Merc 575 Question...
 

I just recently bought a new (to me) Sonic 358 Diablo......the motors are Merc 575's. The boat will be here in a few days so I am doing a little more research before I take delievery. These 575's are the ones with no sight glass......are these the earlier models that have a dip stick and oil in the front and rear of the blower ....or do they have a sealed bearing in the back too. I have read that the later models with the bearing's in the rear had more problems. Can someone give me the scoop on this style 575.........another question I have is what oil and how much oil goes into each blower....... I have done many searches on the 575's but still havn't gotton all of the answers. Thanks in advance guys....................John

Congrats on the new to you Sonic! Very nice boat. Yours may not have a dipstick in it. If you have a large hex nut on top then you will. There should be a 1/4" pipe plug in the top, or a dip stick, which is a vent and there should be one in the front of the case about 1/4 of the way up from the bottom, when you take the lower plug out the oil should be to the bottom of the threads just coming out. If you dont have a plug 1/4 of the way up then you can drain some by removing one of the lower bolts on the front cover. As far as the bearings in the rear of the blower they are sealed roller bearings, no oil. Now, the oil that Merc uses is high perf gear lube, the green stuff. Some people run mobil 1 or there specialty gear oil. As far as how much, its not much something like a few ounces. I'll try to find the amount if there is one.

John S.:D

Pwrbt33.....first off thanks......so your saying there is no preventitive maintenance that I can do to the rear side bearing except a rebuild before something happens.........and only an oil changes to the front side.

Yup!, I started to tell my customers after 2 to 3 seasons to let me pull them off and send them out to have them rebearinged and the rotors checked. Preventive maintenance.

John S.:D

I had the motors scanned and they show up with just under 200 hrs........I plan on trying to make this season then pulling the blowers off to be rebuilt for the winter........am i taking a risk or do you think this is ok. I also had leakdown test done on both motors......great results too.....most under 10% and two at 15%........

It sounds like they are in pretty good shape. I dont want to tell you to take them off and I dont want to tell you to leave them on either. Kinda feel them out, listen to them see if there is any noise coming from them. Also have the dealer look up the engine serial numbers to see if there was any warranty work done on the engines and or blowers. Some also had a problem with shafts and couplings in the snout.

John S.:D

Verify the torque of the bolts on the blower front and back, a friend with those had the rear plate lossen up (it was held by hallen headed bolts)and the blower seized.

Might be an isolated incident but checking those bolts is fairly easy.

The dealer who brokered the sale showed me a stack of papers of all the warrenty work done to these motors since new....I am waiting for my copies in the mail. I will take your advice and feel them out......and thanks again for your help

will do GLH...thanks for the heads up...... Keep the tips coming guys.......I will have plenty of time for tinkering through April and May.........

Sure, if you need anything else just shoot me an email. Some engines have had to have the head gaskets done around 300 hours, then is when I suggested to have a valve job done and new springs installed for good protection.


John S.:D

I had a pair of 575's in my fountain and they were a great pair of motors.

nice to see her coming home so soon johnny.
my suggestion... buy a 2nd pair of blowers, so when/if these go, you're not outta commission too long. and always have 1 backup set.

Those look like the Wiand blowers ( the later were B&M's)

The Wiands have a "W" cast in the front housing.

Mine have the Wiands, and they have oil in the rear.

I ended up removing the superchargers to change the oil.

It's not that big of a deal to do.

They don't hold much oil in either end.

The only problem I had with either of mine was
a small oil leak at the shaft seal, and that was an easy fix
also.


Great engines:D

I'm shure you'll enjoy them:drink:

Rob......I have already been in touch with the Blower shop about a backup pair....the snout seems to be the only problem for getting a backup but they are working on it....and yes she should be at her new home soon.......

JayTee......that is what I thought from all of the researching I have done on OSO........is there any way to suck the oil out or is removing the Blower the only way....

At 200 hours you should be fine.
Mine were rebuilt @ 290 hours and they looked fine. 20/20 hindsight, I could have gotten away FINE w/ changing valve springs.
Also had Blowershop rebuild and upgrade blowers About $2K for both.
Great motor! Reliable and fast. Check the front thermostat housing - esp where the hoses connect. They like to corrode there and close up the passage.
Do a search here and on Speedwake for 575SCi or just 575. Lots of good info!!!

I have early production 575SCi's.

There is oil reservoirs front and back. I watch them
like a hawk and change the Merc drive oil in them
yearly.

At 430 hours and 5 years I've just completed a head
overhaul on one engine (tired exhaust valves). And
the head gaskets suck although I never had a failure
due to them.

Watch the diaphragm fuel pump on the raw water
pump like a hawk too. Especially every year take it
off and change the oil in the little reservoir.

But what do I know. I'm not a marine mechanic.

Pesky Varmint.

Thanks for all the great tips guys........

We are going to be busy this year.....:p :eek: :p

:D :drink: :D

I have a pair of 2002 575's and here's my advise (for whatever it is worth). I had a blower fail last year at 250 hours. I don't run my boat real hard, but I do lean on it. I bought the boat new and have changed the oil in the blowers annually. By the time I could hear the rotors colliding, it was too late. They were bent and I had to fork over $3500 to the blower shop for a rebuilt blower because no one makes rotors any more. Mine are Weiand. Now at 280 hours I just had a head gasket fail. I love the motors but highly recommend you rebuild your blower every 200 hours or less! The cost is $400 from the blower shop compared to $3500!

What I meant to say was a stack of papers of all the service records.....such as oil changes etc,etc,etc since new. Sorry about that...

Good advice that I will be following......... I am looking for a spare right now to have so I can have them all rebuilt.....thanks Quiad.....

Did it have any drive problems ?


On mine,
Lets just say the 575's neighbors, the XR's,
that live just behind them,
have had a couple more problems than
either of the engines have had.:eek:


On your question on sucking out the oil from
the blowers.

I suppose you could rig up something to do it.

The problem is, in the rear, it's not in the most user
friendly place to deal with.

The fill/ level plug is on the side.

The distributor is right behind it.

1. getting the oil in could be a mess.

2. Knowing if you got enough oil back in could
be a problem..since it's hard to even see the fill/ level plug.

Take off the belt, disconnect the fuel line,
throttle cable, breather vent hose,
unplug the IAT, TPS, and MAP sensors,
unbolt the supercharger from the intake,
andremove the supercharger.
Then you can dump the oil
out of it rather easy.

Thanks JaaayTeee........ removeing the Blower sounds like the best way then......I would rather be sure that I got it all out and get the right amount in.

I also had drive problems with my 575's. The XR's the were paired with my 2002 42 fountain gave me more trouble than the motors.

wow Johnny this is a Jump from a Boat like mine.
you keeping the Senza for a dingy LOL.

What's up Brian......congrats on the new born.... No the Senza is up for sale and the new Sonic is a wedding present to myself.........getting married April 28th........:drink: :drink: I am joining the club

575
 

I have a pair of 575's, at 230 hours one of the blowers started to sound different thatn the other one. Sort of a howl instead of a wine like a health one should sound. Took it in for the pros to listen to and they were surte it was bearings. I believe the front was worse than the rear. They did both bearings , roters were fine.

Based on that I assume you can tell if the bearings are week by listening . Just goose the motor when in newtral with the pad up and if one sound more like a howl than a wine, get to the shop.

Mine are 2001 vintage

agreed

Know the boat well..
 

JohnnyD - That boat was a friend of mine's. It was well taken care of and you got the deal of the century - He was just done with boating.

Good to hear that LP..................Thanks. Anyone that I could find that was involved with the boat said it was well taken care of....................

That is a great looking boat, to go with a great looking wife!

Congrats to you both. Lots of room in the cabin for overnight stays. Heck we have stayed on our 30SS for ten days at a time.

Thanks Chris......................looking forward to seeing you guys this summer in Zacks. I hope to take a few trips to Fire Island as well......................possibly find somewhere nice to overnite out there........................................

which weiand blower is it on there?

Johnny you have JC in your backyard. Ask him your 64,000 dollar question

hope the boat is treating you well. I am trying to come back there for the NYC poker run

swamp lizard.........the blowers are the original.....both bearing are in an oil bath......

Jeff........I am actually in Bora Bora right now.....got married on the 28th of April so I really haven't used the boat much yet. I also already have a blower being rebuilt at the blower shop and will swap them out one at a time to avoid any trouble this summer.......and Jeff I will be at the NYC Run this year with the new boat and new wife....hahahaha.......so keep an eye out for me..............

hey johnny... congrats!!!

Cool, Bora Bora! Try to go deep sea fishing for "Grander" Marlin. We had one over 1,000 pounds off Tahiti that towed the 50 foot sportfish I was on, around like a toy on half inch rope that we used. Looked to be twenty feet long before he snapped the hook in half. My brother filmed the whole epic battle.

Warning: no high octane fuel in Freeport this summer, so we moved the boat up to the Great South Bay, and close to Fire Island. Kismet is a great place to overnight on the boat (did that already this year) and party half the night away at the funky Kismet Inn. Flynns, Watch Hill and Sailors Haven are all good too.

S.H. is tough to get in as it is small, and fills quickly.

We shall miss Al Grover's and his enclosed rack storage.

Look forward to seeing your boat, and you newly weds. Have a great time in the South Pacific, best snorkeling/diving on the planet!

JohhnyD454,
Congrats on your new ride. I have a single 575 in my boat. It is a well built, conservatively tuned motor (lots of HP left). @ 200 hours you are on the edge for blower rebuilds. A lot of that depends on service intervals (I recommend Red Line Shockproof gear oil every 25 hours), how hard they have been run, and what diameter pulleys you're using (stock is 4").
I have had mine rebuilt by TBS 2 times. Most recently by Darren Mayer Performance Engineering.
I would highly recommend DMPE. Ask for Brian if you contact them.
Much more information on 575s (and my build up) on the Nordic forum.
www.dmpeinc.com
Regards,
Steve