Tech section. What happened?
 

Maybe I am wrong, or a little off base here with this. I have always loved the tech section, and all the great info shared among the fellow OSO guys. Tons of great engine, rigging, electrical, and all kinds of stuff pertaining to offshore boats. There used to be alot of really knowledgeable guys posting.

As of lately, alot of the threads started are about some guy with a OMC Ford 302, crusader engine questions for his cruiser, 4.3 V6 hop ups, and so on. All being posted by new users with no posts, no avatars, not even a make/model of what they own, or where they are from. Some of the technical questions, have got really off base to the offshore boat thing.

While I am always the first to lend a helping hand to a boater, especially on the water, no matter what kind of boat they have, I am a offshore boat owner and enthusiast. I miss reading posts from guys like Dean Gellner, Laz Mesa, JC, and all the other knowledgeable riggers and engine builders.

I guess what I am saying, is, what happened to the days of talking about blowers, crankshafts, head porting, bore notching, valve train geometry, deep sump trannys and dyno tests? There used to be 10 page threads about boost referencing carbs, and how to rig a high performance oil system.

I find myself replying to lots of tech threads, but then when I have a tech question about port matching, bore/stroke/rod angle questions, roller lifter questions, there are no replys, or maybe 1 or 2.

Just seems like alot of new users who don't participate in the site, only here to get some free advice or a cheap fix, then they're gone.

:bsflag:

Our friendship is based solely on the cheap advice you dispense. When you no longer provide such information at such an agreeable cost, I will kick yo' butt to the curb.

See ya Friday. :lolhit:

lol :D



as for the tech section . . . i dunno . . . maybe everyone for once, collectively has there chit running good and their out boating :drink:

Its always slow this time of year wait till the snow starts fly'in

I got one.....we snapped a valve spring rocker and the exhaust push rod on a Merc 1075 at the shootout Sat. The push rods lower tip is MIA. On sat. we heard the dead cylinder and started pulling coils. We found the dead cylinder and replaced the coil, listened and everything sounded good....should have pulled the valve covers but didnt and went out to make a pass. Only made 5,200 rpms out of that motor and it resulted in a poor run. Any ideas about where the rod tip could have ended up. I heard a couple different theories talking on the dock sunday. Thoughts? Who is the Merc 1075 expert on here?

Oil pan I would think. Probably snapped, popped and either laying in the lifter valley, or pan. If its in the valley, you might get lucky and just replace the pushrod. Has the lash been checked? If the spring failed, id replace them all or at minimum check them.

you don't think running the engine with a part loose in there was a bad idea?? It probably is in there destroying your camshaft.

After that run we didnt start the engine again. I thought I had the issue fixed with the coil I replaced and that was the only reason we made the pass. After that run Valve covers came off and I saw the carnage.

you think???i wonder what the end of the push-rod looks like after flying around in there.

I think OSO participation seems to be down across the board, not just the tech section. It seems like only the rediculous and controversial threads get a lot of attention.

Maybe the site has run it's course? Websites and people come and go.

I think part of it has to do with when someone does post something, they get two or three people beating them up for being stupid about what they did or didn't do.

Yes, in an ideal world if I heard a noise in the motor, I would tear it completely down and check everything and replace every part that could be even remotely suspect, but let's face it, most of us can't afford to do that.

Does it sometimes end up costing more, both in time and money? Sure, if you reinstall a part that looks solid, and it then breaks and takes out everything around it, you are going to second guess yourself, but its a shot you took.

Case in point, a guy posted a while back about a boat he picked up with some pretty high hours on the small block power. He asked what sort of hours he might expect before having to do any major work. He got a few people telling him they would probably last a while if he kept up his scheduled maintenance, but others started beating up on him telling him they would blow up tomorrow if he didn't go through them.

Where's the fun in that? He knows he's running on borrowed time, hell, we all are, but the doom and gloom predictions and accusations you get from some people make you not want to ask or even answer questions in an open forum.

And while I love GlassDave's optimism, :) I also tend to think it is more likely that fewer people are running them as much as they have in years past so they aren't breaking as often. I know the traffic on my lake is WAY down this year, even with the "cockroaches". (ski boats)

I think some of it might be that offshoreonly.com comes up in a google search right away when you google "powerboat Forums". Its easy to sign up and start posting.

When I joined back in 2004, it seemed like a closer knit community of go fast boaters, who had one common interest. Now it has become more bashing, politics, and more or less a marketplace.

Dont get me wrong, i love the swap shop!! The classifieds are great, although I could do without some of the "repeat" dealer ad's. :party-smiley-004::drink:

It is Summer and people are very busy. Also, not a lot of professionals want to talk boats and engines on their off time when they have been doing it for 12 hrs a day and 5-7 days a week.

Driven out of the woodwork?
 

I think most of this is a sign of our economic times. In a depressed economy most of these lower budget-investment general boaters do not want to spend the money to take their boat to a qualified repair shop and they want to try and fix their engines and boat problems themselves without spending money on a real marine engine mechanic. They come on to the tech section and start pleading and trying to get all kinds of free advice and information on how to repair their problems without the services of a qualified mechanic or shop.

Most of them are not even qualified or capable of dealing with the issues and a lot of times I won't even offer assistance because I can tell by their descriptions and questions that they are over their head and ill equipped and trained to begin with.

How many self trained home style brain surgeons are there out there and how many of these would you let operate on your brain??????

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

I dont post alot of replys because I am still learning! I do ask questions and I am thankful for all the help..

Ray,
I disagree somewhat with your assessment. There are those who you describe. Most of the people I know, who are into performance boats, work on them as a hobby. For me it is relaxing to do general maintainence and uncomplicated repairs. It is a release from my everyday stresses. Also, the marine repair business has been notorious for taking a long time for repairs and repairs done wrong. There are great shops, like Eddie Young who does my stuff, but there is a long history of problem shops. I can remember growing up being without our boat because the shop needed a couple months to replace trim lines, etc.... I am a perfectionist about my things. I dread taking anything to a shop. Always a new scratch here oil stains there, crud in the boat where they left it outside. (Eddie not included)
To be real honest, if I didn't enjoy maintaining my boats, I wouldn't have any. I'm sure you fit into the class of a professional who does things right, but a lot of people on the boards do not have access to shops near them.
I am thankful to have Eddie to do real jobs for me. We need professionals like this who do take the time to answer questions on the board. I am thankful for the pros who take the time to share there knowledge on the boards.
Relax a little Ray, when us hackers mess up the job, we will have to pay you even more to get it right in the long run.

Motor's too small. Go away....:lolhit:

I think Ray was referring more to the casual boat owner rather than the typical perfomance boat owner, who IME tend to be gearheads. Now, some of those gearheads do not perform their own work. But again, IME, most do their own work, at least to a point.

That said, it is worth noting that the low budget casual boater that posts here may not know much now, but we all started there. My first car was a $750 '67 Mustang. I owe a lot to the guys that took the time to teach me, and now I can repair most any one of my cars, including auto trans rebuilds. Later, I was the boating newbie that didn't know much, and a couple of guys helped me then. Being a gearhead, I am willing to do it right, including buying the right tools, and I think those guys saw that in me.

Now, all that was before the internet, so it was (IMO) easier to know whether the person you were dealing with was seriously wanting / capable / inclined to learn the job and do it right. On the internet, it's much tougher - and much easier IME to get the wrong impression.

OSO has been around long enough that most every tech question asked has been dealt with before several times, and all the long time members skip over them. The use of the 'search' feature would really cut the new topics down. :) Consider the crossover vs water pump debate, I don't even go there anymore. Seems like its mostly the newer members replying, and the number of new members isn't what it used to be, thus less responses.
I agree though in part, OSO has seemed to run it's course.

I agree 100%. I am mechanically inclined and have worked on snowmobiles for years. I have the ability to work on any engine but lack the knowledge to tear into many projects. So, it is nice to have a place to ask technical questions.

I also agree with the original poster that many threads have tons of replies that don't need them and many times they are a pissing match. And the threads I assume will have plenty of feedback are dead.

brain surgeons = Engine builders :lolhit: I see your point, but that was just a little over the top.

Mild, what oil should I use in my 502:drink:
Also don`t ever go in The Baja section looking for parts without your knee pads. You say the wrong thing to one of the Baja Gods and you will be banned from getting any parts for LIFE!! :picard1:
Those douche bags turned me off to this whole place.

Now get back to making them hatches so you can make this weekend!

That kind of $hit doesnt happen in the Fountain Forum.

As for what kind of oil, I recommend running 7 quarts of Lucas oil treatment in your engines, and a quart of seafoam. The seafoam will help keep the valves from sticking in their guides, but the lucas will seal up your rings better for more horsepower. :eek:

Ya know someone is going to read that and give it a try:lolhit:

I am totally for offering any advice to help a do-it-yourselfer out, if I can. I still learn stuff daily, and at one time knew absolutly nothing.

The thing that I think sucks, is the participation issue. I had a buddy of mine, that was on the boat forums. He would NEVER post anything until he had a problem. When he had a problem, he wanted a cheap fix, plain and simple. He would come to the boards, post his problem, get some answers, and then he would be done with it. Granted he wasn't gonna tell someone how to adjust their valves, or tune their carbs, he still could have joined in on other discussions. He would razz me, and ask why I would get so in depth in some of the threads. And ask why I give a $hit about what some guy in texas needs help with. IDK, maybe i like helping people, or maybe its because im sort of a gear head.

Granted their is alot of bs in the forums, but I think guys like Eddie Young, Raylar, Dustin Whipple, and all the others chiming in to advise people is a tremendous help to us do-it-yourselfers, and is just good business. I have never spent a doller with Eddie Young yet, but have talked to him over the phone, and thru many emails. If I ever get serious about some engines, I would without the blink of an eye, have him build my engines for me. Good people.

Well the bottle says it helps reduce blowby. Cheaper than adding puke tanks.

Speaking that, has anyone else who frequents the auto parts stores like me, just about had it with them pushing the injector cleaner!!!! lol, jesus, I was in the store the other day, the guy was pushing it on me while I was buying aluminum polish. I told him I dont own a car, the polish is for my bicycle. Two weeks before that, they were again pushing the injector cleaner. Telling me how it will clean my injectors, improve mpg, etc. I told him my truck runs on propane, and I wasnt sure if I can use it. He said he doesnt see why not. I said maybe next time. :lolhit:

I agree, well said skidoc. Not being able to control the duration or cost of a repair forced me many years ago to do it all myself. Now I wouldn't think of sending my stuff to anyone else and have a good time trying to help others who are at the beginning of the L curve.

BT :drink:

tough guy!!:grinser010:

Here is a good example of what Thunder is talking about
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/d...my-engine.html

I think the thought process of this thread is borderline pretentious, but I agree. Many times I tell non performance owners there are better places for info rather than the ultra high performance website we all know as OSO. I read a thread not to long ago that had a guy with a powersteering problem on a 3.0 4 cyl. Why here? But, I made the mistake of buying a cruiser this year.....and I am still here. But I haven't started a thread about how to fix my combination macerator/windlass/bow thruster either :grinser010:

Still my favorite boating website! I have been helped more times than I can count on this site. I am gonna need you guys next year when I enter back into the twin engine performance boating world!

What I was trying to say is that many of these newer members with low post counts, like maybe three to four, have come onto the Forum for just quick cheap advice. They are not performance boaters and you can tell that quite a few from their lack of continuing participation or contribution on the Forum have just registered and joined the Forum for for this free advise and problem solving. I am not saying that all new members are guilty of this, many are just newbies and will grow with the performance boating community.
If you look back at a few of their posts in the Q&A section you will see what I mean by these comments. Again, not saying to offend or criticize OSO'ers, just trying to point out a new and growing trend.
The concern I also have is that you can tell by some of the questions and input that many times these individuals are out of their skill set and are many times just going to get into bigger problems and continuing issues because the "HAVE NO CLUE!" Hence the brain surgeon comment.

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

Man does this sum it up these day's, I have been around for a while now and mostly just lurk now day's. Even in the old day's it was more close knit with good natured jabs......just my .02

Are you kidding?
 

Aren't these unqualified boaters the same folks that you rely on to purchase your engine parts? Where would the parts aftermarket be without us?

You comparison of engine building to a surgeon is funny:)

To some degree you could be accurate. However, a lot of those same folks try to do too much themselves after buying an aftermarket product only to then jump on the net and slander the vendor's name because the said diy guy wasn't smart enough from start to finish.

You actually want to stay away from many of the unqualified buyers because their warranty claims and complaints cost more than simply not making the sale..

There's always a ying and a yang.

I have never heard of a parts manufacturer questioning the experience of a customer and determining whether a sale is warranted? How could you expect to remain in business not to mention reputation.

High performance marine parts and the sale of these items are quite a bit different than the average aftermarket john doe shop that you seem to be using as a comparison.

Simple -

1st, NO aftermarket or OEM parts seller is perfect. There are defects and kinks in everything

2nd, assume Raylar or anyone else sells a guy some parts like performance heads & intake etc.. The buyer "thinks" it's no big deal. I can install myself and in some cases save thousands.

3rd, when the chit hits the fan and expensive engine breaks... who do you think the guy starts bad mouthing on forums like this one????? The boat owner will blame the manufacture for his problems. Happens all the time.

Some times the vendor IS at fault. Sometimes he's not.

Boats and the boat owners are mostly like nothing else.

And it's not necessarily saying "no" to the guy.. Some times you have to push him in the direction of getting the proper assistance with the job.

Go back and read the stories on here from the past. Doesn't take a genius to figure out who they are.

If I had a dime for every time I've heard the ole' saying "my friend is a long-time MASTER GM Certified Tech"... "and he will do my install"..

More often than not, the install fails. Nothing against automotive guys. But most of them "think" they know boats when they really only know road cars.

How many "good" mechanics have you ever heard of who installed nice new aluminum heads and used an impact gun to run the bolts down??? I know a few.

Just one man's opinion - what do I know?

Rethink?
 

I went through the tech section and saw some good questions.

Not all questions are important to all but to the poster having problems it is. Believe me, all these folks including myself appreciate the help and I for one find the critical comments a good addition to the conversation. IT IS A FORUM.

I agree, a simple search will often answer many of these questions, but not all new posters realize this and just want to personalize and start to be a part of the forum.

THX

When I got my 311 I had a guy telling me to take the motors out and do a tear down and all this work. I said ok, put the boat in the water and have been running them ever since! That was almost 4 years ago now. :D

All sites go through this. I am part of a programming web site. Some of the questions you see people ask you are like WTF, this guy is programming some ones house? It is no wonder we have bad reputation in my industry. Then the end users chime in and want to program themselves like it is nothing. I would not even start to think I can do what Raylar or Eddie, Cheif.... can do so I don't even try. I can do the basics (water pumps, cable replacements, lube the drives, oil changes...) and that is what I keep it at. With out guys like Glass Dave and many others my 302 project would have been a lot more difficult! Not everyones question is going to win a pulitzer, but like TexasRPM said it sure is important to the person that asked the question.

All too often, the proper advice is totally ignored by the question poser because he wants the "Silver Bullet", the easy or cheap answer to his complicated or expensive problem. It only takes a time or two and the giver of said sound advice says "WTF" or why even bother.

Nailed It !
 

And this is only emphasized by not all; but some of the guys who are buying or went out and bought a repo boat at a good deal and then think they can get the silver bullet from someone if they just keep ignoring the ones who are truly trying to help them.

It's never easy. Notice how complicated our discussion has become all over how best to make the same discussion???

:lolhit:

Bringing this back to the top... This is Offshore Only right? Even if you don't have a true offshore wave crusher it's still about the spirit, performance, experience, right?... The tech section is full of bedwetter's. If someone asks about putting a blower on, ten people who have never even seen a blower cry "it's gonna blow up", or "don't bother", etc. I say put the phucking blower on, run it like you stole it, and when it blows up build it again stronger. If nobody pushed the limits or tried stupid chit we'd still be sailing.. Somebody please go build an engine with way to much compression and a cam with a 110cl, or put a blower on your Mag motor without rebuilding it first and go have some fun.. For the love of the sport..