$1800 nightmare

[PS94]

Re: $1800 nightmare

The main issue right now is loss of comression. It's either a failed gasket, or piston to cylinder wall clearance, or a hole in the piston..the carb (going lean) might be the ROOT of the issue, but not the cause of the low compression...It doesn't look like a bad boat, and if you were closer I'd buy that trailer!

 

[dingbat]

Re: $1800 nightmare

ok.. but I only have one good cylinder at 100psi... he said 46 is marginal... and 22 is toasted..

All three cylinders shouild be 100 psi or better. 46 is toast as well

Pull the head and see what you find. It could be something as simple as a blown head gasket

 

[BonairII]

Re: $1800 nightmare

It could be something as simple as a blown head gasket

I'm with him ^^^^^^^

Get the heads off and check for an obvious cylinder damage. If you don't see any...slap a new gasket on there and recheck compression.

 

[riptorn]

Re: $1800 nightmare

My guess, that motor been worked on before, after PO done it in.
Reading here about used Force new owners good possibility.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: $1800 nightmare

The inside of the transom is not accessible.. It is I closed.. It looks like solid fiberglass ans the inside looks glassed really good. It looks solid as hell.. Compression however is 100psi, 46psi, 22psi. The floor is soft but it has a ski locker and what stringer I can see looks solid...

I'm sorry but you really got taken. What you have at this point is a couple hundred $ worth of parts hanging off a rotted hull with a blown motor on a decent looking trailer. I'd part this thing out to recup as much as I could and chalk it up to an expensive lesson in used boat buying.

The two most important considerations are not to buy a boat with an obsolete powerplant, and don't buy a fiberglass boat with rot. A boat with an interior looking as trashed as that one, has about an 92.5% chance of being totally rotted.

 

[pjitty]

Re: $1800 nightmare

It all boils down to, are you handy enough to do the work yourself. Let's put things in perspective, their are boats in good working order that can't find a buyer, let alone be given away, so forget about parting out the boat, it could take months to sell enough parts, and you'll still be left with a hull that needs to be towed away. It's not a 30' wooden boat [money pit, tho some may argue]. Odviously you can't turn a wrench, so the only issue would be the motor, so you either have it repaired or replaced. The boat and the trailer from the picture look to be in good condition, so you have a good starting point. You did not buy a New Boat, decide on the motor, and use the boat, even with a soft sole [floor] you can still get a year or two [possibly more] out of the hull. You can find used motors on Craigslist with controls, you just need to know what you are looking at. Hope it all works out, and Good Luck...

Joe D

 

[Bartine]

Re: $1800 nightmare

Get a ratchet out there and take that head off and take a picture. Then decide what to do with the motor. If you know lefty loosey, you should be able to get the head off. Just keep track of where everything went.

 

[Davem3]

Re: $1800 nightmare

Get a ratchet out there and take that head off and take a picture. Then decide what to do with the motor. If you know lefty loosey, you should be able to get the head off. Just keep track of where everything went.

agreed, and if you want to do a restore on the boat, you are in the right place for sure................

 

[noflyzone]

Re: $1800 nightmare

I would be carfull of breaking bolts on an old block ... Decide if you are going to keep this boat or not and how long
I also paid 1800 for a 21 foot maxum with a bad block I purchased a nice 135hp optimax 2001 for 2500
ob since I am keeping the boat for about 5 years , then I found a rotted floor , but I just installed wood in 1 spot and alot of fiberglass bondo .. it also had a bad interior , so motor, interoir , seats , I still would of paid 1500 because I liked the boat...
its either pay all up front for a newer boat or , put mony in over time for a older boat .... welcome to boating
just be glad its a smaller boat ... big boat big money .... and yes the trailor is also junk What was I thinking .....
impulse buy... and there were 2 guys lying about everything ....

 

[rivermouse]

Re: $1800 nightmare

The one lesson I hope you have learned is that YOU MUST GET A GOOD TEST RIDE BEFORE YOU BUY I dont care what the guy says he did in the boat the day before.......A test ride would have saved you this mess...What was the reason you didnt get a test ride?

 

[64osby]

Re: $1800 nightmare

I'm sorry but you really got taken... ...The two most important considerations are not to buy a boat with an obsolete powerplant, and don't buy a fiberglass boat with rot. A boat with an interior looking as trashed as that one, has about an 92.5% chance of being totally rotted.

+1, Read, learn, and re-due your boat or salvage and move on.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: $1800 nightmare

Next time, don't buy an 80's Bayliner/Maxum.

 

[catfishcarl99]

Re: $1800 nightmare

got to love objective forums lol. ive heard good hull rebuild, junk. good trailer, junk trailer. fix it, scrap it. first of all would you be upset if your buddie took it off your hands for $500 and put a $40 head gasket on it and a $30 impeller, and $200 worth of marine ply and carpet it in and boated in it for 7 years?

if so get out a socket set and open the head up. forget the expensive mechanics for now and forget the thought of months apon months of sitting on parts and re-listing on ebay for years. theres only a few bolts and the heads off. if the cylinders are scored and or pistons have holes in them then concider a scrap. i overheated my 50 hp force a few years back to smoking and it died. it sounded horrible the next day when i tried to fire it. did i scrap it? nope. got out my stanley sockets and pulled head, looked fine except for a funny scar between the cylinders on the gasket. replaced it for $30 and it fired right up. at least try before you scrap it. you bought a boat you knew needed work. so start working on it. get head off and take some pics. feel the bore and see if is feels smooth or has scars in it. look at pistons. take a pic if your not sure.

dont worry about springs and parts flying out. not gonna happen. head comes off easy. pics pics pics. then if the motor can be fixed easy enough then fix it. at least youll have something to sell or put on another boat. then move to boat. from the looks ide try. hull looks ok from what i see. if the stringers are rotton it would be a lot of work. with some luck maybe its only the ply.

my 89 force 50 runs great. this year i had to de bug it. had a shorted out coil i fried the cdi box doing some wiring. new plugs but after that it ran the last few times out like it was new. never died. and i got used cdi for $82, the coil used for $25 and plugs were $4. i got a new thermoswitch {overheat in the head} for $13.50 on ebay. a new $140 prop on ebay for $40. the parts are out there. please try before you just scrap $1800.00

im so lucky now. believe me i too bought an ols sea ray I/O straight 6 had troubles cracked transom cause it was weak. put a solid 3/16" thick sheet of alum on it sealed with silicone bolted it all around. still leaked. had an old 60's glasspar that would rather sink than float.

my spectrum 1700 is all alum. all that wood it the ply floor which i just restored. rotted stringers suck lol. honestly if i knew what i knew now ide have used 3/16" aluminum on the floor. it never rots.

 

[crossroads123]

Re: $1800 nightmare

I sure hate it for you. I read your entire thread and it sounds to me like you overheated the engine. The first thing I would do would be pull it down and check the headgasket. If I read your compression readings correctly you could have overheated and blow the head gasket. I would also change ot the impellar!!!! I hope it works out for you I feel your pain.

 

[catfishcarl99]

Re: $1800 nightmare

ya a bad gasket between 2-3 would be all it would take to cause the 2 to loose compression.

 

[mo wrenchin]

Re: $1800 nightmare

I love this forum... Very helpful.. the boating community is an awesome place to be... Do you think an 1989 maxum is worth restoring? Deck, stringers, interior? I would rather not put wood back on the deck. maybe using something else. I know that newer boats have more of a plastic like floor in them. Duckhunterjon is right about the learning experience. but I am wondering if restoring a maxum boat is worth it because im already $1800 in.. or is it like restoring a PINTO ?

hey buddy im right there with you I bought a $400 maxum 1700 with the force 85 and trailer, I figured since I am a certified auto technician why not well I got her home started cleaning the inside and fell through the bow floor area so I need to redo the stringers , ribs and floor not to mention I fried th starter on the motor let me know how yours turns out.

Im also new to boating and this will be fun for me

 

[birdgod]

Re: $1800 nightmare

rrt2b2010, seem like you are very new to boating. I was thinking that 30min on the water and you blow up the engine maybe that is something you did or not do. First thing come to my mind is that did you run it on land for more then a min to make sure it is working? it only took secs for impeller to mess up. However, if this is the case the alarm should sound when overheating.
Second though is kind of funny, did you refuel the gas without premix?

 

[BonairII]

Re: $1800 nightmare

I need to redo the stringers , ribs and floor not to mention I fried th starter on the motor let me know how yours turns out.

Im also new to boating and this will be fun for me

You've only got $400 into it....dump the boa(keep the motor and trailer_and find another one. Unless, you're okay dumping another $1000+ in materials/labor.

 

[72Cutter]

Re: $1800 nightmare

Looks like a pretty nice looking boat....Sorry about your luck with the motor... I purchased a 23 1/2 ft Sport Craft...Two weeks later the engine started knocking...2062.00 dollars later (inboard straight 6 merc) it ran like a top...You are not alone in woes....I do most of my engine work myself now...It costs a lot less doing it yourself....Plus you can learn a lot...

 

[mo wrenchin]

Re: $1800 nightmare

You've only got $400 into it....dump the boa(keep the motor and trailer_and find another one. Unless, you're okay dumping another $1000+ in materials/labor.

I am perfectly fine with restoring the boat it gives me a sense of pride knowing that I rebuilt this item and it will last as long or longer than the original and its good bonding time with whoever is my aid friends ride in the boat, real friends help bail the water out