Is this a Bulldog motor?
 

Can you tell from the pictures if this is a bulldog motor? What are some things to look at to verify besides getting a serial number?

Thanks

http://rochester.craigslist.org/bod/4555063630.html

Well it looks like a Chevy Hi-Perf. ZZ502 to me...

Its not a stock bulldog you will have to investigate it shoudl be a 540 cubic inch block to be a true Merc Bulldog if I remmeber they also made an HP 500 but it was not with the 540

Is that a marine motor? The dealer got the boat at auction and doesn't know the history, but is advertising the bulldog.

Thanks

This is an HP500 Bulldog from back in the day:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]527252[/ATTACH]

It could be, but you would have to look up the serial number.
Check here: www.mercruiserparts.com

It LOOKS like something out of the GM Performance motors lineup.

http://www.summitracing.com/search/p...69887%2B400129

Car motors are a lot tighter than boat motors. Car motors run at much lower RPMs vs. boat motors. You would need build specs to know exactly, but it could be a very solid platform. I have a bone stock ZZ502/502 in my jet boat, but I don't run it on the ragged edge either.

A Bulldog is a tall deck motor. If this isn't, it's not.

Hmmmm, I thought it was a stroked & bored 9.8

Bulldog is a tall deck 4.375 stroke and 4.440 bore = 540ci .

Maybe this guy has an animal that's a bulldog. Thats a GM performance crate engine from the auto performance side..

I use to see the Bulldog motor back in its day but only about twice a year. I know all the OEM factory stock specs.

540 CID - 8.9 L

compression ratio 8.6:1 I think for earlier motors and later motors was 8.75:1 - I could be wrong about the 8.6 to 1

Bore & stroke 4.44 x 4.375 or 112.7 x 111.1 mm for you metric guys

Merc recommend 87 octane fuel

Merc said propshaft hp was 470 I found that hard to believe because the HP 500 NON Bulldog had the same HP.of 470

Even in the late 90's GM Mark IV tall deck "bow tie" cast iron block

4 bolt mains

Manley forged steel connecting rods

Lunati forged steel crank - 4 bolt mains

Wiseco Forged aluminum pistons - Yes Wiseco pistons

Speed Pro piston rings

Crane performance hydraulic roller cam

crane hydraulic lifters

Manley heady duty pushrods

Crane roller rocker arms

Crane valve springs the dual coil type - the weak link

Crane retainers

Dart aluminum single plane intake manifold

Holley 800 CFM Marine 4 bbl carl

GM Heads cast iron with 3 angle valve seats

Stainless steel intake valves same as the HP 500

Inconel exhaust valves same as the HP 500

diameter I would have to look it up of the valves but I remember it is the exact same and the GM heads that the HP 500 used.

Gil made exhaust for Mercruiser

Carter fuel pump - did not use the belt driven combo fuel pump / impeller pump like the HP 500 because of the Gen V & IV no fuel pump boss on the side of the block

Melling High volume oil pump

cast aluminum oil pan - forgot the capacity - If I remember correctly it was way more than the HP 500 - 8 qt stamped steel GM oil pan. I want to say 12 qts. if I recall correctly.

Mercruiser T-bolt V ignition system and like all T-bolt V's it did have the built in REV Limiter.

Mercruiser also claimed Blueprinted internal components of the Bulldog engine.

RPM range of 4800 - 5200

Hope this helps and did I forget anything ?

I have a 540 Bulldog in my boat ,that was on the dyno last year ,the actual horsepower is 540 ! measured on the crankshaft .
Torque was 643 LBS max ,don,t know at what rpm ... I love the engine, its running very strong

The Merc Bulldog is an exceptional platform for upgrades. Many of these were contracted to the military, hence the overkill on the hard parts. Below are the specs on the engine.
The engines output was 500 HP when validated using the SAE 1349 correction factor. The correction factor most often used in the aftermarket is J609 which corrects ~ 5% higher than the SAE rating, or ~ 525 HP.

541.9 CID
GM MK 4 tall deck (cast# 14044807)
Block clearance to accommodate 4.375” stroke
Siamese Bore, reinforced decks with blind head bolt holes.
Deck 10.2”
2 pc rear seal
Bore 4.44”
Stroke 4.375”
(With a factory recommended bore range 4.250’- 4.560” there is plenty of room for upgrades)
SCR 8.6:1
4340 Lunati crank
Piston is Wiseco (Merc part #)
Connecting rod is Manley +.400" / 6.535"
Dart Single Plane Intake Manifold

Hydraulic Flat Tappet
Crane Camshaft Specification Card
Part Number: 13H000036
Grind Number: H-240/329-2-10 T1.2


The cam rates on a 110*LSA, 5* advance
Lift .329” Lobe .559” Valve
Lift .340” Lobe .578” Valve

Specs:

@.0042"
................Opens..........Closes............. C/L...........Duration
Intake.....43.0 BTDC.....77.0 ABDC......105*..........300 °
Exhaust...88.0 BBDC.....42.0 ATDC......115*..........310 °
85* overlap

@.050"
................Opens...........Closes...........C/L.........Duration
Intake.....15.0 BTDC.....45.0 ABDC.....105*.........240 °
Exhaust...60.0 BBDC.....10.0 ATDC.....115*.........250 °

Camshaft Is Ground with .0012" Lobe Taper

• The issues that plagued Mercury valve springs were isolated to the (99896-16) HP500 spring. Back in the late 90’s, early 2000’s, there was a batch problem with specific spring wire (used in the 99896 spring) that suffered from improper heat treat. Because there are only three companies in Kobe that supply 95% of all spring wires worldwide, this wire made its way into the system of multiple suppliers, one of which was the supplier of valve springs for Mercruiser. By the time the issue was identified the defective springs had made their way into some production engines and subsequently failed. It brought significant notoriety to Mercury, and many thought this was solely a company issue, due to the fact it appeared to be isolated to the HP500. It was, however, a material supply chain issue, not that of Mercury.

• The Bulldog spring part #99893-16 is designed for flat tappet applications and did not experience any such duarability issues.

The block is an early issue GM tall deck and would have a Bowtie emblem cast onto the side with a casting number of # 14044807. The china wall, which is easily seen externally, is significantly taller than that of a short deck block. It would be easily identified if examined.

The boat is 20 minutes from me; let me know if I can be of assistance.


Bob

I keep seeing ads for older motors saying that it is a Mecury Bulldog, my memory may serve me wrong but the ONLY bulldog was the 540 cu.in/575 hp package from Mercury, anything is an impostor. That is way I remember it. I may be wrong, but that is what my memory keeps telling me.

I just look at the dealer spec books it is listed in 3 of them 470 hp @ the propshaft.

Also I can pull out the retail brochures from Mercruiser to verify what they reported HP levels. I have the dealer manuals called brand knowledge and dealer product handbook right in my hands as we speak.1997 & 98 & 99 straight from OEM Mercury marine / Mercury racing. All of them say 470 hp @ PS for HP 500 BULLDOG as well that is 6 listings from OEM merc own word in writing.

I miss spoke as these manuals are listing Crane Hydraulic lifters and Crane high performance hydraulic cam.

No mentioned of roller except Crane roller rockers. I guess I was mixed up with the HP 500 as I use to see so many of them back in the day. Looks like I was totally wrong about the cam and lifters being roller.

Also I can pull all the tech and service bulletins of this motor to see what else is listed

Closest thing I could get to pull up from the internet that list specs for the HP 500 Bulldog. Bruce Bullock is listing OEM Merc specs. The link below click on it and scroll down.

www.brucebullockmarine.com/mercury/500.html

as I said, I find it hard to believe that or as to why merc listed this bulldog motor at 470 HP @ PS but they did in everything even to the dealers.

Regardless of what the actual Horsepower output(s) were; they were named the "HP500 Bulldog".
They were the 540 cubic inches, and listed as 500 crankshaft/470 propshaft; exact same listings/advertisementas the HP500 (carb) and HP500EFI.

The HP500 Bulldog was an ideal platform for aftermarket superchargers.
I can't remember if they were allowed in Factory 1 and Factory 2 racing.

I always liked this motor but have not seen one in 6 or 7 years ago. Anyways I pulled out some of my notes on the motor. All 1998 model year 500 Bulldog engines started internally balancing. Merc changed out 3 parts from the past year(s). The 3 parts where the Flywheel new part # 230-9425-1, damper new part # 49783-1 and crankshaft new part # 2408-849470.

It was important not to mix match old from new parts as 1997 and back were totally externally balanced. All dealers had to look for the engine serial # to determine the serial # break when internal balanced engine came into play. Many boat owners got these parts mixed up in their rebuild process along with some engine builders as noted.

Another way to find out if your HP 500 Bulldog was internal balanced or external was all internal balanced engine components will be identified by the letters " INT " after the crankshaft serial #. Also this is found on the front starboard side of the engine block at the cylinder head deck surface. "INT". Merc came out with a Service Bulletin on this as well to all dealers way back in early 1997. It basically said the same thing.

Smarty
 

Smarty,

Your memory is correct, there was a 575 HP iteration of the same mechanical platform as the 500 HP Bulldog. All the mechanical parameters were common to both including the 8.6:1 mechanical compression ratio. The difference was:

____________500 Bull__________575 Bull

Cam________Hyd Flat__________Solid Flat

Crank_____Lunati/BRC_________LA Kryptonite

Carb________800/4150_________1050/Dominator

Rods________Manley___________Carrillo

Pistons______Wiseco____________TRW

Intake_______Dart Single Plane_____Weiand Team G

Exhaust______Gil/Merc__________Stellings

Cam;
292º/300º @ .020”

256º/264º @ .050”

.618”/.638” Lift Valve (.592”/.612”)net after lash

108º LSA

Bob