Official 370 Express Cruiser Thread (1997-2000)

Katama7 said:
Thanks Man, Definitely post some numbers. Always love to see real-world numbers with different power packages. I just did a 130 mile run from CT to the Vineyard, but haven't filled the tanks back up to get some true economy numbers. Ran about 3500 RPM at 23-25 kts. Was fairly rough in sections.
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After 2 runs on Lake MI with nice calm water, I found what I think is the sweet spot for cruising. 2400rpm felt like the engines were operating at a nice load. I was seeing +/- 21 knots on the GPS. I don't have any ECM info from the engines, but I burned about 50 gals after 4 hrs of cruising and 1 1/2 - 2 hrs of wakeless on the channels. The CATs seem to be very efficient right now. Very pleased with the boat so far. Looking forward to a nice, but chilly, weekend of boating for Memorial Day!
 
Has anyone here replaced their 454 Horizons with 8.1 L Horizons? Anything to look out for? Did you use the same transmission and Props?
 
Time to replace the cockpit interior. I'm not sure how to remove the front seats. hoping to get the interior out and redone over the winter. Has anyone pulled the interior out?
 
The front seats can be removed by the bolts that go through under the seat bases. The passenger side is easy but you will need 2 people. The drivers side, you have to remove the icemaker if you still have one to get to the bolts. Once the seats are out, they can be dismantled into 4 pieces each. I got away with swapping the vinyl pieces between the drivers side and the passenger side. The seats were in great shape except for the isle way where they were worn. Now the worn parts face the outside where no one can see it... Good luck
 
Finally wrapped my stereo upgrade that I mentioned last fall! New Fusion RA670 head unit, dumped the old class AB clarion amp in favor of an Alpine 5 ch to power the helm area which has 4 new JL 6.5s and the sub. Added the second Alpine amp and JL m8s for the aft as a 3rd zone since there was no sound back there. Since I had to cut a new face panel for the head I also added usb charging, a standard 12v, and a port to access the usb & aux inputs of the fusion. Currently using 2 of the wireless remotes for Zones 2/3 up top which work great. Sound is now incredible, so pretty pleased with everything.
I still have a wired fusion remote to decide what to do with. I attached and pulled the cable for it which is Nmea 2000. I don't have any Nmea backbone yet, so that will be a future project along with an MFD upgrade. Thinking of putting the wired remote over on the port side arch since it can also function as a data monitor once added to Nmea.
Will be cleaning up and securing the cables and wiring in the cabinet, haven't done that yet as I am figuring where to add a small inverter, just enough to run a salon TV. Or if I can find a decent DC model, I would just go that route.
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Hey guys, its been a while since I have been on here, just wanted to touch base see if anyone has had the same issue as me. The port side of the large hydraulic engine hatch, directly in front of the seat, the hinge screws are pulling out from the boat itself. Figured someone had had the same issue and just wanted take on the easiest way they found to fix it.
 
Boca_Vincent said:
Finally wrapped my stereo upgrade that I mentioned last fall! New Fusion RA670 head unit, dumped the old class AB clarion amp in favor of an Alpine 5 ch to power the helm area which has 4 new JL 6.5s and the sub.
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I bet it sounds great! I upgraded to a Fusion RA70N and did the same thing as you as far as placement. Just curious if you put the new alpine 5ch where the original Clarion amp was? I'm about to swap to a new amp as well.
 
gerrpicc said:
I bet it sounds great! I upgraded to a Fusion RA70N and did the same thing as you as far as placement. Just curious if you put the new alpine 5ch where the original Clarion amp was? I'm about to swap to a new amp as well.
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Hi Gerry, yes I put those amps in the same spot. I only keep the trash can in that area so seems to have enough air.
 
gerrpicc said:
Did you use the same power and ground wires or run something larger?
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Yes, same power leads. Just added that distribution box for an extra level of fuse protection. The old class a/b amp had more draw so I wasn't concerned with adding an addition feed from the breaker box.
 
370 Gas Owners, I need some help. I'm working on my props this off season. I had them taken off and delivered down to Air Marine in Chicago. Found out the Starboard prop is bad and the Port prop is 1" different pitch than the starboard. No wonder why I burned more fuel on the port side! Anyway, does anyone know what props they are running on their 454 or 496 horizons? Also, what gear ratio do you have? My transmissions were changed out by the original owner to ZF hurth 63A 2.5 - 1. The props I have now are 21" 4 blade props with one at 24 pitch and the other at 23 ish pitch. Let me know what you have. Thanks
 
West32 said:
370 Gas Owners, I need some help. I'm working on my props this off season. I had them taken off and delivered down to Air Marine in Chicago. Found out the Starboard prop is bad and the Port prop is 1" different pitch than the starboard. No wonder why I burned more fuel on the port side! Anyway, does anyone know what props they are running on their 454 or 496 horizons? Also, what gear ratio do you have? My transmissions were changed out by the original owner to ZF hurth 63A 2.5 - 1. The props I have now are 21" 4 blade props with one at 24 pitch and the other at 23 ish pitch. Let me know what you have. Thanks
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Hey West 32,
'97 with stock 7.4L 340 HP MPIs with stock Borg Warner Velvet Drives, Model 20-01-005, 2.455 to 1 reduction. Last had my props reworked 6/10/20. They are Hytorq Nibrals, 4 blades with a 21" diameter, 24" pitch and a .075" cup. Final values on the diameter are 20.75" and 20.80". Hope this helps.
 
Thanks Gerry. What kind of RPM numbers are you running?

Any other Gas owners out there??????
 
Hey guys. Has anyone had trouble with their engine room hatch hinge pin backing out? If so, how did you get it back in? There is limited space to pound on it to push it back in...

Let me know
Thanks
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West32 said:
Hey guys. Has anyone had trouble with their engine room hatch hinge pin backing out? If so, how did you get it back in? There is limited space to pound on it to push it back in...

Let me know
Thanks
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Just going to throw this out there but might it be possible to get at it from the engine compartment with the hatch open as far as possible? May be worth a look.
 
West32 said:
Hey guys. Has anyone had trouble with their engine room hatch hinge pin backing out? If so, how did you get it back in? There is limited space to pound on it to push it back in...

Let me know
ThanksView attachment 118538 View attachment 118539
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gerrpicc said:
Just going to throw this out there but might it be possible to get at it from the engine compartment with the hatch open as far as possible? May be worth a look.
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And if that doesn't work, maybe one of these will. https://www.amazon.com/Mayhew-Pro-3...ocphy=9007455&hvtargid=pla-571661940421&psc=1
I'm sure there are less expensive ones out there. Possibly HF or your local auto parts stores.
The welded on barrel is where you tap it with a hammer.
 
Emergency start...

I'm a recent owner of a '97 370EC that we keep at a marina in the Sea of Cortez. Last week we were unable to restart our port engine about 15 miles form shore. This issue was the port battery, that seems to supply most of the critical electronics, including the engine hatch lid. Engines are in great shape otherwise, Cat 3116's with only 2400 hrs each.

Troubleshooting now, but all signs lead to a faulty alternator. My question is: Does anybody know if there's a switchover of some sort to temporarily join the port and starboard batteries in an emergency such as this? I had assumed the "Emergency Start" switch between the port and stbd ignition switches might enable me to leverage the stbd battery to start the port engine, but was unable to get that switch to help. I also looked at the main switches behind the cabin steps and they only provide on/off function.
 
Yep, there is the Emergency Start switch between the 2. I've had to use mine once when my starting battery died (someone had inadvertently turned on the bilge lights when we were anchored out). I started the good engine and then pressed and held the Emergency Start switch while cranking the dead engine. That should get you started, but you could also run the generator for a few minutes with the battery charger on to get enough juice to crank it over. I've had to do that before as well.

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GnrlPatton said:
Yep, there is the Emergency Start switch between the 2. I've had to use mine once when my starting battery died (someone had inadvertently turned on the bilge lights when we were anchored out). I started the good engine and then pressed and held the Emergency Start switch while cranking the dead engine. That should get you started, but you could also run the generator for a few minutes with the battery charger on to get enough juice to crank it over. I've had to do that before as well.

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Ok, good to know that the emergency start switch should function that way - unfortunately though it didn't work. So, I guess I have a fault either with the switch or maybe a downstream relay?? Agreed about the generator, but this was a perfect storm... generator kept shutting off on low oil pressure and I couldn't get close enough to the generator to top up the oil since the engine hatch actuators run off the port battery. I ended up limping into the marina and plugging into shore power, after 15 mins the engine started and we got back to our slip.
Thanks!
 
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