New to me - 2008 Ski Nautique 206 - question belt routing

[Davidpsalt]

Good evening all,

I just bought a 2008 SN 206 and love it. Spent the week-end cleaning it up - bilge was nasty from oil spills, etc. Cleaned it out - bow to stearn and ran it for a few hours with no oil leaks. That's a relief!

After studying the EX343 over a bit I noticed that the serpentine belt is routed incorrectly - see the photo below. The belt runs over around the water pump the wrong way causing it to spin in the reverse direction per the proper routing (see pic of decal with proper routing). I had no cooling issues over the week-end but will surely correct this asap.

Anyone have any input if this could have or may cause any issues?

[Davidpsalt]

Here is a better pic of the belts as well as a side pic cause I thought it looked good! (need to get rid of that Mercruiser Oil Filter! - any recommendations on a good filter?)

[AirTool]

Welcome to the 206 club.

1. Yep the belt is not routed correctly ....and to do so, it may be the wrong belt. You need to fix that....just because. The friction on each pulley is not right and the tension is probably not right. Get the number and post it here and we can check it.

2. The pump is not turning backwards as currently routed. Unless a mathematician can prove to me otherwise: if the groves of the belt are in a grooved pulley, and a smooth pulley has the back of the belt, then said pulley is turning the correct direction. And I can tell the direction by the photo. I will also add that that type of pump (the raw water pump) probably pumps as good backwards as regular. Different story for the engines circulation pump.

3. You will enjoy this thread on impeller changes. Start with post 2 and read it all because there are some improvements along the way.

4. You will enjoy these pictures included in the thread:

5. For oil filters....
chose: Wix, Motorcraft, AC Delco, Puralator (if you have to)
avoid: Fram (cheap), K&N, Mobil, and any others with gimmicks

[Quinner]

Filter should be a Motorcraft FL1-A or Equivalent by brand as Tool noted, yes it is a Ford filter. Use 15w-40 oil which in most cases will be labeled Diesel Oil.

Considering the belt was on incorrectly and oil in bilge would be a little concerned about who was doing the maintenance. I would probably change the FCC filter and trans fluid as well so going forward you have a good maintenance schedule starting point. Write the engine hours on the filter with a sharpie also, for quick reference to when a change is due. Would also be a good idea to check the impeller while you are correcting the belt routing.

Congrats on the new boat!!

[Davidpsalt]

I do know that the boat was serviced properly and regularly by the previous owner - just never cleaned the bilge. However, when the boat came off lease, it was purchased by a non- inboard dealer that claims they did a complete services on it - oil change, trans fluid change, new belt (wrong routing) and new impeller.

I am definitely going to correct the belt routing and ensure it is the proper belt. Also, am going to check and see if the impeller is in fact new. And I may as well change the fluids for peace of mind that the correct oil and tranny fluid is in there for the next 50 hours!

Thanks for your feedback.