Mercruiser guy-- Considering purchasing 1994 OMC boat -- any advice is welcome.

[wellcraft-classic210]

Folks
I am going to be looking at a 1994 Fourwinns Vista 238 this weekend.


I am highly familiar with merc alpha ones bot not OMC. ( or Volvo )


Is it true that the 94's and above were identical to a Volvo and are not too hard to get parts for ?


Any advice on things to know & look for before I make any offers would be appreciated.

 

[bruceb58]

94 may or may not be the volvo version. 94 was the switchover so depends on what Four Winns had in stock.

 

[wellcraft-classic210]

Would that be a major concern if its a 1993 type ?

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... What motor,..?? OMC was still usin' Fords at that point, 'n that's enough red flag to run away,...

 

[wellcraft-classic210]

the owner said 350 // I assume its a GM but appreciate the Ford warning

 

[bruceb58]

If its the Volvo style ford, they had an obsolete fuel injection system in 94.

If it is a 93, I would pass.

 

[wellcraft-classic210]

Update
The boat was slow to come out of indoor storage-- but that happened yesterday and he sent a pic that shows a volvo SX label on the drive. The gimbal housing has an OMC label on it. He is not sure weather its a Ford or GM engine but did say its a 350 so i am hoping its a GM -- A marina has been doing all his work.

So -- once again I ask you experts -- Should I pursue // and am I crazy

 

[HT32BSX115]

So -- once again I ask you experts -- Should I pursue // and am I crazy

Howdy,


Well.........maybe.

1993 model years were FORD mostly (5.0L 5.8L) AND *some* dog-clutch drives. (they were trying to get rid of them while switching over to the SX)

584APLJVB 1993
584APRJVB 1993
584DPEJVB 1993
584DPPJVB 1993
58FAPEJVB 1993
58FAPLJVB 1993
58FAPLJVN 1993
58FAPPJVB 1993
58FAPRJVB 1993
58FAPRJVN 1993
58FBPEJVB 1993

If the raw water pump is in the drive and the top of the drive is flat, it's a "Dog" clutch drive (first sold in 1986)

If the top of the drive has a "hump" and the raw water pump is also in the drive, it's an OMC "interim" cone clutch drive. (NOT Volvo SX)

If the raw water pump is on the engine, and the drive has a hump or "says" SX on the outside, it's a Volvo (OMC equivalent) SX
572ACPMDA 1994
572AGPMDA 1994


You cannot go by the Boat model year.

You MUST use the engine/drive package model number since boat manufacturers frequently use "last years" model. I.E. A 1994 Four Winns Boat will frequently have a 1993 engine and drive.

According to the BRP parts site http://epc.brp.com (don't need to put in your email address)

1993 was offered in 5.0L or 5,8L engines with Dog-clutch and OMC cone clutch drives.

None appear to be SX type drives.

It appears that the 2 1994 5.7(GM engine) packages were SX drives.



While the SX is a pretty good drive, I wouldn't touch anything with OMC in the description today.


Caveat Emptor.


Rick

 

[wellcraft-classic210]

HT32BSX115 Thanks for the awsom list of detials! -- I was hoping for an sx drive & 5.7 gm drive train -- It turned out to be an OMC ford 5.8 with fuel injection and what appears to be an sx drive equivilent. Once I saw the engine -- I knew to walk per the advice Bondo sent and your advice confirms that.

Its shame as the boat had a really nice lines & layout with pretty low use. I could see that being a real trap for someone who was not informed.


I will keep searching & wondering about the crazy part -- but hopefully Ill be a bit smarter after all this.

Thanks!!!!

 

[HT32BSX115]

HT32BSX115 Thanks for the awsom list of detials! -- I was hoping for an sx drive & 5.7 gm drive train -- It turned out to be an OMC ford 5.8 with fuel injection and what appears to be an sx drive equivilent. Once I saw the engine -- I knew to walk per the advice Bondo sent and your advice confirms that.

Its shame as the boat had a really nice lines & layout with pretty low use. I could see that being a real trap for someone who was not informed.


I will keep searching & wondering about the crazy part -- but hopefully Ill be a bit smarter after all this.

Thanks!!!!

YES............ If it's a 5.8L Ford EFI, RUN WILL ROBINSON!!!!! BIG NIGHTMARE if the EFI ever quits working!!

Glad we could help you make a decision!

If you had a "ready to drop in" newer Mercruiser 5.7L + Bravo engine/drive, It might be an OK deal since you could part out the OMC engine, drive, transom mount etc for cash.

There are people out there in "radio land" looking for parts, drives, engines, EFI systems etc for OMC powered boats that cannot find parts for them.

But to make it a good deal, you would need to have the replacement set up ready to go and be able to do it all yourself.

If you had to pay someone to do it, it would not even be close to being worth it!! (much easier and probably cheaper to just find a boat already powered the way you want it)


Good luck,


Rick

 

[bruceb58]

Once the FI dies, you could switch to a carb setup. Likely lose some power which would be bad on that size boat.