Way2slow

My personal feelings are different that most replying. I've overpowered almost every boat I've owned, some massively. For instance I have a modified motor I put on my Javelin R-20, rated for 245hp, that dino's at 326hp off the prop. The boat will run in the lower 80's with full gear, livewells, two people and gas. However, there is the thing about boat knowledge and being a responsible operator. If you own a 1,000hp car that will run 200+ mph, doesn't mean you have to drive it that fast. Now, there are two major obstacles/concerns when over powering one. Insurance, is one, buying a nice boat, usually means financing and that means it MUST be insured. Getting coverage could be a problem, and if you lie about it, it could come back to bite you if you ever needed it. The next is the liability factor. Get in a accident, even if it's not your fault, a good lawyer will have you for lunch and you may be working for someone else the rest of your life. If neither of those are problems, then I see no problem with having what ever motor you want. I don't think Tennessee is one of those states that have laws against it like some states. Some states its a very serious problem if you get caught with an over powered boat.

Living in Tennessee, I wouldn't worry as much about what the Coast Guard might say, since they will most likely never see it, as what the insurance company will say. They sometimes have a tolerance they will allow for over powering, but I don't think many are going to smile at a 25hp over. As mentioned also, that would get you disqualified from most any BASS sanctioned tournament

Here's a link to a 98, check it out and see if it's close enough to yours, may be identical http://files.motorka.org/plm/mercury/service_manual/mercury_2t/mercury_225_225EFI_250EFI/2a.pdf Also, check this one out. http://www.mdmotors.ru/netcat_files/216/180/MERCURY__2.4L__2.5L__3.0L_V6_EFI_Tehnicheskoe_ustroystvo_dvigateley.pdf If you know how to troubleshoot electrical, between these two, you should be able to find it. Identify the fuse and I can look at them and help you if needed. A word of caution, the first thing you need to do before poking around the ECM with an ohm meter is to unplug it. The voltage from the meter in the ohms mode is more than a lot of the 3 to 5 some of the stuff going to it and an blow an ECM. That's any ECM, cars also and do not try taking ohms reading on ECM terminals. Also, after you unplug it, check for your short, the ECM could be the cause of it. If it is, that'll ruin your day. I just realized, something is wrong. Here I'm telling a guy how to trouble shoot the electrical on his 225 EFI Merc. Another post I'm telling a guy how to rewire his TM. Another I'm telling a guy how to reload bullets. Another how to build an tack driving rifle. then how to roast and brew coffee, and on another, how to bake a cake and all about flours. ?????????? Something don't seem right here.

A couple of problems with my help. I don't know the mercs like I do the OMC's, there are a whole bunch of 225 Mercs and there's not enough info there for me to offer much help. A year model would help, and I can't tell by that picture what's the fuse. The fist thing I would suggest is getting a schematic. Identify the fuse on the schematic and then see what all it provides power to. Then disconnect as many of those items as you can and try it again. If it doesn't blow, then start connecting one connector at the time back and trying it each time until you find the one that causes the fuse to blow. I it does blow, then you need to keep looking for points to disconnect. Connecting an ohm meter between then engine side of the fuse and ground would probably help find the source of the problem. Sometimes the ohm meter doesn't help because it may be something going through a relay. When you turn the key on, the relay energizes and then the fuse blows. Situations like that, you have to get on the other side of the relay and disconnect or take ohm readings.

I think the recliner extending has a built in code that sets off a whole chain of alarms. Wife needs you to do come/go do something. You cell phone rings if you set it somewhere out of your reach The door bell rings. Let something be on TV you are wanting to watch or a key area of something you are watching comes on, and there is almost a 100% guarantee you won't be there long.

No one flour is good for all things. They are ground different and one of the main things you have to watch is the protein content. The higher the protein, the "stronger" the flour is and usually the more gluten it has. For instance, bread flours are up close to 14% or 4.0 on the label. Cake flours are around 9% or 2.0 on the label. King Arthur has some good flours but I would not use them to make biscuits, they are to hard and brick like if you are not very careful. White Lilly is the best there is for biscuits, Also for a lot of pastries. Then you can blend flours to get one that works best. If you want something to be lighter and fluffy, use lower protein flours, If you want something like breads to rise a lot and hold together, use higher protein flours.

If you like to cook cakes and like a good coconut cake, check out Alton Brown's coconut cake recipe. That is absolutely the best one I've found other than one thing, he puts way too much sugar in the cake mix for my likings so I leave out one cup. Also watch his video and pay attention to the bowl and boiler he is using to make the icing. Those are critical in making a good, seven minute icing turn out every time. My wife has cursed seven minute icing for years but she keeps on insisting on making it in a double boiler and it don't work most times. The large stainless bowl over the 8 quart boiler lets it turn out right every time. I also make his coconut cream, milk and extract. Those can't be bought around my neck of the woods.

My wife used to be a great cook and came from an old southern family of great cooks but she has gotten very lazy in her senior years when it comes to cooking. She doesn't put a whole lot of effort into most every day meals, just so it's quick and easy, and can be baked in the oven. Then it's big enough to make sure there is enough for at least a couple of meals. Who ever invented the casserole should be shot. Now, Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner are still a traditional southern spreads of delicious food and plenty of it, but those only come once a year. That's why I do a lot of cooking and tend to cook more of the gourmet meals, making my own fresh pasta's, sauces, yeast roles etc and try doing things to enhance the flavors of the foods I'm cooking. I like to use a lot of the European cheeses and meats. It's hard to beat a good cordon bleu, with a good Prosciutto, and one of the French cheeses in it.

I've always like to cook gourmet type meals, more so in the Italian dishes than anything else. Living in Italy for six years back in the 70's and 80s, I feel in love with their cooking. I also do a pretty mean pizza and some excellent breads from there. I've finally decided to build me a 4' brick outside oven to cook pizza's and breads. I wanted to build it so the opening was in the house, but that required some work that my wife was totally against, so it will be outside. I really like to bake a lot of unique style breads. A couple of my favorites are Peter Reinhart's, Stolen, (I do a lot of his recipes) and some authentic Panettone's and Pandoro's, these take about a week but there is nothing better with a good cup of coffee early in the mornings. Most of what I do is too advanced for the average cook. I also bake some pretty wicked cakes and pastries. Being raised a country boy in the south, I also do one hellava barbequed pig. One thing I will mention, if you really want to get into baking excellent, healthy breads, look into getting you a grain mill, buy whole wheat berries and grind your own as you need it. I usually buy 40/50 pounds at the time. They are seasonal and you have to learn which to buy when and where. You need the soft wheat for pastries and lighter breads and hard wheat for wheat breads. The whole wheat berry will keep for years and grinding your own, you get the wheat germ and no preservatives. Something that's not possible to get in bought flour. You can not even imagine the difference in taste of the fresh ground wheat versus the stuff you buy off the shelf. The first time you bite into a piece of wheat bread that doesn't have that bitter/funky taste the store bought stuff has, you will be hooked. Also, if you happen to make cornbread, grinding you own corn for the corn meal, there is no comparison.

I only run two oils. I run the OEM XD-50 in my 225 FICHT DFI motor and Pennzoil 100% synthetic in all the other dozen carbureted motors that are anywhere between 1960, 2hp and highly modified 1997 3.0, 325hp V6 Johnson . DFI motors I only run the OEM recommended oils. Spark plugs, I usually always run the OEM recommended, even in my vehicles. The older Johnsons always get Champion. If for some reason I do have to vary from that, it's usually to run NGK or Denso, Laser Iridiums if the ignition system will handle them.

Yep, you mix them, you may wind up with soap in your hubs instead of grease. Take them out, inspect them, clean and repack them, and replace the rear seal.

Post was deleted so I deleted mine. Just incase someone happens to need one, they are just Mercruiser power trim relays.

A bass but is not going to be friendly jug fishing if you have more than an handful. They are designed to put you lower to the water with fairly unobstructed casting, and room to move around. Other than the small, low area at the seats, everything is a flat surface elevated to within a few inches of the top edge. Not exactly an ideal area to have a bunch of jugs being blown by the wind when running down the lake. At the same time, the deep V would be great for your jug fishing and most everything else, but not so good for bass fishing. So, are you primarily a bass fisherman that does a little other types, or are mostly a multi-species fisherman that enjoys a little bass fishing in the spring and fall when they are easier to catch and fish for everything else between those times. You could take the decision process out and just buy both.

4WD is probably based on your life style. I fish multi-species, red horse suckers, bream, catfish, bass, hybrids, stripers, white bass etc (not much of a crappie fisherman). I fish, and launch boats in places a lot of people would never dream of. Several of the places I go through cow pastures and woods, and launch off the side of the bank. Which launching it with 2WD wouldn't be a problem, getting it back out would be. Of course, just getting the boat to them sometimes would be difficult without 4WD. I also quail hunt and do it from the truck. I'm riding the fields while the dogs are hunting and may cover 20-30 miles off road, through the woods and everything else doing this. I drive through a lot of places I wouldn't even try to walk through. Now, I may also go a couple of years and never take it out of 2WD, but when you need it, it's worth it's weight in gold. The main thing with 4WD is you try not to use it, because if you are using it and get in trouble, your screwed. If you are using 2WD and get in trouble, you can generally use the 4WD to get out. It only takes one bad situation to make it worth every penny it cost extra to get it. I do a lot of stuff that increases my odds of getting into a bad situation, but sometimes just not thinking can cause major problems. We were striper fishing one winter and it started sleeting, but we kept fishing because they were biting good. When it finally got too dangerous to move around in the boat because of the heavy layer of ice on everything, we called it quits and headed to the ramp. Well, dummy me didn't think about if it was sleeting on the lake, it was sleeting on the ramp and there was a nice layer of ice completely covering it. Ever tried to pull 3,200 pounds of boat and trailer a couple hundred feet up a 20 degree, iced over incline. Even with 4WD and positive traction front and rear, it's not easy. For a while, it looked like I was going to have to use the winch (another great tool to have).

At my age. girls like that don't interest me. At least that's what I keep telling the wife when she catches me starring and comes out with that "What are you looking at?".

Nice truck, you just left half of it behind. Not four wheel drive. That's like buying a car with a little extra towing capacity. In 1967 I bought my first truck, 1966 4WD Bronco. I couldn't even visualize buying one that was not. 50 years later, I've always owned a truck and still could not imagine buying one that's not. Actually have two now, 93 Toyota 4WD and the 2001 Silverado 2500HD 4WD. I guess that was just part of my upbringings and being a south GA redneck. Back then, half the roads you drove on were red clay, even the one in front of the house. Want to really learn how to drive, get on some red clay roads after it has rained a few days.

Unless you are built like the HULK, or the boat is made out of metal about the gauge of a beer can, you might want to rethink anything larger than a 1232 if you are not going to be trailering it. If you insist on a 14' especially wider than a 1436, make sure you have plans to get a trailer a lot sooner than later. The 14' one posted above from Academy is 135 pounds.

http://www.remybattery.com/intimidator-8a31dtm-battery.html These are as good as they come. Shop around though, there are huge differences in price for the same battery through different suppliers. This is also the same battery as the BPS, Deka makes their batteries. The best way to compare how long a battery will run on a TM is by using the Reserve minutes capacity. Make sure they are using the same rating, some will use 23 amp or even 20 amp instead of the standard 25 amp rating. CA, CCA, MCA mean nothing for deep cycle use. Usually the higher those ratings are, the worse the battery is for deep cycle TM use. A true deep cycle usually will not even have those ratings listed.

Why not try to use the distance between the rod guides. I you happen to still have that one around or remember what type it was, casting or spinning. If I had to guess, it looks like a 6'6" spinning rod (based on the number and space between the guides and how the one being used is being held with guides down) so if you measure one you have with the same number of guides, the spacing will should be very close to the same. I think you can get much closer that trying to use that ore that has nothing to reference by.

I don't have to pick up any new ones. I always keep more on my plate than I could ever hope to get done. Now that cold weather bothers me because of meds I'm taking, winter actually puts a lot of the stuff I need to do on the back burner. I have to 2000, Chevy 3500 van that getting water in the oil, need to pull the heads on it. Not in the cold. I bought a 2004 Beetle Convertible for $200 for my wife, or should I say my wife bought her a beetle convertible for me to fix for her. Most everything is done and she's driving it but needs to back glass glued in across the top, but not in the cold. I couldn't convince her it was too cold to build a carport for it, so that, I had to do last week. I really need to rebuild the transmission in my 2500HD, but not in the cold. I have a several old clocks and pieces of furniture I need to refinish. Not in the cold. Several of the clocks need the movements cleaned/repaired so I'm working on those also. Just got two old cuckoo clock movements back together and working. I've built a new rifle and need to develop a load for it, again, not in the cold. I'm a very avid gunsmith and build my own custom rifles, plus I reload bullets/shells for everything I shoot and I shoot a lot. I'm building two new coffee bean roasters, one air roaster, one drum roaster when it's not too cold in the garage to use the lathe and other equipment I need to use. (I also roast my own coffee beans) I've got a couple of outboards I'm building but medical problems have those on hold. I'm building a professional model spot welder to weld tabs on lithium batteries to make battery packs. Got the control board built, waiting on the LCD display and getting everything ready to go in the case. I fly RC airplanes helicopters run RC trucks so I use a lot of different types of battery packs for those, plus I do have a degree in electronics and constantly doing different type of electronics projects. I'm building my son a new super gaming computer to run a race car simulator we are building for him. Also keep a 12x16 green house going with plants and starting my tomatoes and vergies for the spring I could keep on typing for another long list of projects but I think this will pretty much show I don't need anything special to keep me occupied during the winter. All of this I'm having to try and doing with one hand I just had surgery on and can barely use it.

OLD AGE and putting my body through h*** all my life. I have a degenerative bone disease in my back neck and ribs, plus some pretty troubling arthritis in my hands and major joints. A few months ago they had to take a bone out of my left hand at the base of my thumb to relieve the pain there, and they say that's a 12 month recovery. As soon as I get enough use back in my left, they are going to do the right. I've got a deformed vertebra in my lower back that's causing some major pain now and pinching the nerves going into my legs and they are talking about surgery on that also. So, my hands are almost useless, I can't sit or stand for any length of time and I refuse to take anything stronger than Aleve or take any more cortisone shots. Doing the mods on these motors require as much as 100 hours of standing bent over a block on an engine stand with a die grinder vibrating your hands the whole time. The standing and bending over is rough, and I can't even hold a die grinder, and they say a my never be able to hold one again with the strength and precision I need to do this stuff. Right now and for a while to come, I can't even use a bait caster fishing, and not sure I will be able to either. Plus I mostly have to go fishing by myself and it's getting very difficult to load and unload the boat off the trailer. Like I said, my body is just to frigging worn out.

Never thought much about this day but it's looking like it has come, my body is giving out on me. I've already sold my best 325hp modified motor. It's now pushing an Allison 103mph with very little setup. Now trying to figure out how to get rid of the rest of the stuff. Some great high performance blocks, but not ready to build and doctors say I probably won't be the one finishing them. One is a 3.0L Johnson that will make over 300hp and another is a 3.3L etec that with a set of Dave Bush pistons and his heads, is capable of making over 450hp. I've got all kinds of motors and stuff I think is about to go, even my 20' Javelin. I go back to the doctors in several weeks depending on what the they say this time determines how I will proceed.

Hey just because you ticked me off, nothing saying you have to quit. You are not the first to do that. There's a lot of good, knowledgeable people on hear, Just don't expect much support from me. I just feel when I go through the time and effort to find the carbs you said no one else could, at some great prices, and post links to them, it should at least be acknowledged. If you didn't follow up on that before I erased it, too bad, your loss. One note, I just happen to know your motor as good as anyone, and better than most.

They look great, for now. I hope yours do better than a set I bought for my granddaughters car. OEM hubcap was $80, one came off and one was cracked enough it was coming off soon, I bought four for $30 that looked just like them, just didn't have the logo in the center. A year and a half later, they look like crap, almost all the finish has gone and they are mostly just gray pieces of plastic. Like all this cheap plastic stuff, buy cheap **** and get cheap ****.

Ouch, loud crash and bang is usually more than just popping a piston. You will probably want to pull the head and check it if you plan to get that one rebuilt or another power head. They all have that stipulation it has to be a buildable core or you don't get your core charge back. If it broke a rod and busted the piston, it may have damaged the block. If it did, they usually claim its not buildable. Damaged block or damaged crank and they usually consider it not buildable. Now, if it did just melt the top out of it and it was the molten metal hammering between the head and piston, many times, what lucks like a badly scored sleeve is just the aluminum built up on it. I've cleaned some pretty ugly cylinders with muriatic acid (it eats the aluminum) and they end up just having a few minor scratches in the actual sleeve.