Yea, good lessons here. Unless you have maintenance records from the previous owner, assume nothing was done and go through every maintenance item before you take it out. Cooling system, exhaust system, lubrication, etc.. Check it all! . Sterndrives are fickle beasts and need to be maintained or they can be a nightmare to own. The good thing is once these items are done, you can usually go several years before needing to do them again assuming you've care for it properly. Keep the outdrive down during storage, winterize the boat properly, don't run the motor with the outdrive up beyond the trim stop, etc..
So true will never do another i/o .. i miss my 2stroke e tec, just the simple fact that so many thinks can cause leaks into a boat make i/o just needlessly expensive and add risks
@@RumblesBettr I totally get the appeal of outboards with respect to maintenance cost. My last boat was an outboard. The draw of I/Os for me is that you can get so much power at a relatively low purchase price (for a used boat). My current I/O has the 4.3 Merc. I sold my last boat with a 60HP Merc EFI for almost what I paid for my current boat. There are just a lot more I/Os on the market (in my area) so there are deals to be had. Just need to choose wisely and do your due diligence!
I have the same engine & alpha one gen 2 outdrive on my houseboat. I bought it spring 2020 & it sat for about 14 yrs. I did all the mechanical work myself but missed the exhaust flappers. Hydolocked it last summer once & twice this summer. Unfortunately I will be rebuilding my engine this winter because the previous owners didn’t take care of it. Thank for your post.
Great Video. The only thing i disagree with is. The mechanic saying poor maintenance and sitting was the problem. The problem was the boat was overheated bad. Then the guy tried to cover up the damaged rubber boots. Had you known that from jump street you would have had this all done before going out and hydro locking the motor. I do agree. That the boat should be good to go for seasons to come. Just remember to always grease the gimbal on the out-drive. Have fun boating.
I agree. But, the boat is a 2001 with 119 hours.i bought it with 2014 tabs on it. It didn't help.but, yes the over heating was the main problem. I am using the boat as I write this
Good job on the video. I'm in a similar situation but fortunately I'm able to do the work myself. I hydro locked my motor a few days ago but mine is due to broke exhaust flappers. Great job explaining everything. I have a Volvo Penta SX outdrive. My VIP I had had a Mercruiser drive like yours. Believe it or not if you have a little bit of mechanical ability you can do all that work yourself. Best of luck and happy boating! 👍
Nice video - totally opened my eyes, but I wished I could have seen this before I bought a used boat. Fortunately, my 2004 chapparal was well maintained and haven't seen these problems. Glad you were able to solve the engine issues! Buyers be aware!
how you clean out that engine is easy cost you $10 ..... just use one gallon of DIESEL FUEL flush it out by no spark to plugs so will not start. and spin on a new oil filter and crank over engine for 5 mins off and on so starter will not get super hot so like 30 sec each time until you hit 5 mins... then drain it out all the diesel fuel and install a new oil filter and new oil... i do this for a living and i have done this many times and it cleans out everything all water and old oil is gone...
Thanks for sharing, my grandpa told me years ago when you buy a used car, truck, boat, whatever it may be, you're just buying someone else's troubles......well, from my experience he was at least half right.
One Thing... Don't forget to change out the Thermostat and inspect the thermostat housing too for blockages. if that is not working properly it can cause poor flow to the exhaust manifolds and risers too. thermostats cost 15.00 and make all the difference too.
Looks like you got everything up to spec. One word of advice- get a second battery and put in your engine room. Always good to have an extra- one hard wave can make the plates in the battery touch each other and reduce the battery capacity.
And THIS is why I'm forever an outboard person. No stern drives for this dude. More space in the boat, fewer moving parts, and I can access anything I need to by popping off the cowl.
Plus if you want you can repower, replace your outboard if you keep the boat for years. Many big city shops will not work on boats that are older than 15 to 20 years old. Even if you have cash money and the parts. That is why a lot of new boats are sold. Financing is made easier today, but still I do not like spending 50k on a boat. I would rather buy a good used boat and spend say $2000 and know exactly what I have. Then I still have money in my pocket and do not have to worry about payments. Have fun and wear you life jackets. Cheers. 🍻
Very informative video as usual! I'm going to look at and take a test lake ride in a 1997 Four Winns 18 ft. bow rider 4.3GL for sale this weekend. I will heed your advice and closely examine those exposed items, and question the owner about the other things.
If your exhaust and riser manifold gets hot fast when sitting idling dead give away your lift impeller isn't working. Day boats don't idle like that on the water so you might get away with a bad impeller. But no matter what. And this happens so many times. Poor maintenance. Bad lift pump makes your engine radiat heat idling because your risers are getting enough water. Then the flapper melts and gets stuck open allowing water to suck on the head but only when shutting off and starting your notice it. A dead give away of a bad lift pump is not being able to put your hand on the riser where it dumps to the water exhaust. Change the impeller. Shift cable simple but most people think.. oh gee my rpm jumps up when shifting into foward or reverse. Adjust the shift cable. Wrong. Wrong. It takes a few years owning a Merc to finally get it. And when you do. You'll realize how well they work. I'm melting things....... 🤔🤔🤔 Ya because your running manifolds dry because the lift pump is bad and I don't understand how it works 🤔🤔 split that lower.
Thanks for the video..., I think my first boat will be from a reputable dealer..., and now armed with this info I know what to ask. Once I get use to keeping up with the maintenance, and learn even more about how the boat operates, I'll even trust myself to buying another boat used from a private sale. After all that you showed that can be damaged and/or worn out parts that cannot be seen I'll assume into the price of the boat the cost to having them specific parts replaced... its like buying a used car and figuring it automatically needs new brakes.
I bought a boat that had not run for two years. It has a merc 3 and alpha one gen one, and last weekend I started it for the first time and no water came out and then a bit of smoke and some rubber pieces that I've identified as the exhuast shutters. The engine only ran for about 60 seconds. Now I'm waiting to get it in to service and I'm praying I don't end up having to spend as much as you did.
You will spend less since it didn't hydro lock. Also I had them do the shift cable and gimble bearing. Which since they have the lower end off you should have them look at that stuff
I love lake Minnetonka! A buddy of mine had a home on the water. He was on a peninsula. I think the road to his home was Hardscrabble Lane. His next door neighbor built a huge stone home right next to his. I wonder if they bought his house and tore it down when he sold it? The new huge stone home, it reminded me of an old college building, was almost on top of my buddy's house and I'm sure cost millions to build. This is going back 10 years or so. I live in the La Crosse area and have a cottage on Pretty Lake in Waukesha county about 45 minutes west of Milwaukee. Thanks for your videos! I've got a 17' Glastron with a '94 Mercrusier 3.0 Litre. I've been dealing with bogging issues the last couple of weeks. I changed the fuel filter at the base of the engine, the filter just inside the carb. Cleaned out the tube going from the fuel filter to the carb. Changed the spark plugs. I'm waiting for the spark plug wires, rotor and distributor cap. I've never done any of this work before but the marina is so expensive and a hassle not to mention by the time they do everything the season would be over. The bogging has gone away, I've also run three cans of Seafoam through 15 gallons of non ethanol gas which I have to drive to the next county to purchase. The problem I'm having now is after a few minutes at full throttle I hear a popping sound. I back down the throttle to no wake and I hear a ticking which goes away after about 5 minutes of no wake speed. The popping comes back at full throttle followed by the ticking which again fades after five minutes at no wake. Any idea what this could be? I'm going to winterize my boat this year with the help of your video! I am a little ticked off at the marina because I've paid for maintenance and tune ups in the past. When I attempted to change the fuel filter, I had a hard time getting the bolt loose. I didn't realize there was a piece of wire wrapped around it. I finally got it loose and off and bowl was so rusty inside, there was chunks of gunk and a stone filter in there! It might have been the original filter! The spark plugs had a huge amount of rust on them and somebody told me they were very old.
Thank you for this awesome video. We just blackout of a 2007 Chaparral 210 SSi. It had low compression in two of its pistons and a lot of electrical issues. I was bummed, I really like this brand of boats. We ended up getting a Pantoon boat.
Been there as well, buying a boat without the proper knowledge. Engine was overhauled poorly using automotive water cooling pump ... but that was not the issue. It had a 1997 Volvo Penta 3.0L with a bad cooling design (bypass to exhaust directly). Had three (!) cracked manifolds before I found out, including the fun of water ingestion. Nowadays I know every aspect of the engine, know what to look for, feel it and listen to it. My biggest advice would be when buying on older boat, always get an experienced someone with you. Even when the boat is good, you need to be learned how to work with these engines as they are maintenance sensitive, especially when raw water cooled. And don't forgey the sterndrive ... can be a costly matter as well.
Oh jeah, TIP ! I got many support from iBoats and their forum members with very experienced and helpfull people. I also posted the solutions I got, so others can use that.
Thank you so much for making these videos. I'm buying my first I/O. Looking at glastron, larson, Chaparral or four winns. This I great information!!!!!
I have Almost same scenario. I purchased my first ever inboard/outboard yesterday. I have had dozens of outboards in the past, but this is my first rodeo with this type. I bought a 97 Harris Flote Deck. 21’ long, and immaculate. 359 hours. I bought this boat from a dealer. Who told me it tested out perfect. I took his word, because he owns a multi million dollar business. After I paid him in cash, I started to hook it up. It was at this point he said, Oh yeah, the boat leaks!!!!! WHAT!!! He said but don’t worry, it’s only the lower exhaust boot. It’s no big deal?? So at this point I can’t do a darn thing about it. Fast forward next day ( today ), I started replacing the lower boot, long story short, all four boots were CRUSTY!! They were all in need of dire replacing. No doubt they were the factory boots. 23 years old!!! They were fried like yours were on the inside, so I am hoping I don’t have the horrible luck that you had. 🙏🙏🙏. I have $246 in parts. I am hoping he will reimburse me, but not holding my breath.
Ditch those one piece manifolds, they are known to crack internally and leak water into the cylinders. That's why Mercruiser got rid of them after a just a few years.
Great video, and I do feel your pain. I do appreciate your honesty in regards to your mistakes of inspecting the boat properly before purchase. You should make videos on how to inspect and test a boat before buying one, that would be really helpful for novice people like myself. keep up the good work ;)
Hey Chris I also can feel your pain and worry about your engine and is it going to go bad later. I recently bought a 1987 Chris Craft with a 4.3L and Alpha One Gen 1 outdrive. Started it in my drive. and I did not notice that there was not enough water being pumped into the engine. We took it to the lake and it seamed to run great so I got it up to speed when I asked my neighbor who wa with me if he smelled something burning. YEP! Stopped the boat and smoke poured out of the motor compartment. Quickly opened the lid over engine and the rubber boots were smoking and the manifolds could have cooked a steak!!!! All parts in the outdrive that were plastic were melted like yours if not worse. In taking out the impeller and housing to replace I noticed that the drive shaft from the upper to the lower unit has a lot of wobble and the bearing feels rough. Can you give me advice as to should there be any play back and forth in the drive shafts upper bearing???? And is there any videos out there on how to check the bearings and replace if they are bad. Thanks for this Video as it makes me feel like I am not the only one that made a MISTAKE!!! LOL
Sounds like we had similar situations. If you take off your lower end and pull the shaft out of the transom you can stick your hand in through the bellows and move the bearing with a finger or two. It should spin very smooth. If it is rough then it is bad. I hope that helps
Super informative. Thanks, Chris. Question for you re: water in my mercruiser. I boated a bunch as a kid and boat a used boat last summer. 1996 Chris Craft -with Volvo Penta Mercruiser. I had a few things tuned up on it at the end of the season, then had it winterized. Yesterday, I put in the water for the first time. To be honest, this was the first time getting off the trailer by myself. Cutting to the chase, I...did...not ...put...in..the plug. I noticed the engine sounded weird, saw the bilge was full of water, turned on the bilge pump & turned around managing to get back to the launch & back on the trailer. I think the engine was 3/4 under water for about 30 - 45 minutes. I haven't tried to restart it, I've sprayed the engine with WD-40 and have a dehumidifier running in the engine compartment as we speak. Do I need to take it all apart? Curious to hear your thoughts! thanks
Was this in salt water or fresh water ? Did you take out the spark plugs and spin the motor with breaker bar or just start it normally without the spark plugs in. Pull the kill switch if you start it with starter motor. I know it’s been some weeks since posted, but water more so will corrode the electrical components than create mechanical damage the motor if it got submerged. Any electrical harnesses and terminals should be sprayed with compressed air then cleaned/coated/reassemble.
Thanks Chris. Very informative. I bought my first used boat three years ago and I guess I lucked out. It was a one owner 1998 Rinker Captiva 192. I have enjoyed three Summers on Lake Michigan with it now. Not one issue yet. The original owner took pride in the boat and had all the Maintance done by a shop. I replaced the Blower hose / drier vent as I call it just because it was showing it's age with some small cracks, after 20 years it was time. This Spring I'll replace both batteries as they are five years old now... I've kept them on trickle charges but I think age wise it's just time to replace. Why try one more season then get stuck way off shore at the wrong time. What are your thoughts on hull Maintance? I kept mine in a dock all last Summer and of course when I pulled it out it was very dirty! I did the toilet bowl cleaner trick and did a fresh coat of wax but I could not get the Prop and lower drive unit looking shinny and new. Any tricks for that or can I just put on a fresh coat of paint to protect the lower drive? Thanks and have a great day!
Your fuel/water separator filter being completely full of water (since it was never changed) may have been one of the root causes. Poor fuel flow may have lead to the engine running lean....lean is HOT...especially in the exhaust components. That may have been what lead to the early demise of components on a low hour boat. Changing that filter should be part of yearly maintenance. Even more so if you put gas from an automotive gas station containing ethanol. Ethanol attracts water.
low fuel presser from fuel / water separator restriction cause lean mixture from injectors or carburetor ??? i thought that mixture of fuel and air flow was from within the carb ??? you need to explain how low fuel presser from fuel filter will change fuel / air mixture from carb ???
I know this was a few years ago but I wouldn't be surprised if his next problem is internally cracked one piece exhaust manifolds liquid locking the engine. They stopped making the one piece a long time ago do to the problem. He would have to replace them with the older two piece system which at one time they had a kit for.
Are you still an I/O guy? I bought one last year and now need an engine replacement due to hydo-lock. Im neck deep into it so too late to switch to an outboard. I was wondering if you still have your I/O?
Have 7.4 liter engine ( 454 big block ) just replaced flappers and it looks like it hydro locked on after coming to quick stop after a sailboat cut across my bow, thought the engine seized but it appears I may have gotten a little lucky.
I know you posted this three years ago but this is the exact same thing that happens to me with Hydro lock after towing my kids and just buying the boat two weeks before never had put it under load now I’m trying to figure out what to do.
It might need flappers and an impeller. After that run premium gas and after running let it run for a min at idle to cool it down. Hasn't happen since for me. I did a lot of research to come to figure that out. Good luck
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka yes, I opened everything up. There’s no flappers and I was able to clean everything out engine is running fine now. now I just need to keep watching your channel and learn some more. Thanks a bunch.
Hey mate great piece of information. I am buying a used Fourwinns H180SS it’s 10 years old, the accelerator lever feels bit hard. Is this an indication that the cables may be rusted or is it any expensive affair? Thanks for your guidance
Looks like ya didn't do fresh belts though? Hope belts at the end weren't originals but hopefully you got away with it. Like one expensive tow bill and/or ruined holiday weekend and fresh yearly maintenance (& checking fluids etc) is soooo cheap! Great vids!
It probably hydrolocked because of the bad Bat Wing one piece exhaust manifolds. Get rid of them! the conversion kit will cost you about a grand. Convert it to conventional 2 piece Merc manifolds/elbows. The bat wings fail due to core shift during casting and they can crack and put water right in a cylinder. A known problem on these Mercs. I had bat wings on my OMC 4.3 and they never failed but I had to replace them every 5 years in salt water. I converted to Volvo Penta 2 piece exhaust similar to what you need to do.
It ran on. Deiseled. Very common in the 4.3. I put a little higher octane in so it would not pre ignite and it hasn't happen since. The owner before me said it happened all the time. Lots of forms on it. My motor ran backwards and sucked water in.
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka Yes that is a common problem on certain Merc 4.3s, I have never had it on my OMC rigged 1988 with the Rochester Quadrajet 4bbl. However, if you search around the 'net especially on the forums at iboats there are a couple of very Merc experienced techs there. And they all say, that the one piece Merc V6 manifolds are a time bomb due to the fact that the cores could have shifted during casting. That can cause the inner wall between the exhaust gas passage and the cooling passage to be very thin in some cases and if it cracks or fractures it will dump a lot of water in a cyl. In fact there is a guy on the Bayliner Owners club site who just had this happen to him. There is a kit made by Barr Marine that converts it to the 2 piece normal Merc manifolds/elbows. Costs about a grand. I heard that the OMC one piece units had the same problem although mine never leaked. Since we have to replace the exhaust every 5-7 years here in salt water I had 3 sets of those on my engine over 15 years of salt water use. Then when they became NLA, I converted to the later style Volvo Penta 2 piece manifold/elbow.
Nice video, had allmost the same because the inlet in the lower end was clogged. What i dont get: what was causing the right bank becoming warmer then the left bank? First thought was: the head gasket? Clogged riser?
I'm looking at my first boat and know nothing!! This boat is 40yo, eeek! I thought, what do I do if the motor does what you explained and I'm stuck!?? What did you do? How do I get it back to shore?
Usually people are pretty good at towing you back to shore. I called my dad and he towed me back to the launch to get the boat on the trailer. Always have a paddle and a good anchor⚓.
@@jcowboy123 it happens alot in cars and boats. It might have gotten to hot. It's called running on. You know in movies when people shut off the car and it rumbles a few times and won't shut off It's like that. In the 4.3 if it pretty common. When it runs on the motor usually run backwards sucking water into the exhaust. The flappers would have helped.
After all that work the left side looking at the motor from inside the boat still gets hotter than the right side. If you are worried about it running on or dieseling let it run for a min at idle after a cruiser pulling anyone. Also, run a little higher octane fuel. Like 89, 91 or 92. That will help with the run on, dieseling to prevent hydrolock.
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka If one side of your engine is running hotter than the other, you need to have it looked at. It could be caused by poor fuel quality, pre-detonation, valves out of adjustment, or valves sticking. None of these are expensive problems to fix, but if you keep running it that way, it will end up expensive.
The transmission shaft does not rotate because the motor coupler broke. Do you think that is the reason why the water does not circulate inside the motor?
Make sure you run it for 15 min. Put it in and out of gear. Forward and reverse. Check the oil after running it. Make sure the gauges work and move the trim up and down.
My question is about the old fuel. I have a boat that been sitting for at least 3 years. Gas tank was full. Starts right up, after replacing points and condenser, and runs fine, although it's overheating. So, new thermostat and impeller going in this weekend. What to do about the fuel? i read it's probably bad, but how to get rid of it or should I just run it and keep adding new?
I would run it. Maybe put a fuel treatment in the tank. It will mix the water in the fuel so it burns more evenly. After burning a couple gallons it wouldn't hurt to top it off with some premium gas so it mixes
after 6 months dump it out some way as per master tech. this new fuel now days is just junk and will lock up valves and hit pistons. cost you so much down time and ton of money... do not run that old fuel believe me... it use to be after one year change dump out fuel do not run that engine... now days it is 6 months some say 3 months dump it... but fuel is cheap now...over heating too?? water pump bad?? you might have 2 pumps on that unit???
I know how you feel exactly same thing happened to me and I payed a serveyer to look at it who said the boat was in good condition before hand. also the stringers were rotten on back half and gear oil leaking from prop .oh yeah nearly forgot and hydrolic steering dosing work . But didn't notice these things because it was all covered up , and still finding things . Payed full price .
My husband & I just bought a 2001 see ray. Looked great, ram great when the guy too us out on it. It looked very well maintained. The guy seemed very honest too. He grew up on a boat/lake so was very knowledgeable. He stayed that him & his wife just putted around on the lake almost every night. Well we bought the boat for $10k, brought it home filled it with gas & took it out on our private lake we have. Tom our little nephew's out on the tube. Didn't beat it or anything & all of a sudden it lost power basically, got hot & then stalled & wouldn't start again. So we got it home too it to the local marina that the previous owner took it to & they said the motor was shot & it would cost $6600 too fix!! Holy crap I thought. It seems like a lot but I don't know. Should we get another opinion?? It's a 4.3 mercury??
I'm sorry to hear that. Stuff like that can happen. How awful though. That does seem like the right price. If you shop around you could maybe find someone to do it for just over 5k. But , make sure it is a good shop and can give you assurance that they will build the motor correctly and can back their work. Sorry to hear that happen. What a bummer. I can almost guarantee the previous owner couldn't have helped it. How many hours are on the boat? Just curious
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka I can't remember how many hours are on it. It is a real bummer tho. We thought we were buying the better boat. We also looked at a 2005 crown that looked clean & seemed to run good but it needed a lot of tlc on the outside & trailer had a fender cover missing & the boat cover got shredded in a recent wind storm but he wanted a little over 10k for it too. You never know but it was just our luck!!
They would not just give you the boat, to bad, attorney's ... Best thing I ever did was too get a partner to share the costly fun of boat ownership. God bless you!
I make most of my money from youtube. I have several channels. Otherwise I do just about everything. I drove a car to Florida last week for a customer. I mow some lawns. Odds and ends. How about you?
Great video, thank you for taking the time to go through in detail over everything. But how in the world was this much damage done to a 100 hour motor? Did the previous owner run it full throttle all the time? Run it dry, not knowing it gets damaged?
Awesome video. I bought an '88 Searay for $1000 under the impression that it ran fine and has always been winterized. now I'm getting ready to yank out the motor and replace a bunch of stuff. Shoulda known better!
I had to wait 2 weeks untill it could go in. Then it was in for two weeks waiting for parts. In reality, if they had the parts and the guy showed up everyday. It could have been done in two or three days
Hello from just across the river in Wisconsin. This was a great video I'm currently boat shopping for a boat of approximately the same year would love to learn more of what to look for when buying a used boat.
acemannw Any boat you buy should be taken to a marina for pre-purchase inspection. Then after inspection, must do sea trial and I'm talking at least half day sea trial. If you can, get as many people as possible to come with you to load up the boat. Accelerate it just before it gets on plane and hold it there for minutes at a time. Anyone that won't agree to a sea trial just walk away. During sea trial try to be critical to yourself, not out loud. You're not trying to have fun, you want to work the boat like you would have family and friends onboard on July 4th and you don't want any issues.
One oil change would have been enough if you pulled the drain plug on the oil pan, the water sits on the bottom. learn more about everything or it will cost more in the long run, First run of the season watch your temp everywhere every minute.
Nice video. Now step up your game and do all that troubleshooting and repair yourself. You seem like a very capable talented mechanic. You also get the satisfaction of doing it yourself and no labor bill. Boat mechanics and shipyards ain't all that
I could have easily done it. Since I bought the boat from a family member I want to report back to them with 100% evidence of the problems. I even brought it to a marina by them incase they wanted to talk to the tech. They told me the boat was perfect. I want receipts to show them it wasn't. That was the only reason I brought it in. Next time I will not bring it in.
Was wondering this info too, about to get a 2000 Lund Tyee with a 4.3 L , and may need to take it in to have checked out. I think there’s a place in NE or N Mpls... I’ve been to prop MD in Plymouth before, but do they do the overhaul too? I shoulda finished the video lol bayside marina . Thanks for your videos
Chris, I essentially am going through the same process. Thanks for all the replacement part info. One question: did you have to replace the 3/4” water line hose that connects from the back of the gimbal housing up to the motor? I had the same complete meltdown of the water impeller, boot, and pipe going up into the bell housing. I’m replacing it all myself, but the Gimbal housing is another level of hassle so I was wondering if that hose was melted as well. The lower bellow on the exhaust piping is melted on mine as well.
I don’t understand why you showed us a gimbal bearing in a bag. Nice video though. The reality of boating. You can’t always go by hours. Age had taken its goal.
Have same with my '06 3.0 mercruiser. Rebuild here in holland is almost the same as new engine with outdrive. Should've seen this vid before buing haha
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka you like the boat and dump money into it to upgrade it for you ... the boat is for you and you want to keep it ... but if you bought it to sell it and make money is very different, but i sell it to pay my bills, so i must know everything wrong with it, but i cannot buy and lose money when selling something or will lose my house. i buy cheap and sell cheap it , it sells faster cheap. high dollar hard to sell now days... people like cheap boats and cheap cars. i never sell a car over 2k... i have sold so much DMV now wants me to get a dealer lic# ??? they want me to pay them money for private sales??? and claim it on yearly tax form now???
@@johncasor9698 I have never owned a car that was more than 4k. I bought this boat for 5I from my uncle who said it was in great condition. I trusted him. At the end of the day the boat might be worth 9k or 10k. I have always made money on every car, boat and truck I have ever bought. I just don't buy them to sell. I buy them to use without loosing money on them.
Thinking about it. I have been looking at boats like it going for around 12 to 13k. This boat has lower hours, lots of new parts, new depthfinder, new stereo and speakers.
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka Please don't take my comment the wrong way, I've made plenty of dubious purchases with little information. You presented a very good video that I'm sure helped a lot of people during the check-out process. I was just having a little fun! I've got a 1999 Four Winns with the Volvo-Penta I/O that has been troublesome at time.
WOW! You explain everything so simply that even a guy like me understands!
That sucks. I would just add clean or replace the flame arrestor. CG requires it be cleaned each year. Great video!
Yea, good lessons here. Unless you have maintenance records from the previous owner, assume nothing was done and go through every maintenance item before you take it out. Cooling system, exhaust system, lubrication, etc.. Check it all! . Sterndrives are fickle beasts and need to be maintained or they can be a nightmare to own. The good thing is once these items are done, you can usually go several years before needing to do them again assuming you've care for it properly. Keep the outdrive down during storage, winterize the boat properly, don't run the motor with the outdrive up beyond the trim stop, etc..
So true will never do another i/o .. i miss my 2stroke e tec, just the simple fact that so many thinks can cause leaks into a boat make i/o just needlessly expensive and add risks
@@RumblesBettr I totally get the appeal of outboards with respect to maintenance cost. My last boat was an outboard. The draw of I/Os for me is that you can get so much power at a relatively low purchase price (for a used boat). My current I/O has the 4.3 Merc. I sold my last boat with a 60HP Merc EFI for almost what I paid for my current boat. There are just a lot more I/Os on the market (in my area) so there are deals to be had. Just need to choose wisely and do your due diligence!
I have the same engine & alpha one gen 2 outdrive on my houseboat. I bought it spring 2020 & it sat for about 14 yrs. I did all the mechanical work myself but missed the exhaust flappers. Hydolocked it last summer once & twice this summer. Unfortunately I will be rebuilding my engine this winter because the previous owners didn’t take care of it. Thank for your post.
Bummer.
Brilliant video - just had a flapper nightmare!!! Thanks from Sydney Australia
Great Video. The only thing i disagree with is. The mechanic saying poor maintenance and sitting was the problem. The problem was the boat was overheated bad. Then the guy tried to cover up the damaged rubber boots. Had you known that from jump street you would have had this all done before going out and hydro locking the motor. I do agree. That the boat should be good to go for seasons to come. Just remember to always grease the gimbal on the out-drive. Have fun boating.
I agree. But, the boat is a 2001 with 119 hours.i bought it with 2014 tabs on it. It didn't help.but, yes the over heating was the main problem. I am using the boat as I write this
Good job on the video. I'm in a similar situation but fortunately I'm able to do the work myself. I hydro locked my motor a few days ago but mine is due to broke exhaust flappers. Great job explaining everything. I have a Volvo Penta SX outdrive. My VIP I had had a Mercruiser drive like yours. Believe it or not if you have a little bit of mechanical ability you can do all that work yourself. Best of luck and happy boating! 👍
Nice video - totally opened my eyes, but I wished I could have seen this before I bought a used boat. Fortunately, my 2004 chapparal was well maintained and haven't seen these problems.
Glad you were able to solve the engine issues! Buyers be aware!
how you clean out that engine is easy cost you $10 ..... just use one gallon of DIESEL FUEL flush it out by no spark to plugs so will not start. and spin on a new oil filter and crank over engine for 5 mins off and on so starter will not get super hot so like 30 sec each time until you hit 5 mins... then drain it out all the diesel fuel and install a new oil filter and new oil... i do this for a living and i have done this many times and it cleans out everything all water and old oil is gone...
That's good to know thanks for the information
I used to use kerosene, same difference.
Also you can just do one oil change gotta go out a load on the motor one oil change will do it
Where do you pour in the diesel or kerosene? And did you say you removed the spark plugs? I didn't really understand that part of your comment
Thanks for sharing, my grandpa told me years ago when you buy a used car, truck, boat, whatever it may be, you're just buying someone else's troubles......well, from my experience he was at least half right.
Yeah. Sometimes
Hes absolutely right, no one sells anything because its been running great
@@ncurc9766 Nah, not really, I've sold plenty of vehicles that were perfectly fine, just got tired of them or outgrew.
One Thing... Don't forget to change out the Thermostat and inspect
the thermostat housing too for blockages. if that is not working properly
it can cause poor flow to the exhaust manifolds and risers too. thermostats
cost 15.00 and make all the difference too.
That’s what got my motor.
Lol. love "coach living in a van down by the river" (chris farley) stance you take when you talk..
Lol
Looks like you got everything up to spec. One word of advice- get a second battery and put in your engine room. Always good to have an extra- one hard wave can make the plates in the battery touch each other and reduce the battery capacity.
And THIS is why I'm forever an outboard person. No stern drives for this dude. More space in the boat, fewer moving parts, and I can access anything I need to by popping off the cowl.
And liter. Many advantages of having an out board
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka Except it ruins the sleek look of a
high performance boat
Plus if you want you can repower, replace your outboard if you keep the boat for years. Many big city shops will not work on boats that are older than 15 to 20 years old. Even if you have cash money and the parts. That is why a lot of new boats are sold. Financing is made easier today, but still I do not like spending 50k on a boat. I would rather buy a good used boat and spend say $2000 and know exactly what I have. Then I still have money in my pocket and do not have to worry about payments. Have fun and wear you life jackets. Cheers. 🍻
Can't stuff a big block in an outboard unit though 😎
@@2KCamaroZ28SS yes, you can
Very informative video as usual! I'm going to look at and take a test lake ride in a 1997 Four Winns 18 ft. bow rider 4.3GL for sale this weekend. I will heed your advice and closely examine those exposed items, and question the owner about the other things.
If your exhaust and riser manifold gets hot fast when sitting idling dead give away your lift impeller isn't working. Day boats don't idle like that on the water so you might get away with a bad impeller. But no matter what. And this happens so many times. Poor maintenance.
Bad lift pump makes your engine radiat heat idling because your risers are getting enough water.
Then the flapper melts and gets stuck open allowing water to suck on the head but only when shutting off and starting your notice it.
A dead give away of a bad lift pump is not being able to put your hand on the riser where it dumps to the water exhaust.
Change the impeller. Shift cable simple but most people think.. oh gee my rpm jumps up when shifting into foward or reverse. Adjust the shift cable. Wrong.
Wrong. It takes a few years owning a Merc to finally get it. And when you do. You'll realize how well they work.
I'm melting things....... 🤔🤔🤔 Ya because your running manifolds dry because the lift pump is bad and I don't understand how it works 🤔🤔 split that lower.
Yep.
Thanks for the video..., I think my first boat will be from a reputable dealer..., and now armed with this info I know what to ask.
Once I get use to keeping up with the maintenance, and learn even more about how the boat operates, I'll even trust myself to buying another boat used from a private sale.
After all that you showed that can be damaged and/or worn out parts that cannot be seen I'll assume into the price of the boat the cost to having them specific parts replaced... its like buying a used car and figuring it automatically needs new brakes.
I’m so grateful for this platform. Thank you
I bought a boat that had not run for two years. It has a merc 3 and alpha one gen one, and last weekend I started it for the first time and no water came out and then a bit of smoke and some rubber pieces that I've identified as the exhuast shutters. The engine only ran for about 60 seconds. Now I'm waiting to get it in to service and I'm praying I don't end up having to spend as much as you did.
You will spend less since it didn't hydro lock. Also I had them do the shift cable and gimble bearing. Which since they have the lower end off you should have them look at that stuff
I love lake Minnetonka! A buddy of mine had a home on the water. He was on a peninsula. I think the road to his home was Hardscrabble Lane. His next door neighbor built a huge stone home right next to his. I wonder if they bought his house and tore it down when he sold it? The new huge stone home, it reminded me of an old college building, was almost on top of my buddy's house and I'm sure cost millions to build. This is going back 10 years or so. I live in the La Crosse area and have a cottage on Pretty Lake in Waukesha county about 45 minutes west of Milwaukee.
Thanks for your videos! I've got a 17' Glastron with a '94 Mercrusier 3.0 Litre. I've been dealing with bogging issues the last couple of weeks. I changed the fuel filter at the base of the engine, the filter just inside the carb. Cleaned out the tube going from the fuel filter to the carb. Changed the spark plugs. I'm waiting for the spark plug wires, rotor and distributor cap. I've never done any of this work before but the marina is so expensive and a hassle not to mention by the time they do everything the season would be over.
The bogging has gone away, I've also run three cans of Seafoam through 15 gallons of non ethanol gas which I have to drive to the next county to purchase. The problem I'm having now is after a few minutes at full throttle I hear a popping sound. I back down the throttle to no wake and I hear a ticking which goes away after about 5 minutes of no wake speed. The popping comes back at full throttle followed by the ticking which again fades after five minutes at no wake. Any idea what this could be?
I'm going to winterize my boat this year with the help of your video! I am a little ticked off at the marina because I've paid for maintenance and tune ups in the past. When I attempted to change the fuel filter, I had a hard time getting the bolt loose. I didn't realize there was a piece of wire wrapped around it. I finally got it loose and off and bowl was so rusty inside, there was chunks of gunk and a stone filter in there! It might have been the original filter! The spark plugs had a huge amount of rust on them and somebody told me they were very old.
Thank you for this awesome video. We just blackout of a 2007 Chaparral 210 SSi. It had low compression in two of its pistons and a lot of electrical issues. I was bummed, I really like this brand of boats. We ended up getting a Pantoon boat.
Good job on backing out. Yes they are good boats. But, not if the motor is bad. I want a pontoon for the room
Been there as well, buying a boat without the proper knowledge. Engine was overhauled poorly using automotive water cooling pump ... but that was not the issue. It had a 1997 Volvo Penta 3.0L with a bad cooling design (bypass to exhaust directly). Had three (!) cracked manifolds before I found out, including the fun of water ingestion. Nowadays I know every aspect of the engine, know what to look for, feel it and listen to it. My biggest advice would be when buying on older boat, always get an experienced someone with you. Even when the boat is good, you need to be learned how to work with these engines as they are maintenance sensitive, especially when raw water cooled. And don't forgey the sterndrive ... can be a costly matter as well.
Yes! Agree with all of what you said. Glad you learned a lot. Boats force you to become experts which is not a bad thing
Oh jeah, TIP ! I got many support from iBoats and their forum members with very experienced and helpfull people. I also posted the solutions I got, so others can use that.
@@martijnjansen170 forms are a great place ti learn from others. Glad you are trying ti help others
Thank you so much for making these videos. I'm buying my first I/O. Looking at glastron, larson, Chaparral or four winns. This I great information!!!!!
Amazing the engine wasn't ruined.
According to the expert of 30 yrs.its as good as new
I have Almost same scenario. I purchased my first ever inboard/outboard yesterday. I have had dozens of outboards in the past, but this is my first rodeo with this type. I bought a 97 Harris Flote Deck. 21’ long, and immaculate. 359 hours. I bought this boat from a dealer. Who told me it tested out perfect. I took his word, because he owns a multi million dollar business. After I paid him in cash, I started to hook it up. It was at this point he said, Oh yeah, the boat leaks!!!!!
WHAT!!!
He said but don’t worry, it’s only the lower exhaust boot. It’s no big deal??
So at this point I can’t do a darn thing about it. Fast forward next day ( today ), I started replacing the lower boot, long story short, all four boots were CRUSTY!! They were all in need of dire replacing. No doubt they were the factory boots. 23 years old!!!
They were fried like yours were on the inside, so I am hoping I don’t have the horrible luck that you had. 🙏🙏🙏. I have $246 in parts. I am hoping he will reimburse me, but not holding my breath.
Good luck. Just make sure it pumps water out . Don't over heat it.
Sounds like a nice boat though. I guess rubber where exhaust comes out is not the best idea. I am sure it is common. But who knows.
I grew up on Lake Minnetonka. I've brought a boat or two into Bayside during that time and they do good work and are honest.
They do great work!
Ditch those one piece manifolds, they are known to crack internally and leak water into the cylinders. That's why Mercruiser got rid of them after a just a few years.
Great video, and I do feel your pain. I do appreciate your honesty in regards to your mistakes of inspecting the boat properly before purchase. You should make videos on how to inspect and test a boat before buying one, that would be really helpful for novice people like myself. keep up the good work ;)
Great idea.
Exactly what I thought
Hey Chris I also can feel your pain and worry about your engine and is it going to go bad later. I recently bought a 1987 Chris Craft with a 4.3L and Alpha One Gen 1 outdrive. Started it in my drive. and I did not notice that there was not enough water being pumped into the engine. We took it to the lake and it seamed to run great so I got it up to speed when I asked my neighbor who wa with me if he smelled something burning. YEP! Stopped the boat and smoke poured out of the motor compartment. Quickly opened the lid over engine and the rubber boots were smoking and the manifolds could have cooked a steak!!!! All parts in the outdrive that were plastic were melted like yours if not worse. In taking out the impeller and housing to replace I noticed that the drive shaft from the upper to the lower unit has a lot of wobble and the bearing feels rough. Can you give me advice as to should there be any play back and forth in the drive shafts upper bearing???? And is there any videos out there on how to check the bearings and replace if they are bad. Thanks for this Video as it makes me feel like I am not the only one that made a MISTAKE!!! LOL
Sounds like we had similar situations. If you take off your lower end and pull the shaft out of the transom you can stick your hand in through the bellows and move the bearing with a finger or two. It should spin very smooth. If it is rough then it is bad. I hope that helps
Awesome video and info.
Super informative. Thanks, Chris. Question for you re: water in my mercruiser. I boated a bunch as a kid and boat a used boat last summer. 1996 Chris Craft -with Volvo Penta Mercruiser. I had a few things tuned up on it at the end of the season, then had it winterized. Yesterday, I put in the water for the first time. To be honest, this was the first time getting off the trailer by myself. Cutting to the chase, I...did...not ...put...in..the plug. I noticed the engine sounded weird, saw the bilge was full of water, turned on the bilge pump & turned around managing to get back to the launch & back on the trailer. I think the engine was 3/4 under water for about 30 - 45 minutes. I haven't tried to restart it, I've sprayed the engine with WD-40 and have a dehumidifier running in the engine compartment as we speak. Do I need to take it all apart? Curious to hear your thoughts! thanks
Was this in salt water or fresh water ? Did you take out the spark plugs and spin the motor with breaker bar or just start it normally without the spark plugs in. Pull the kill switch if you start it with starter motor. I know it’s been some weeks since posted, but water more so will corrode the electrical components than create mechanical damage the motor if it got submerged. Any electrical harnesses and terminals should be sprayed with compressed air then cleaned/coated/reassemble.
I'd start it. If it is salt water I'd rinse it carefully. I'm guessing you already figured it out though.
Thanks Chris. Very informative. I bought my first used boat three years ago and I guess I lucked out. It was a one owner 1998 Rinker Captiva 192. I have enjoyed three Summers on Lake Michigan with it now. Not one issue yet. The original owner took pride in the boat and had all the Maintance done by a shop. I replaced the Blower hose / drier vent as I call it just because it was showing it's age with some small cracks, after 20 years it was time. This Spring I'll replace both batteries as they are five years old now... I've kept them on trickle charges but I think age wise it's just time to replace. Why try one more season then get stuck way off shore at the wrong time. What are your thoughts on hull Maintance? I kept mine in a dock all last Summer and of course when I pulled it out it was very dirty! I did the toilet bowl cleaner trick and did a fresh coat of wax but I could not get the Prop and lower drive unit looking shinny and new. Any tricks for that or can I just put on a fresh coat of paint to protect the lower drive? Thanks and have a great day!
What is the toilet cleaner truck? I'm a new/used boat owner for the first time.
Your fuel/water separator filter being completely full of water (since it was never changed) may have been one of the root causes. Poor fuel flow may have lead to the engine running lean....lean is HOT...especially in the exhaust components. That may have been what lead to the early demise of components on a low hour boat. Changing that filter should be part of yearly maintenance. Even more so if you put gas from an automotive gas station containing ethanol. Ethanol attracts water.
You have a good point
low fuel presser from fuel / water separator restriction cause lean mixture from injectors or carburetor ??? i thought that mixture of fuel and air flow was from within the carb ??? you need to explain how low fuel presser from fuel filter will change fuel / air mixture from carb ???
Great video pal !!!
Thank you
I know this was a few years ago but I wouldn't be surprised if his next problem is internally cracked one piece exhaust manifolds liquid locking the engine. They stopped making the one piece a long time ago do to the problem. He would have to replace them with the older two piece system which at one time they had a kit for.
Wow that is horrible, Hopefully it saves others from the same nightmare.
Me too!
Are you still an I/O guy? I bought one last year and now need an engine replacement due to hydo-lock. Im neck deep into it so too late to switch to an outboard. I was wondering if you still have your I/O?
Have 7.4 liter engine ( 454 big block ) just replaced flappers and it looks like it hydro locked on after coming to quick stop after a sailboat cut across my bow, thought the engine seized but it appears I may have gotten a little lucky.
Bummer. But, glad it didn't lock up permanently
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka Found Out it threw a rod, found a new engine today
@@mikeburroughsford4842 bummer. Glad you found a new engine so fast
I know you posted this three years ago but this is the exact same thing that happens to me with Hydro lock after towing my kids and just buying the boat two weeks before never had put it under load now I’m trying to figure out what to do.
It might need flappers and an impeller. After that run premium gas and after running let it run for a min at idle to cool it down. Hasn't happen since for me. I did a lot of research to come to figure that out. Good luck
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka yes, I opened everything up. There’s no flappers and I was able to clean everything out engine is running fine now. now I just need to keep watching your channel and learn some more. Thanks a bunch.
Hey mate great piece of information. I am buying a used Fourwinns H180SS it’s 10 years old, the accelerator lever feels bit hard. Is this an indication that the cables may be rusted or is it any expensive affair? Thanks for your guidance
If it's only 10 years old they should be good but, you never know. I guess unsure. It could be a wore throttle cable.
How, that's alot of bad things that were wrong with that nice boat. Aleast your back on the water for a few more weeks👍 And a good start next season.
You should come out some Saturday.hit a couple spots on the lake and just cruise
1st sign of a real problem was that it had a distributor in the first place. I thought caps and rotors left shortly after the dinosaurs.
You don't know much about marine.engines then
Lol
Looks like ya didn't do fresh belts though? Hope belts at the end weren't originals but hopefully you got away with it. Like one expensive tow bill and/or ruined holiday weekend and fresh yearly maintenance (& checking fluids etc) is soooo cheap! Great vids!
Your on 🔥 . Thanks for the confidence boost through your experience.
It probably hydrolocked because of the bad Bat Wing one piece exhaust manifolds. Get rid of them! the conversion kit will cost you about a grand. Convert it to conventional 2 piece Merc manifolds/elbows. The bat wings fail due to core shift during casting and they can crack and put water right in a cylinder. A known problem on these Mercs. I had bat wings on my OMC 4.3 and they never failed but I had to replace them every 5 years in salt water. I converted to Volvo Penta 2 piece exhaust similar to what you need to do.
It ran on. Deiseled. Very common in the 4.3. I put a little higher octane in so it would not pre ignite and it hasn't happen since. The owner before me said it happened all the time. Lots of forms on it. My motor ran backwards and sucked water in.
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka Yes that is a common problem on certain Merc 4.3s, I have never had it on my OMC rigged 1988 with the Rochester Quadrajet 4bbl. However, if you search around the 'net especially on the forums at iboats there are a couple of very Merc experienced techs there. And they all say, that the one piece Merc V6 manifolds are a time bomb due to the fact that the cores could have shifted during casting. That can cause the inner wall between the exhaust gas passage and the cooling passage to be very thin in some cases and if it cracks or fractures it will dump a lot of water in a cyl. In fact there is a guy on the Bayliner Owners club site who just had this happen to him.
There is a kit made by Barr Marine that converts it to the 2 piece normal Merc manifolds/elbows. Costs about a grand. I heard that the OMC one piece units had the same problem although mine never leaked. Since we have to replace the exhaust every 5-7 years here in salt water I had 3 sets of those on my engine over 15 years of salt water use. Then when they became NLA, I converted to the later style Volvo Penta 2 piece manifold/elbow.
@@Luigi-pk8mk good to know.
Nice video, had allmost the same because the inlet in the lower end was clogged. What i dont get: what was causing the right bank becoming warmer then the left bank? First thought was: the head gasket? Clogged riser?
It's normal to have the right side warmer. It is a very common question on mercruiser forms
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka Oh, thanks! You really made my day!
I'm looking at my first boat and know nothing!! This boat is 40yo, eeek! I thought, what do I do if the motor does what you explained and I'm stuck!?? What did you do? How do I get it back to shore?
Usually people are pretty good at towing you back to shore. I called my dad and he towed me back to the launch to get the boat on the trailer. Always have a paddle and a good anchor⚓.
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka omg paddle 😭 thank God for cell phones lol
Yes, my phone had no service. I was in a dead zone. Thankfully I had a buddy with Verizon with and I was able to use his phone
I'd bet dollars to donuts the flappers caused the hydro lock. When their gone and you stop quickly the water runs up the exhaust right to the motor.
The motor ran backwards 3 or 4 times. Sucked the water in the motor.
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka how did it run backwards?
@@jcowboy123 it happens alot in cars and boats. It might have gotten to hot. It's called running on. You know in movies when people shut off the car and it rumbles a few times and won't shut off It's like that. In the 4.3 if it pretty common. When it runs on the motor usually run backwards sucking water into the exhaust. The flappers would have helped.
hey why was one side hotter than the other ? Did they fix that? Having same issue with mine. Thanks !
After all that work the left side looking at the motor from inside the boat still gets hotter than the right side. If you are worried about it running on or dieseling let it run for a min at idle after a cruiser pulling anyone. Also, run a little higher octane fuel. Like 89, 91 or 92. That will help with the run on, dieseling to prevent hydrolock.
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka If one side of your engine is running hotter than the other, you need to have it looked at. It could be caused by poor fuel quality, pre-detonation, valves out of adjustment, or valves sticking. None of these are expensive problems to fix, but if you keep running it that way, it will end up expensive.
What was the reason for the dieseling?
Maybe bad gas, old plugs, wore impeller. Could have been one or a little of all
The transmission shaft does not rotate because the motor coupler broke. Do you think that is the reason why the water does not circulate inside the motor?
Sorry unsure
Love the videos. Thanks for the info
Hi chris I really like your video I would like to buying a boat from you .let me know of you have from 25ft to 33ft boat
Sorry. I only have a 20 footer
Hi Chris thanks for you videos and time. I’m close to buy my first boat, a Chaparral SSI 196 Sport, 2001. I need some coaching for the purchase....
Make sure you run it. That is pretty much the same boat I have. I have a 2001 SSE.
Make sure you run it for 15 min. Put it in and out of gear. Forward and reverse. Check the oil after running it. Make sure the gauges work and move the trim up and down.
My question is about the old fuel. I have a boat that been sitting for at least 3 years. Gas tank was full. Starts right up, after replacing points and condenser, and runs fine, although it's overheating. So, new thermostat and impeller going in this weekend. What to do about the fuel? i read it's probably bad, but how to get rid of it or should I just run it and keep adding new?
I would run it. Maybe put a fuel treatment in the tank. It will mix the water in the fuel so it burns more evenly. After burning a couple gallons it wouldn't hurt to top it off with some premium gas so it mixes
after 6 months dump it out some way as per master tech. this new fuel now days is just junk and will lock up valves and hit pistons. cost you so much down time and ton of money... do not run that old fuel believe me... it use to be after one year change dump out fuel do not run that engine... now days it is 6 months some say 3 months dump it... but fuel is cheap now...over heating too?? water pump bad?? you might have 2 pumps on that unit???
@@johncasor9698 I agree fuel is junk now days.
get that old fuel out and flush the lines out with clean fuel. I use a stabilizer with every tank of fuel and change water separator every spring
I know how you feel exactly same thing happened to me and I payed a serveyer to look at it who said the boat was in good condition before hand. also the stringers were rotten on back half and gear oil leaking from prop .oh yeah nearly forgot and hydrolic steering dosing work . But didn't notice these things because it was all covered up , and still finding things . Payed full price .
My husband & I just bought a 2001 see ray. Looked great, ram great when the guy too us out on it. It looked very well maintained. The guy seemed very honest too. He grew up on a boat/lake so was very knowledgeable. He stayed that him & his wife just putted around on the lake almost every night. Well we bought the boat for $10k, brought it home filled it with gas & took it out on our private lake we have. Tom our little nephew's out on the tube. Didn't beat it or anything & all of a sudden it lost power basically, got hot & then stalled & wouldn't start again. So we got it home too it to the local marina that the previous owner took it to & they said the motor was shot & it would cost $6600 too fix!! Holy crap I thought. It seems like a lot but I don't know. Should we get another opinion?? It's a 4.3 mercury??
Btw, your videos are great!!
I'm sorry to hear that. Stuff like that can happen. How awful though. That does seem like the right price. If you shop around you could maybe find someone to do it for just over 5k. But , make sure it is a good shop and can give you assurance that they will build the motor correctly and can back their work. Sorry to hear that happen. What a bummer. I can almost guarantee the previous owner couldn't have helped it. How many hours are on the boat? Just curious
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka I can't remember how many hours are on it. It is a real bummer tho. We thought we were buying the better boat. We also looked at a 2005 crown that looked clean & seemed to run good but it needed a lot of tlc on the outside & trailer had a fender cover missing & the boat cover got shredded in a recent wind storm but he wanted a little over 10k for it too. You never know but it was just our luck!!
Thanks for sharing man!
They would not just give you the boat, to bad, attorney's ...
Best thing I ever did was too get a partner to share the costly fun of boat ownership.
God bless you!
They would never give me anything. I was hoping they would give me $500 back just for the parts they wrecked but, I knew better.
Time for some Corsa Captain side exits!
sorry to hear your story... you have cool vids! keep up !!
Hey, thank you so much.
👏🏼 Awesome video! Thanks
what marina/mechanic??? Those prices are amazing!!!
In Minnesota
You have great videos, thanks mate! Nice Chaparral, btw. I just got a 2013 H20 19'. Similar to yours.
Thank you. Woe. Nice boat.
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka Thanks mate!
Hi Chris, what do you do for a living?
I make most of my money from youtube. I have several channels. Otherwise I do just about everything. I drove a car to Florida last week for a customer. I mow some lawns. Odds and ends. How about you?
Very informative
You pointed to the throttle cable and said it was the shift cable.
You are correct. I get nervous talking in front of a camera
Great video, thank you for taking the time to go through in detail over everything.
But how in the world was this much damage done to a 100 hour motor? Did the previous owner run it full throttle all the time? Run it dry, not knowing it gets damaged?
Awesome video. I bought an '88 Searay for $1000 under the impression that it ran fine and has always been winterized. now I'm getting ready to yank out the motor and replace a bunch of stuff. Shoulda known better!
Super bummer.
Man 2600 Is good for all that parts and labor I paid 2grand for just a tune up water pump and a riser.
Boats can kind of suck. When the work they rock
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka Yea I started coming here on YT to learn how to work on my own boat much cheaper.
100$ agree
Hey how do you know if your Mercruiser is a gen 1 or gen 2?
I’m confused on mine. It’s on a 2002 Bayliner Capri
Usually gen 2 is after 1992.
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka okay thank you.
Mine has the reserve bottle for the gear oil. Does that definitely make it a gen 2?
@@wyattsdad8561 I'm gonna say yes
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka okay thank you 🙏
Use serial number to determine leg type
That previous owner must have been running nitrous through it for the small amount of hours and the exhaust melting
Lol. Just never took of it. It was family
Thank you for video.
Is this boat still running?
Yes, runs great. Like new. I'm taking it out tomorrow.
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka Running great, for now :0
How long was your boat in the shop??
I had to wait 2 weeks untill it could go in. Then it was in for two weeks waiting for parts. In reality, if they had the parts and the guy showed up everyday. It could have been done in two or three days
wow That engine is a ticking time bomb good luck
Runs perfect. Put 100 hours on it.
Hello from just across the river in Wisconsin. This was a great video I'm currently boat shopping for a boat of approximately the same year would love to learn more of what to look for when buying a used boat.
I plan on making a video, possibly this week of the super impotent things to looks for. #1 check floor for soft spots.
Most likely will make a video of what to check when buying a boat today
Big Island MN Buy a sea ray and the floors are all fiberglass.
acemannw Any boat you buy should be taken to a marina for pre-purchase inspection. Then after inspection, must do sea trial and I'm talking at least half day sea trial. If you can, get as many people as possible to come with you to load up the boat. Accelerate it just before it gets on plane and hold it there for minutes at a time. Anyone that won't agree to a sea trial just walk away. During sea trial try to be critical to yourself, not out loud. You're not trying to have fun, you want to work the boat like you would have family and friends onboard on July 4th and you don't want any issues.
@@naps3386 they are in chaparrals too
Just got stuck out on the lake July 3rd, 30 minutes into the day 😂
It happen to me
One oil change would have been enough if you pulled the drain plug on the oil pan, the water sits on the bottom. learn more about everything or it will cost more in the long run, First run of the season watch your temp everywhere every minute.
Great video!
Thank you!
Nice video. Now step up your game and do all that troubleshooting and repair yourself. You seem like a very capable talented mechanic. You also get the satisfaction of doing it yourself and no labor bill. Boat mechanics and shipyards ain't all that
I could have easily done it. Since I bought the boat from a family member I want to report back to them with 100% evidence of the problems. I even brought it to a marina by them incase they wanted to talk to the tech. They told me the boat was perfect. I want receipts to show them it wasn't. That was the only reason I brought it in. Next time I will not bring it in.
Thanks
Can you please share the name and/or address of the shop?
Do you live in Minnesota?
Was wondering this info too, about to get a 2000 Lund Tyee with a 4.3 L , and may need to take it in to have checked out. I think there’s a place in NE or N Mpls... I’ve been to prop MD in Plymouth before, but do they do the overhaul too? I shoulda finished the video lol bayside marina . Thanks for your videos
I like yr vids👊🏻
Thank you!
Chris, I essentially am going through the same process. Thanks for all the replacement part info. One question: did you have to replace the 3/4” water line hose that connects from the back of the gimbal housing up to the motor? I had the same complete meltdown of the water impeller, boot, and pipe going up into the bell housing. I’m replacing it all myself, but the Gimbal housing is another level of hassle so I was wondering if that hose was melted as well. The lower bellow on the exhaust piping is melted on mine as well.
Sorry I don't remember. I don't think so though. I wish I could be more help
I don’t understand why you showed us a gimbal bearing in a bag. Nice video though. The reality of boating. You can’t always go by hours. Age had taken its goal.
Great video I have a mercruiser 4.3 excellent information!
Have same with my '06 3.0 mercruiser. Rebuild here in holland is almost the same as new engine with outdrive. Should've seen this vid before buing haha
Glad you got it back to new. It does suck though
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka still needs to happen haha. Its gonna cost me $9k and winter is coming. I'll wait till spring 😁
@@6mindcrime6 bummer. I hope it doesn't cost that much.
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka we'll see. You keep up with the vids😎
You are lucky the hydrolock didnt bend any pushrods or connecting rods
Not using a boat is worse than using it a lot..
Yep
You shoulda knocked on wood after saying "unless I wanna rebuild the motor"... lol
Lol
You got ripped dude not good. But so many people abuse boats it’s unreal
The bright side is I bought the boat for 5k and I can't find one for less than 9k. The dark side , I bought it from a family member.
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka you like the boat and dump money into it to upgrade it for you ... the boat is for you and you want to keep it ... but if you bought it to sell it and make money is very different, but i sell it to pay my bills, so i must know everything wrong with it, but i cannot buy and lose money when selling something or will lose my house. i buy cheap and sell cheap it , it sells faster cheap. high dollar hard to sell now days... people like cheap boats and cheap cars. i never sell a car over 2k... i have sold so much DMV now wants me to get a dealer lic# ??? they want me to pay them money for private sales??? and claim it on yearly tax form now???
@@johncasor9698 I have never owned a car that was more than 4k. I bought this boat for 5I from my uncle who said it was in great condition. I trusted him. At the end of the day the boat might be worth 9k or 10k. I have always made money on every car, boat and truck I have ever bought. I just don't buy them to sell. I buy them to use without loosing money on them.
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka yes that is great news to never lose money on.
Black soot from a petrol engine means burning rubber. See that when buying a boat? -Walk away.
Good old P town where I grew up.
Me too
Do you want to sell it
Thinking about it. I have been looking at boats like it going for around 12 to 13k. This boat has lower hours, lots of new parts, new depthfinder, new stereo and speakers.
This boat has 155 hours
Shits more complicated then my bmw.
Lol
I was waiting for you to say you missed the sign that said "don't buy this boat".
Lol.
@@BigIslandMNMinnetonka Please don't take my comment the wrong way, I've made plenty of dubious purchases with little information. You presented a very good video that I'm sure helped a lot of people during the check-out process. I was just having a little fun! I've got a 1999 Four Winns with the Volvo-Penta I/O that has been troublesome at time.
@@philf4086 no worries. Boats can be great when they work good. Lol. So much can go wrong. I don't think any boat is perfect. Not even new boats.
My personal opinion - stay away from used old boats if you don't want to fix it by yourself.
True. I enjoy fixing stuff but this was more than I planned for
Can't spell families w/o lies. Good luck, should be good boating for a while. Take them for a ride for sure!
Just look at it.😮