Inspection Report is IN! HELP me Assess Repair costs!

[rbiankowski]

I've driven an hour and a half to look at this boat last week and everything looked great visually: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1601434969971030/

I had a certified marine technician / surveyor do a full inspection and run it this morning. Below is the list of issues he found. He claimed most of these are lack of maintenance issues but it is above average on what should be wrong at this age. Please help me assess costs per item if you have any experience with these issues:

Distributer cap needs to be replaced

Engine Temp. Gauge Reading Hot. Gauge to be replaced

Trailer Brakes Disconnected. Wires need to be fixed.

Boat missing 3 snaps for cover. Install missing snaps.

Passenger side windshield loose. Secure windshield.

Horn doesn't work. Fix horn.

Rear courtesy light doesn't work. Fix wiring.

Lower unit gear lube milky - needs drain pressure testing

Bellows to be replaced

Engine not pumping water? Water impeller to be replaced

 

[211libwtfo]

No expert here but in mho several of those items are pretty ticky tacky. Snaps eh but I guess that’s what they get paid to do which I have read an article on boat surveyors are a little suspect. But to have a Mech pull the outdrive replace a seal or two check ujoints repair bellows and nite as well get the gimbal at least checked $800 depending on your areas pricing. But that all will depend on the brand of outdrive I’m not on Facebook so I couldn’t see. So +- $500. Lol.

 

[rbiankowski]

No expert here but in mho several of those items are pretty ticky tacky. Snaps eh but I guess that’s what they get paid to do which I have read an article on boat surveyors are a little suspect. But to have a Mech pull the outdrive replace a seal or two check ujoints repair bellows and nite as well get the gimbal at least checked $800 depending on your areas pricing. But that all will depend on the brand of outdrive I’m not on Facebook so I couldn’t see. So +- $500. Lol.

It's an Volvo Penta 5.0 I/O. Which items on the list do you feel take precedence?

 

[alldodge]

Engine Temp. Gauge Reading Hot. Gauge to be replaced
Engine not pumping water? Water impeller to be replaced

Your certified Tech needs to change his title to not so certified and fly by night.
The motor is reading hot and the motor is not pumping water, The motor will get hot without water being pumped.
Don't know if the gauge is bad because I don't know how long the motor ran, also it could be a short in the temp sender or wire

Lower unit gear lube milky - needs drain pressure testing

Agree needs pressure tested and also may need to be pulled apart and inspected. Water in the lube isn't good but depends to know why. Is it a worn out seal, or did the seal have an issue because there is a bearing issue

Trailer Brakes Disconnected. Wires need to be fixed.

Not sure this boat has brakes or not, but I doubt it has electric brakes. My guess is if it has brakes they are surge type (no wires) and the wire issue is with the lights and not brakes

Distributor cap depends on which cap but guess $100 for VP cap and rotor to $65 for aftermarket
Temp Gauge $40, sender $20
Fixing wiring $80 to $100 an hour, guess no more the 4 hours
Drive needs repaired simple (impeller, inspect, flush and test) $500
Drive needs rebuilt $3000 to $6000

Do the stuff your self a lot cheaper

As for the windshield, horn, snaps and small stuff, not that much

 

[rbiankowski]

Your certified Tech needs to change his title to not so certified and fly by night.
The motor is reading hot and the motor is not pumping water, The motor will get hot without water being pumped.
Don't know if the gauge is bad because I don't know how long the motor ran, also it could be a short in the temp sender or wire



Agree needs pressure tested and also may need to be pulled apart and inspected. Water in the lube isn't good but depends to know why. Is it a worn out seal, or did the seal have an issue because there is a bearing issue



Not sure this boat has brakes or not, but I doubt it has electric brakes. My guess is if it has brakes they are surge type (no wires) and the wire issue is with the lights and not brakes

Distributor cap depends on which cap but guess $100 for VP cap and rotor to $65 for aftermarket
Temp Gauge $40, sender $20
Fixing wiring $80 to $100 an hour, guess no more the 4 hours
Drive needs repaired simple (impeller, inspect, flush and test) $500
Drive needs rebuilt $3000 to $6000

Do the stuff your self a lot cheaper

As for the windshield, horn, snaps and small stuff, not that much

Thanks! I'll do all the small stuff. I've narrowed it down to these:
Distributer cap needs to be replaced - $100
Engine Temp. Gauge Reading Hot. Gauge to be replaced - $60
Rear courtesy light doesn't work. Fix wiring. - $200
Lower unit gear lube milky - needs drain pressure testing - $200
Bellows to be replaced - ???????????
Engine not pumping water? Water impeller to be replaced - $500

 

[alldodge]

Not exactly, all these are "IF"s
Don't really know what's causing what

Distribute cap needs to be replaced - $100 - say sure no problem won't hurt

Engine Temp. Gauge Reading Hot. Gauge to be replaced - $60 - Only if gauge and sender IS what's wrong, may be the impeller in the drive

Rear courtesy light doesn't work. Fix wiring. - $200 - ok

Lower unit gear lube milky - needs drain pressure testing - $200 - No, water has gotten into the drive so there is one or more seals that need replacing at a minimum. If there is a bearing which is causing the issue, then price goes higher

Bellows to be replaced - ??????????? - $500

Engine not pumping water? Water impeller to be replaced - $500 - This will be done during outdrive repair/inspection. It might cost this if it was the only thing being done. But with it not pumping water, there could be another issue, but in most cases its the pump and/or impeller

 

[Scott Danforth]

volvos have the impeller mounted to the engine. kit is under $40 from Volvo. takes about 2 minutes on the crank mounted pumps and about 30 minutes on the belt driven pumps (because you have to pull the pump)

dizzy cap and wires and plugs is about $100. takes about 30 minutes or less. most likely the crab cap and it will need to be replaced every two years.

as AD pointed out, if its not pumping water, it will BE HOT. so from our point of view, the gauge is correct, the motor is running hot.

start with the impeller and get a bellows kit.

a true certified mechanic can do a bellows and gimble bearing in only a few hours. about 6 hours if the u-joints are toast and they need to be replaced along with the input seal.

 

[211libwtfo]

Did the surveyor run this boat on the “muffs”. Could cause and issue in itself.

 

[211libwtfo]

Get outdrive in tip top shape. Distributor cap and rotor next or put a brush to em

 

[briangcc]

In my neck of the woods, a tune up (cap, rotor, plugs, wires) and bellows on my 5.0L Volvo was $1k. Your mileage may vary on that one.

The contaminated oil in the lower unit would have me concerned. Definitely warrants further investigation.

Like the others, I suspect your overheat issue is related to the water pump impeller being bad and not the gauge. Different marina charged me $300 for that to be changed.

Alot of the other stuff mentioned you can do yourself and save $$$ in the process. Horn, courtesy lights, etc - all simple repairs.

 

[rbiankowski]

volvos have the impeller mounted to the engine. kit is under $40 from Volvo. takes about 2 minutes on the crank mounted pumps and about 30 minutes on the belt driven pumps (because you have to pull the pump)

dizzy cap and wires and plugs is about $100. takes about 30 minutes or less. most likely the crab cap and it will need to be replaced every two years.

as AD pointed out, if its not pumping water, it will BE HOT. so from our point of view, the gauge is correct, the motor is running hot.

start with the impeller and get a bellows kit.

a true certified mechanic can do a bellows and gimble bearing in only a few hours. about 6 hours if the u-joints are toast and they need to be replaced along with the input seal.

Thank you Scott! Great, practical reply. I am somewhat handy and can figure out somethings but this will be my first boat. i can do the small things. Basically you're opinion is dizzy cap/wires/plugs ($100), water impeller ($40), replacing two bellows ($500-$1000). He's asking $7500. I offered him $7200 contingent on results of inspection. I plan to offer him $6000 as I can do the cosmetic stuff myself. Pressure testing and seal replacement ($200-$300). Thoughts?

 

[rbiankowski]

In my neck of the woods, a tune up (cap, rotor, plugs, wires) and bellows on my 5.0L Volvo was $1k. Your mileage may vary on that one.

The contaminated oil in the lower unit would have me concerned. Definitely warrants further investigation.

Like the others, I suspect your overheat issue is related to the water pump impeller being bad and not the gauge. Different marina charged me $300 for that to be changed.

Alot of the other stuff mentioned you can do yourself and save $$$ in the process. Horn, courtesy lights, etc - all simple repairs.

Thanks for the reply! What you wrote are my plans too. I care about the bellows, the tune up, impeller and the lower unit. I have a few shops getting me quotes right now. I'm anticipating roughly $1500.

 

[shrew]

Most of this stuff is small. Water in the Drive Lube, Engine Running Hot and your Mechanic are the only three things that concern me.

Engine Temp.: Lots of root causes for this. Bad manifolds and Risers could be a cause as well. If it's just an impeller then have the owner do the work and prove that the problem isn't deeper.

Water in Drive: I would get this sorted out. How long has this been this way?

 

[roscoe]

So, no sea trial ????
There is plenty of open water now, and I have walleyes to prove it.

You are looking at between $2500 and $6000 for repairs, no way of knowing without digging deeper.

Don't convince yourself that anything will be cheap.
Any one, or all of the bellows/outdrive/heat issues could turn into a very costly repair.
Remember, any shop diagnosing or repairing your boat will be charging about $100 an hour.
Boat shop busy season just started in Wisconsin, so your boat could easily be sitting in the shop for a month or more.

Not sure where you are, but 1.5 hours from neenah puts you in Wisconsin ( or Escanaba !! ).

Lots and lots of boats for sale in our great state.
Don't be afraid to walk away, or let one get away.

Really wondering about your mechanic, and what/how he checked some of these things out.

Milky lube in the outdrive means there was water in the drive all winter. It got really cold here this winter, did the water freeze and crack the drive?

Compression checked?

What about the trailer? Did he tow it?
Check bearings/axle/brakes/welds/tires/coupler/springs ?
Could cost you another $1000

There is nothing wrong with repairing a boat with some issues, but always expect to find the unexpected.

 

[211libwtfo]

Roscoe has a point yes your out the inspection fees but eh it boat selling season plenty gems will be available. I’ve seen a couple barn find donzi’s in lake of the ozarks that I would’ve jumped on if the admiral would release her death grip off my $$$$$.

 

[rbiankowski]

Roscoe has a point yes your out the inspection fees but eh it boat selling season plenty gems will be available. I’ve seen a couple barn find donzi’s in lake of the ozarks that I would’ve jumped on if the admiral would release her death grip off my $$$$$.

LOL, literally laughing right now. I know, I'm not too hung up on the fees but I do like the boat. The owner is very nice and had all records too. I'm torn because I want to offer him $6K. He's asking $7,500 (we agreed on 7,200 contingent on inspection).

 

[211libwtfo]

We decided instead of looking for a new used boat to get some maintenance done to ours had $1k squirreled away found my upper seal went bad scored my upper gears $3k to get repaired. I had no problem telling her I TOLD YA SOOO!!!!!


but if it’s a nice boat getting the reapairs done has its advantages. You know when and what was done who did the work and it’ll probably have a warranty ish. Trustworthy boats carry a lot of clout. Didn’t wanna say water.....

 

[211libwtfo]

I thought what the hey was gonna drop ya a boat pic but this site and it’s picks eh. Here’s a video

https://photos.app.goo.gl/sTEA769v5BDJg0xs1

 

[Scott Danforth]

In my neck of the woods, a tune up (cap, rotor, plugs, wires) and bellows on my 5.0L Volvo was $1k.

Agree if paying a marina to do the work. I like to turn my own wrenches. my prices listed are parts only

if the admiral would release her death grip off my $$$$$.

if yours is like mine, the Vikings will win da Super Bowl long before that happens.......

 

[briangcc]

Agree if paying a marina to do the work. I like to turn my own wrenches. my prices listed are parts only

Everything else on that Volvo was a PIA so I let the marina deal with the headache. I swear mine was possessed and quite frankly with the shrinking dealer network I offloaded it quickly. Someone else's problem now.