When to cut your losses?

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shep247

Seaman
Joined
Jun 16, 2007
Messages
61
I'm an avid reader of these forums, so I should have known better, but I in fact have bought into someone else's problem. Its a 91 OMC 4.3 ltr w/ a Cobra outrdrive. It seems like everything from the gimble bearing to the propeller is toast. Upon boat inspection, the seller put it in gear and the prop spun fine with no noise, so I assumed all should be okay.

As soon as I got it to the lake, and put it in gear I knew I was hosed, as there was some pretty serious gear noise. Outdrive is a little out of my league, so I took it to a mechanic. He came back with a pretty nasty parts list (16 items on the list :() with a price tag that rivals the blue book of the boat.

Anyways, when do is it time to just cut the losses on an older boat like this, and what do you do with it when you do? I've considered selling as is with full disclosure of outdrive (it wouldn't even be attached to the boat, parting it out, or possibly buying replacement pieces one at a time, spreading the cost out over a year or so to make it not so bad. I've even entertained the option of possibly finding a cheap refurbished outdrive online somewhere, but I'm so jaded now, I don't think I'd trust anyone enough to buy one of these.

Another question, is rebuilding this outdrive (seems both upper and lower have problems) something the average guy can do with a shop manual, a set of wrenches, and a lot of determination?

I'm just looking for options.

Thanks guys
 
FreeBeeTony

FreeBeeTony

Captain
Joined
May 15, 2002
Messages
3,991
Re: When to cut your losses?

How about going back to the guy you bought it from??
 
ziggy

ziggy

Admiral
Joined
Jun 30, 2004
Messages
7,473
Re: When to cut your losses?

i thought i read that sei was making a conversion kit for changing cobras over to mercs. might research that a little and see if it applies to you.

you can learn about doing the drive repair yourself. get the oem manual and ask for help from the folks here. no shortage of folks willing to help i don't think. from what i understand though, nla parts and probably like mercrusier, specialty oem tools that are a must have item to do the deed will be the obstacles. in my mind. the condition of the boat would be critical too. if it's got any rot in it already. no point in doing mechanical repairs w/o repairing the boat first....

myself, i gave up on my trisonic when i had a cracked block, a drive that was questionable and a nice hard deck pasted over a rotten deck w/ rotten stringers and transom... i have a hull only... i wanted to go boating, so i went for something else.
How about going back to the guy you bought it from??
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i'd think that would be fruitless and just cause hate and discontent. it's the buyers responsibility to sea trial a boat prior to buying. the op now is very aware i'm sure... besides, it's pretty well known that a seller will say anything about his boat to sell it. including lieing through their teeth... excluding the guy in this thread though... http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=364253 :eek:
 
cribber

cribber

Lieutenant
Joined
May 29, 2008
Messages
1,338
Re: When to cut your losses?

That old adage of it's too good to be true, then likely it is...

You've got two choices facing you... rebuild or resell. If you have the time and resources, are happy with the boat overall... replace what needs to be replaced, and fix what needs to be fixed. Otherwise, sell it for what you can and chalk it up to thanks for the educational moment.

I personally would do what I could during the off season to bring her back to life knowing that what I replaced or fixed was done properly and treat it as a project waiting for next season's fun out on the water. There are a lot of resources here to help you through restoring your boat to near new condition. Use and abuse them!!!
 
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shep247

Seaman
Joined
Jun 16, 2007
Messages
61
Re: When to cut your losses?

FreeBeeTony said:
How about going back to the guy you bought it from??
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I don't really see that going anywhere. If he's the type of guy that would sell something in this condition, without disclosing, and yes, I asked, I don't see him being the type of guy that would own up to something like this.
 
ziggy

ziggy

Admiral
Joined
Jun 30, 2004
Messages
7,473
Re: When to cut your losses?

What did you do with the boat when you gave up on it?
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:)

it's in my backyard waiting for the day i have $10k to put it back like it was. it has sentimental value to me as it was dads boat + the one i grew up with. + I hate to say it, but i've abscounded a part or two off it as it just happens to have the same engine/drive that i have in my AristoCraft.. mighty convenient.

if i really wanted it gone. i think i'd start with a free sign on it parked in my ft. yard. if that didn't do it, i'd look into the landfill and see how much that cost. if cost prohibitive, i think i'd chop it up with a chainsaw and put it in the trash piece by piece..
This may be a newbie question, but how would this help me? Are Merc GEN IIs cheaper?
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go look at their website. google sei drives. they also sell them here on iboats. i do think that the genII is a better design than the alpha1. at least this would hold true assuming they held with their notion of making ea. drive change better than the previous version. they did that 4 times with the 1 drive. so the genII must be better.... ;)
 
F

flyer4ever

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Oct 5, 2009
Messages
95
Re: When to cut your losses?

shep247 said:
This may be a newbie question, but how would this help me? Are Merc GEN IIs cheaper?
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I checked into the SEI conversion kit and was told by them that they only work with GEN 2 outdrives. This was good and bad news for me because I already had a alpha 1 drive and can't use it. The good news is that the Merc drives are indeed less money and if you look around you will see that there are plenty of them around both new and used. You can look at their instalation instructions on their web site and you'll see that it's not a big job to install on your boat. I've found it's hard to buy a used older boat without getting into some problems. I have also found that the people on this site are more than willing to help folks like us through these tough times. Good luck my friend!
 
Howard Sterndrive

Howard Sterndrive

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Joined
Nov 5, 2008
Messages
4,603
Re: When to cut your losses?

shep247 said:
so I took it to a mechanic. He came back with a pretty nasty parts list (16 items on the list :() with a price tag that rivals the blue book of the boat.
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I don't get the dilemma...and I don't understand why people connect the boat value to repair costs

an outdrive will most likely go on any used boat eventually

gimbal, bellows and such are just routine maintenance every 5-10 years

if you want a boat that has none of these issues, pretty much need to buy a brand new one and trade it every few years.

Pick a 1991 car, and Call a trans shop and ask them how much to rebuild the transmission.... I'll bet it's $4000...ask them if they'd be shocked if the transmission went in a 19 year old car
 
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dubs283

Vice Admiral
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
5,332
Re: When to cut your losses?

shep247 said:
Another question, is rebuilding this outdrive (seems both upper and lower have problems) something the average guy can do with a shop manual, a set of wrenches, and a lot of determination?
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you will need special tools for shimming the new gear sets, quite expensive for a one time need

your best bet pricewise is to keep your eyes peeled for a donor boat on craigslist with a v-6 cobra outdrive, part out what you need and junk the rest, or sell it piece by piece
 
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shep247

Seaman
Joined
Jun 16, 2007
Messages
61
Re: When to cut your losses?

dubs283 said:
you will need special tools for shimming the new gear sets, quite expensive for a one time need

your best bet pricewise is to keep your eyes peeled for a donor boat on craigslist with a v-6 cobra outdrive, part out what you need and junk the rest, or sell it piece by piece
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After my latest craiglist ordeal (this boat) I don't know how comfortable I'd be buying an outdrive off of there.

I'm actually considering the parting out piece by piece option. Can anyone give me ballpark on what one would charge for a 91 OMC 4.3 ltr with around 150 hours on it. (Doubt those are actual hours either, but that's what the meter says). Freshly refurbished ones online seem like they go for around $3k. Seems a little higher than it should be for something like mine.

I know this thing runs though. I actually did a couple of laps around the lake with the gear noise, and everything ran fine.
 
longstand

longstand

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 2, 2009
Messages
293
Re: When to cut your losses?

I have the same problem.. Should i Sell it should i NOT? that is my question..

i posted a thread asking people here on the forum of what i should do.. iam no idiot and yes i do have my own mind. but people with more experience with boating i should take there advice.

someone ask me. do you like the boat.. i said yes.

Do you Like the BOAT??

if yes keep it and fix the problem..

before i arrive here in iboats.com forum. i did not know anything about anything boat related..

little by little i ask and ask. answer after answer. i learn little here and there.
i was able to replace two impeller pump which i had to remove the whole sterndrive apart. twice...

replace two carburator, replace tilt motor. ect...

i purchase manual for the stern-drive. and read the content of it. i was very scare of even touching anything on the boat.. because the manual book was very intimidating.. i just said. hell with it.. just go for it. just read the big BOLD PRINT. for what to watch out for so you dont damage anymore item while trying to repair a problem..

Guest What.. I got both of my engine running. ye it toke me about 1 year. but i did it..

just wanted to share..

like i said. if you like your boat.. KEEP it.. then maybe sell when you are tired of it.. :D at less by then you have learn how to repair.
 
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stonyloam

Vice Admiral
Joined
Mar 13, 2009
Messages
5,827
Re: When to cut your losses?

If you like the boat, and it runs well, I would not mess around with the cobra. The guys that suggested SEI are on the right track. A SEI conversion kit and new outdrive is about $1700, with a warranty. I have an Alpha 1 that cost as much to rebuild as a new SEI, never will rebuild again. Great winter project. Good luck.
 
zbnutcase

zbnutcase

Commander
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
2,055
Re: When to cut your losses?

Always, always, always, have a pre-purchase inspection done by a reputable MARINE tech(not your cousins brother who thinks he's an expert cuz he rebuilt a lawnmower once) If seller won't allow or gets squirrely over this, PASS and keep looking-the $150-200 charged is a bargain in the long run. As with anything, it's buyer beware-if it breaks in half the next day-you own both halfs! 'nutcase
 
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