Who has a PCM EX343 and wants a free upgrade to PCM ZR409?

[jslipher]

Who here would like to upgrade their existing PCM EX343 to the PCM ZR409 for little to no cost (labor only)? I am looking at downsizing our engine to meet lake restrictions. This engine is in perfect running condition with only 40hrs on it! We are willing to do an even swap and downgrade to the EX343 as long as it has reasonably low hours (it can have more than ours). The only thing you would need to pay for is the labor to have yours removed and ours installed. Trust me this is not a gimmick, we are just trying to meet lake engine size restrictions without having to sell the boat we love.

[UNSTUCK]

Why not just change any trim items on your engine to read 343 instead of 409? Will the engine nazis look past them? I doubt it.

[chpthril]

^^^^^ This was my 1st thought, make new decals for the engine.

[sandm]

in some areas you have to list the engine size to register. if it's already branded a 409, might be tough to change. I know that I had to list it and getting it changed would be a major hassle and they would look further than some engine police on a lake.

I do agree that I would rebadge first and put a fae on it to cut the noise down.

[jslipher]

I thought through the options you listed above, but didn't want to have the guilty conscience. Plus the result of being 'found out' wouldn't be worth it either.

[chpthril]

is the 409 open or closed cooling? Im figuring 30-40 man hours to make both swaps, plus incidentals. So 4 to 6 grand or more. Then motor freight to ship 2 engines if the two boats are not within a resonable driving distance to be side by side.

Have you just considered trading boats? Boats with upgrade engines are typically in strong demand. As a perspective buyer of either boats involved in a swap, I would be scratching my head if someone tried telling this tale as to why/how the boat went from a large engine to a small engine or from a smaller engine to a larger.

[thtrog]

Curious, what is the restriction you are trying to meet?

[Greeko]

Wish I had the 343..I would jump on this@!

[Bakes5]

Meh.....HOA type rules are made to be broken. I could never feel guilty about breaking one of them. Usually, I feel indignant that I have to actually obey some of them. Rules like no cliff jumping over 15 feet at Lake Powell and you can have a boat with a 350hp motor but not a 400hp motor are made by people/committees with agendas and no grounding in reality and beg to be broken. Seriously, the only thing a 400 gets you over a 350 is a higher top speed. It's not like you can't just put a tractor prop on the lower HP engine and still run 3500lbs of ballast.

I say slap some stickers on it, run it till you get 2 letters of reprimand in the mail and then swap it out for a boat with a smaller motor. Trying to do this type of change sounds like a lot more $$ than you think as well as endless gremlins. Maybe if it were some older, carbureted boat.

[ericinmich]

I'm with Bakes5 on this. Take it out of the lake for a month, talk to your neighbors about how much money you have to waste to swap a smaller motor in it. Show everyone the new motor with the 343 stickers, etc.

[dakota4ce]

Just rockets off of the impractical scale. Holy cow, unreasonable expectation with no logical basis.