525 sc's, yea or nea
 

Hey campers, just want peoples opinions on these motors, good or bad luck with them, opinions. reliabilty factors. One of the boats I'm looking at has 3 of em.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

One of the best blue motors ever made

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

Yep, have to agree with Von Bongo. Reliable, turnkey, and as close to stock as you can get. Ours idle at 700rpm.

LS JR.

Hey Von Bongo, what's up - no phone call?

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

very good to hear, I'm assuming like the blower motor on my truck, regular maintenance is the key.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

Only heard great things about the 502's and 525's. Still wondering about the 496's.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

Yea.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

sounds like a early 90 model Fountain ;)

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

Actually there are two, one is a scarab, the other a late 90's formula. Just with owning two companies, I dont want any more toys that require maintenece above and beyond what we all call normal. No time for rebuilts every other weekend.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

i might be trading my crusier for a triple 42 fountain with 525sc's i would make a hell of a deal to turn the boat quick

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

I have an 89 311, that I'm trying to move as well, if I dont looks like I have a choice of which one I want to take out this year. I have 6-10 ft-itis. but still want reliability. my 311 has efi502's and is dead on dependable. the two main ones I'm looking at are 419 and a 43 scarab.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

I"am on my second pair of 525sc. I have freshened all four of them at one time or another . If tuned right they run great for a mild blower engine. once you own a blower boat it is hard to change . Take a ride in a large non blower boat and it takes forever to get on plane. Yea,yea,yea. HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

How many hours inbetween freshining them up? What were the oil change intervals? I use red line in my other hp motors.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

I did a top end rebuild on my 525SC at 335 hrs. Only did it because the Gil exhaust had a leak and pitted 2 exhaust valves. Everything inside looked good except the water ports on the intake. They were eaten away pretty bad and would not have made it much longer without filling the engine with water. The boat had some salt usage before I bought it.
I run Mobil 1 synthetic as did the prior owner and chnage it about 30 hrs. It uses about a quart every 20hrs.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

Good to hear Griff, thanks, seems the general word is they last if ya take care of them. that makes iy easier to make a decision. Both boats have right around 200 hrs on them. one in fresh other in the keys, and well taken care of.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

Whats the supercharger for? 525hp out of a 454 is easy unblown and MILD....I've just never understood why Merc built this motor. But I agree it should be absolutly bulletproof. :drink: :drink:

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

The 525sc is a 454.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

I second that! :cool:

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

I'd lean toward the fresh water boat. My boat was well taken care of and flushed after each use. The problem on the intakes is the small gap around the water ports that the gasket doesn't quite cover. If the gasket went right up to the edge of the ports they would be fine. It looked like salt collected in the gap and ate away the aluminum. Aluminum and salt don't go wel together.

Here's a pic of my intake http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...t=525sc+intake

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

I see what you mean. aside from that, youve had good reliablitly with them? I like the fact that they are low compressiona nd seemingly bullet proof. I know the bilge gremlins always have a way of showing up. and I expect that and can deal with it. I know that most blower motors can be finicky too, i have one in my pickup truck, and a 383 stoker sitting on a stand. the salt water one was only run to the bahamas and never sat in water, was always lift kept and cleaned.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

I love the reliability of my 525SC. Turn Key!

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

It has been great and would buy another boat with them in a heartbeat. The only other major thing I had to do was replace the stock Gil exhaust. It had hairline cracks at the top of the exhaust manifolds. That to could be contributed to salt usage.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

Love my 525SC - I agree with others - once you have a blower motor, its hard to go back to NA...

The only issue I have had was a blower rebuild at about 225 hours.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

do these motors have the valve spring problems that many of the early hp 500's had? and does anybody know what type of boost they are running or if any extra horsepower is available with pulley changes?

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

I don't believe that these motors have the same valve spring issues as did the HP500's. I am running a smaller pulley with 6 - 7 lbs of boost, but no idea of what the HP gain is - never dyno'd the motor...

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

thats good to know as well, I've always believed stock can be made better, I just dont want to hurt reliability, Nothing worse than getting friends together for a good day out, and then mechanical problems stop it. I think we've all been there before :(, I'm alos not one that has to be the fastest, I think 70-80 is great for a fun boat that can be used for family as well.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

ain't nothin' worse than a broken toy...

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

lol you're right, cept when the broken toy has left a few people with nothing to do that day! then ya feel doubly worse, as you stuff is broke and now ya let people down!

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

My original engines were 468 that copies the 525 for the most part cept I put a 256 blower and 2x700 carbs. They ran great till a vacuum/boost line to the carbs came loose, leaned the engine and BOOM. Went to 509's. I love the reliability, fairly easy start, and you can pound on them all day!

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

None of my Springs showed any signs of damage with 335hrs. They didn't check pressures since I replacing them anyway. They also don't have the high lift cams of the HP500's and don't need as much spring pressure. Stock Cam is .531/.553.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

I'm liking this more and more, I really appreciate yoour guys input. I like the fact that they are so sound, I also DIG the fact that small changes can be made without hurting the reliability.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

These motors run a flat tappet hydraulic cam with gentle ramps and reasonable lift. No spring issues for probably 350 hours.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

Wonder how high they could be spun withan upgrade to roller cam and lifters, rocker arms? I'm sure that would free up a little bit and improve the already long life.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

I had a pair that I pulled off the small blowers, they are 177 wielands, and put on a set of 2.3L whipples. I picked up almost 20mph at the same rpm,s. This was an old obsession cat, heavy and a pain to work on. I plumbed the electric pumps with a tee and antiback valve all purchased at homedepot. For normal running I used only the mech pumps, above 4000rpms I flipped a switch that added the electric pumps. I used the 1050 dominators from the 525sc's and even jetted them down some. The oil supply can be taken right off the oil filter block and the return in the oilpan. There is a plug in the right side. Good luck.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

hi corsa what type of boost were you running and what rpm's were you spinning the motors at? I did not know these motors came with dominators I take it you went up on jet size , and do the carbs come boost referenced? I was thinking about a b&m 250 with a single dominator set up if I purchase the boat I am looking at with these motors.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

The 93 525sc's I had came with a 1050 dominator, 177wieland blower, 454 gen 5, 7.5-1 compression ratio, and flat tappet hyd cam from merc. I acually went down on the jet size after some testing.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

That was a question I had as well, were the 177's stock? I thought most of them came with the 144's. weiand/Holley pretty much owns everything, the only different company to make the baby blowers in that config is B&M. thats interesting to know though Corsa. Another thread said by switching to Alminum heads the flow is better, which i know is true, as it worked on my supercharged p/u. But thats what I'm trying to avoid. Both boats I'm looking at are capable of 80. and I dont feel like ponying up for heads for 3 motors at the moment. You guys have been a great help.

Re: 525 sc's, yea or nea
 

525SC's all had Wieand 177's and 1050 dominator carbs. They came with Merc/Gil exhaust, except for 1997 when they came with CMI Etops. 1997 was the last year they were made, but some 525sc's made it into 1998 boats.