Crusaders seem underpowered, 10 meter sedan

[lakeguy72]

The 454's were offered in the 10, 10.8 and 11 meter Trojans. The 10 was the slowest of the trio. the 11 was the quickest. I think the length differences can explain the difference in speed. The Deltaconic hull is a great design. But I believe the characteristics of the work better with longer length of the 11 M. In 1999 I ran a 10.8 from Charleston SC to Wickford, RI . I ran at 3100- 3200 all day and making about 22 knots . The seas said "ouch", this is boat is great. It liked fuel but was running in the "sweet spot" and handling great.
Maybe other 10 M's owners can weigh in on their performance.
Why is one engine at 3K and the other at @.6K? Has the electronic advance been checked?
Lakeguy

[slogfish]

Thanks guys for the great info. Last time a ran it, I had both levers at full throttle and had the port engine wouldn't go above 2700rpm. The previous owner rebuilt the top end on that engine as well. I don't know what warranted the rebuild. I'd like to try to get some more years out of the engines before going with repower, but I'm already saving up for it. I think I'll start with checking the throttle cable to the port engine. Im a pretty good part swapper but I'll need a mechanic to check the carbs and timing, although I'd rather learn it myself. Getting an old school mechanic is a good idea. My temps are looking good now but I will try the shopvac on the oil cooler trick. Its good to hear that this boat can do 30 and cruise at 22. Hopefully these engines still have it in them with the right tweeking.

[captainmaniac]

I am running different engines, but if you can't get proper RPM at WOT the things to look at are fouling, prop size, engine oomph (compression etc), throttle cable adjustment - all of which others have talked about - but also possibly distributors ....

With my Chryslers, I had a problem a few years back where one distributor would not advance the way it should, so I couldn't develop over 2700-3000 RPM no matter what I did with the throttle. When I pushed the throttle, I only got a couple of degrees of advance (should have been about 20 degrees). Years worth of corrosion (and maybe inadequate lubrication) didn't allow the advance mechanism to do its job. After a professional rebuild of the distributor, we were good again.

In addition to suggestions made by everyone else, make sure your engines are developing the right spark advance curves.

[RWS]

I am running different engines, but if you can't get proper RPM at WOT the things to look at are fouling, prop size, engine oomph (compression etc), throttle cable adjustment - all of which others have talked about - but also possibly distributors ....

With my Chryslers, I had a problem a few years back where one distributor would not advance the way it should, so I couldn't develop over 2700-3000 RPM no matter what I did with the throttle. When I pushed the throttle, I only got a couple of degrees of advance (should have been about 20 degrees). Years worth of corrosion (and maybe inadequate lubrication) didn't allow the advance mechanism to do its job. After a professional rebuild of the distributor, we were good again.

In addition to suggestions made by everyone else, make sure your engines are developing the right spark advance curves.

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+1

RWS

[Big D]

I am running different engines, but if you can't get proper RPM at WOT the things to look at are fouling, prop size, engine oomph (compression etc), throttle cable adjustment - all of which others have talked about - but also possibly distributors ....

With my Chryslers, I had a problem a few years back where one distributor would not advance the way it should, so I couldn't develop over 2700-3000 RPM no matter what I did with the throttle. When I pushed the throttle, I only got a couple of degrees of advance (should have been about 20 degrees). Years worth of corrosion (and maybe inadequate lubrication) didn't allow the advance mechanism to do its job. After a professional rebuild of the distributor, we were good again.

In addition to suggestions made by everyone else, make sure your engines are developing the right spark advance curves.

++1
Pretty common problem actually. It's an easy check so should be one of the items at the top of the list of things to look for first. It's not enough to simply check base timing, you must check the advance timing to ensure it's actually working/advancing through the rpm range. If you're not getting full advance, you won't reach WOT spec.

[RWS]

I bought an "advance" timing light with a dial and a bit of white reflective tape.

It clearly showed where my problems were and I was able to easily correct them.

all in all I got my 454 Crusaders from .4 NMPG to .79 NMPG with the timing issue, the correct carb jets, and changing out the trim tabs to bigger ones with drop fins.

Great for the first few years, till I did the Yanmars.

RWS

[slogfish]

I'm learning a lot here thanks. I'd like to try the timing light with advance. Do you check that while under way or can it be done at the dock? Being that this engine was rebuilt by the previous owner, I'm not sure if he ever had regained the "oomph". There could be multiple issues there. I think the timing, compression and carbs are the best thing to start checking.

One more question..how often do you clean your bottoms?

[Big D]

If you've got the gear, do a vacuum test, it'll tell you a lot. Also make sure all your cylinders are actually firing. You need to be getting a good bright white spark.