies guys,
Went out tonight and took the power head off the mid. I hope the adapter comes off just as easy!

Sleek do you have any spare 20" shafts you might want to sell? Also what are you using for shims, and what did you do for the shift rod ?

[Sleekster]

Or you will be drilling and tapping.....

Yes I have a couple 20" one piece shafts for your year. I'll pull them and make sure they are good.

Eme if you want to make a deal.

The shims in yours now should be good, but your OMC dealer should have the measurement from the top of the shaft to the lower.

My guy swaps the shafts for me. A great time to do a seal kit for the the lower.

Keep at it.

[BASSIN]

Hey sleek just shot you an e-mail

What did you do for the shift rod?

Haven't tried the adapter plate yet, looking into getting a complete mid off of some one on the site.
have to wait and see before I go any futher

Craig

[Sleekster]

I had my 25"er cut 5" and rethreaded. A meatball job for the shop. It was the same shop that cut my 25" driveshaft to a 20"er, but that broke at the weld and I went to racer for a cherry 20".

I guess you could do it in the garage . When you install the shift shaft, screw it all the way down, straighten it and 5 360's should get you back to neutral for shifting. Just install 2 bolts of the lower unit and hook it up and test. I've had to drop the lower again to get it closer. The old x-flows you could rotate the shift rod with the lower hooked up, not the loopers. Progress, huh?

I didn't get your email....hummmmmm, I hope I'm not missing others.

There is a custom paint blue middie on this site, I had an eye on it, but decided for the money, I could throw-together my own. I already have all the parts...just a little lazy I guess.

You will need mounts though..... a little over $400 from Land and Sea for upper and lowers.

Forgive me for repeating myself, use heat on the rmoval of the adapter plate if you don't get the mid from here. I've stupidly thought " I think it won't need it this time" and "snap" and then soon afterward another 4 letter "s" word could be heard.

If you have the parts, which you do, except for the snout, ($40? I think) you can do it. The water tube from you xflow can be used with thew adapter or just cut down the copper tube from the 25"er.

Do what you think is best, but don't let not doing it before intimidate you, the board has your back.

[BASSIN]

Hey guys been gone for a while thanks for the replies

Sleek I bought that blue mid but still have to change my gear box to a 20".

I saw you did not get my e-mail I just wanted to see if you had any 20" shafts that you might be interested in selling.

I am still waiting on some parts from this mid as well, but I am looking for any advice on dry stacking the OMC so I don't burnout the water pump or char the mid every time out.

Well I guess its time to get my hands dirty:D

[BASSIN]

Would I still be better off to use the adapter that came with the power head or are all the looper adapters the same?

[Sleekster]

are the same.

What year powerhead are you using?

I checked and do have 2 pre-'93 one piece driveshafts in good shape.

One is a woodriff key one is with the plastic wedge ..... at the water pump.

[racer]

Actually the bolt pattern for the adapters are the same but there are differences in the different year adapters. 86/7 same 88-92 same 93 up on carb engines same. Ficht also have some different ones.

[Laker]

So what is considered the best for a performance application?

[BASSIN]

Racer do the adapters have any identifiers on them to tell the year. My one came with the 1986 225 the other one may possibly be a 95 not sure though. And is one of these better than the other?

When applying heat should it be to the bolt or to the casting, and do I run any risk of hurting the casting?

Sleek the power head is a 1986 225

[BenKeith]

In no way am I trying to play racer but can tell you the difference between 88-92 and 93 up adapters. 88 - 92 have the single, rectangle relief port on the rear, 93 and newer have totally different relief port. 93 and newer have the one that has the capability to connect a garden hose into it. Just depends on what covers you plan to run as to the adapter you will need. Early covers; early adapter, later covers; later adapter

[BASSIN]

Well sleek I told you that I bought that blue unit pictured below, starting to wish I had just passed on it.
When I recieved it (in pieces)there were no bolts to hold together the lower pan, no exhaust can or water tube, no upper mount, a piece missing from the back of the cowl, no bolts to mount the lowers to the swivel.
AND WHILE I WAS OUT LOOKING AT THE ADAPTERS I SEE HE HAS SNAPPED TWO BOLTS OFF IN THE MID:mad:

he informed me that he will look to see if the extra parts are in the shed but he doesn't seem to be answering my emails right now

[Sleekster]

Dude, That stinks. Let me know what you need, I might have it, n/c just shipping. Bolts are not that big of a deal, but you can use the water tube off a 25"er just cut it....but measure first.

The upper is a meatball, not to worry.

I got your back. Let me know. as you can see, it might take me awhile.

Keep the faith. Hopefully you'll get what you paid for .

If you are not happy, send it back, get your money back and start over. Loose the shipping.