863631T1 Water Distribution Housing Assy Distributor with Drain Plug for Mercury Mercruiser Quicksilver Alpha Bravo 4.3 5.0 5.7 6.2 262 305 350 377 CID 383 V6 V8 Replace 863802T2 863444T2

One of the 3 brass sleeves in the mounting holes was deformed to oval during installation at the factory and that third bolt would not line up properly with its threaded hole in the mounting bracket. I had to carefully run a drill bit through the bushing to round it out again, now it fits.

Boat

I'm replacing an OEM that has cracked for unknown reasons. This is approx. $140 cheaper then the OEM. WIN!! They truly "look" identical. I could not find manufacture markings on either. 3 hoses, 3 bolts and a plug easy swap, right? Nope, looking closer after a failed install, the mounting holes for the bolts are misaligned in such a manner you can not secure the front mounting bolt before or after the top and bottom rear bolts are installed, in any combination. Back two holes fit, front is off set half the bolt diameter slightly up and forward widening their distance between each other. There is an easy solution, if you choose not to return it like me. ( its Saturday, I want to go boating,) But very much should be unacceptable and further unnecessary. Solution: Drill the holes out larger, yes you may loose the brass bushings in this fixture but it will fit and get you on the water sooner. Possible this is the trade off for a not paying for over priced OEM? I don't think so, where is QC these days. Will I buy this again? Depends how long this lasts. Engines do vibrate, its hard to tell if this mod has effected the integrity of this part.