Looking at 07 Tahoe 215

[cliffblue]

I’m looking at 2007 Tahoe 215 with a 5.0 and 282 hours on it for $20,000. The pics look good except I see moisture in the speedometer. My boat is an alumInum Tracker that i have done a lot to, so I know the mechanics of it. What should I check for? Thanks.

 

[Rick Stephens]

Hardest part of any IO is checking that the transom and stringers aren't water damaged. Other than that - do a sea trial or pass on it. If you can run it around for an hour or two and it still sounds and works right, that is a great deal of the angst involved. Then, after a goodly long run, pull the bottom plug on the drive, let a couple drops of oil out - no water contamination?

If I knew what I know now when I bought my boat I'd have taken my vacuum oil suction unit with me after the test drive and pulled a teeny bit of oil off the bottom of the pan after the test run. See if there are any contaminants there. I didn't have a water in oil problem when I bought my boat, but SO many do have cracked blocks that I can't help but point out how cheap a vacuum pump oil changer is and how fast it is to drop down a dipstick tube and pull a sample.

 

[Lou C]

Also check the deck and internal structure carefully. I looked over one at a local boat show of about that vintage and the deck was very flexy and build quality overall was poor. My old boat seemed a lot more solid.