1996 Sea Ray 175

[Nate Haught]

Curious if anyone is familiar w these boats. I just bought one and it seems to be in great shape . I'm a little curious if the 3.0 mercruiser of the 90s was better than the 80s as I just had a cracked block issue out of the blue w an 86. Thanks

 

[Alumarine]

Virtually the same motor.

99.99% of the time a cracked block is from improper winterizing.

 

[Scott06]

3.0 is the same since it came out when Nixon was president. As mentioned above cracked block is from improper winterization, maybe severe overheat. My '91 Sea Ray 170 gave me and my family a very reliable 25 years and still running well. Take care of it and you'll be fine, very easy o the wallet.

How did the block crack on your 86? Key is to find out why and not repeat it.

 

[Nate Haught]

Thanks my 86 block issue appeared out of nowhere . It's possible water had been intruding slowly all Summer and rusted it out internally . I really did not think to check the dipstick repeatedly throughout the season (first boat) . When I took the head off and exhaust manifold they were all rusty inside. I really do t think it overheated we never ran it longer than 15 minutes or so between beach hopping

 

[Silvertip]

15 minutes is enough time to overheat. You would see that on the temp gauge (provided it was working and you looked at it and the warning system was working). And just like your car, not checking the oil at least periodically can cost you an engine. And just so you know, the oil PRESSURE gauge is not an oil LEVEL gauge. Yes -- no oil will result in zero oil pressure. But oil pressure will be normal until the pump can't suck any and then you zero oil pressure along with a zero worth engine.