Reference prior post (starter or ring gear) ???????
 

Ok so a while back I posted up STARTER OR RING GEAR....
Well I pulled my motor yesterday....&...............the starter was bad...bad in that the pinion gear bushing was gone so when it would engage the ring gear, it would move off the ring gear and spin...wouldnt stay meshed with the ring gear..too much movement in starter gear. Ring gear was rusted bad and some teeth trying to hold on but worn bad due to rust.

Well....guess what...the freaking coupler triangular plate had almost rusted through!....so this has to be replaced & the flywheel was so rusted, small chunks were coming off.

With all the rust along the lower block, the brackets and flywheel/coupler rusted BAD....its as if the boat may of had water in it at some point before I purchased it....or the guy never washed it down...i mean its only a 2001 motor. Also the large freeze plug in the center back of the block looks as if its steel and rusted pretty bad...... all the others seem to be brass....

The motor runs great....but Im going to replace all these parts,gasket set, clean it, paint it etc.....So anyone know really good place to purchase flywheel/ coupler/ mercruiser related parts....searching online but prices all over the place.

Talk to the guys at Michigan Motorz, they usually have some good availability and prices on those type of flywheel and coupler parts. You can also order from BAM and get some discount on genuine Mercruiser parts. Another idea is to post a wanted listing in the Swap Shop section here on the forum.

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

the large freeze plug center rear plugs the camshaft hole, not water.