Is this Normal?

[FlyruH2O]

Ok, That is my question(s) I just had my 89 comp on the water for the first time. I have to tell you I was quite nervous. It is my childhood dream to have my Supra! This boat sat winterized for 5 years before I bought it. I was lucky that my local mechanic got it running for a very fair price. I had cleaned it all up over the winter and took it out for the first time. Whoa baby! :D One of the coolest feelings. But.....I was sooo nervous something would go wrong. Well, here is where I could use your HELP!

Wow, there is raw power in this boat.

My areas of concern are:
1) There is a motor hiccup when I throttle down (when I go from slow to fast, it briefly pauses before accelerating) Could the motor just need some time to work this out since sitting so long?

2) Is it normal to have water in the bottom of the engine compartment? (As the motor spins the drive rod,[not certain what it is called it is the part at the end of the motor that spins and appears to turn the prop] water is spit around as the rod is spun) It doesn't appear to be taking in more water.

3) Last, for now, when I throttle down and the boat is running at good speeds, it seems the smoke in the engine compartment increases with the speed. Is this normal?

I am a bit worried with some of these issues. As the boat is brand new to me on the water, I need to learn a few things. I appreciate your expertise and willingness to share.

Living a sweet dream!

[IndyMatt]

first of all... Congrats on the Supra; Thats a great boat & Ill bet it looks good too... make sure you get some pics on here when you can.

The easy stuff first... the water that is comming in around your drive shaft... a pretty easy fix. First of all you should get a drip every few seconds while the shaft is turning, this is a bi-product of the thermal expansion and raw water lubrication of the shaft. In most cases its just an adjustment of the jamb nut, being that your boat has been sitting for so long you should probably opt for a repacking of the shaft seal, this way an actual mechanic sets the tension of the jamb nut. Some gearheads claim they can set these by hand but its difficult & easy to overtighten... certainly not a major repair though.

The other issues could be a few things. What color is the smoke in the engine compartment? If its buring oil its blue; water is white & excessive ring or carbon wear is black. The smoke should be comming from the exhaust on the outside of the stern. If your getting alot in the compartment, aggressively trace where this is comming from. Split exhaust hoses? upper manifold gaskets? Excessive exhaust or gases accumulating in the engine compartment is a very dangerous thing. If the motor was winterized, and sat for a long time it will smoke the first few times while all the fogging oil is burned off, but here again should be out through the exhaust.

The hesitation your feeling with hole shot most likely is in the fuel delivery function. look at carburation, jets, fuel filters... etc. Kind of worst case scenerio is that the piston rings are bad from all the sitting & improper winterization, that the raw cooling water is leaking from the manifold into the cylinders and retarding compression/spark. If you want to check this, after you have run it a few times, change your oil & check for water in the oil. Also look at the spark plugs... should not be oil or water fouled... nice golden color.

You should have good through hull ventilation, lemme know if this helps... good luck!!

[DKJBama92Mariah]

Good points Matt. I'll add a few things that popped out to me.

The hesitation on acceleration: Sounds like the accelerators pumps. Check this by looking down the throat of the carb while pumping thye throttle with the engine off. You should see fuel squirting down the throat as you pump the throttle. If not, a carb rebuild may be in order. It probably wouldnt be a bad idea to get it rebuilt anyway b/c its been sitting so long.

Smoke in the engine compartment is BAD. First, check and make sure your belts aren't loose and slipping. It could also be that your engine isnt getting enough water, causing the exhaust hoses to overheat and melt. Did your mechanic change the raw water impeller? It should be changed after sitting 5 years.

Let us know more details if you have them.

[FlyruH2O]

Thanks and please keep the ideas coming. Being a novice, some of which you speak sounds foreign, but I appreciate your willingness to help me learn. I will print off these posts and share them with my mechanic. I am trying to schedule a ride along so he can see firsthand. I am always open to helpful suggestions.

Thanks

[FlyruH2O]

Good news. I took my mechanic for a ride and we have adressed the issues.

1) he is going to repack the shaft seal (recommended by you as well, thanks!) and install an auto-bilge
2) I need a rebuild for my Holley carb. No biggee and already recommended by you guys. Thanks again!
3) the smoke comes from a leak in the tapper gaskets.

So far, everything looks as if it will be alright. And once again, THIS BOAT IS SWEET :D It is a project, but she purrs like a kitten and rumbles like a lioness! Yeah Baby :wink: :!:

One question....Are the new boats this sweet to drive?
The power at the throttle is unbelievable.

[Dinoz]

What year is your Comp again? I have an '89 Comp for 2 years now. It's a great boat. I do have the same issue as you are with the hesitation when you accelerate. Can you let me know what they find when you re-build you carb? I heard that it can be the power valve as well.

Thanks,

DZ.

[IndyMatt]

Glad it didnt turn out to be anything too major... I love my 04 Sunsport, but I learned to ski behind a boat very similar to yours and i loved it!! The boat in fact is still in the family and runs great. Enjoy the summer!

[FlyruH2O]

DZ, mine is a 89 comp as well. I am getting the carb rebuilt next week, the other repairs are being done now. I will let you know what I find out. Have you replaced your interior? I am curious about possible costs to do this. Mine is ok, I have to rebuild the back bench (I currently have it out)
I think 89 comp is a tough boat to beat. I love the sound of the 240 horses rumbling across the lake.

[Dinoz]

I was fortunate to find this '89 with the interior in my boat was in great shape, only a couple of tears that I had a vinyl guy fix it up. I bought mine with 668 hours on it as well. Will you be skiing behind yours for the most part? the plate is a little tricky to set up depending on what speed you run at, but you'll love it once it's set up.

The sound on these boats is great. My wifes cousin has a '98 Malibu, ours sounds the same, only louder!!! I have pictures of mine under "'89 Comp". Have a look.

[FlyruH2O]

DZ, what a sweet boat you have! I need to bring back my colors. What do you think works. I hear a lot about 303 on this forum. ArmorAll seems to temporarily restore the gel shine. Yes, I plan on skiing a ton. I used to shred the lake behind some dumpy boats, now I am excited to see what I can do. It has been a few years and a couple of kids since I carved hard. We'll see. I think I used to ski at 32/33 with 15 off? Not certain, I need to check the rope. I would appreciate help with any recommended adjustments.

[Dinoz]

Thanks for the compliments. For the interior, honestly I use Fantastic, yup, you can buy it at your local grocery store, just get the extra tuff stuff. For the exterior, I was fortunate that the gel didn't have a lot of oxitation, I purchased a kit from the Toronto boat show, I'll get the name of it and let you know, but it worked great, and it's very easy to use.

As for the set up of the cavitation plate, you don't need to adjust it a whole lot. I believe I lowered mine approx. 2 - 4mm, and that's it for the speed you would run. If you set it any lower than that, you will find that the rooster tale become pretty large and very hard. In fact the original owners manual for our boat states to have the plate at level for skiing. If you haven't skied behind an inboard yet, you will find it a little intimidating at first. It will really make your technic important. I use to ski behind an outboat (charger) that kicked up virtually no wake, no bump. When we got this boat, it was scary at first, now that we have it set up, and are use to the wake, it's great!!! Let me know if you have any other questions!!

DZ.