OMC King Cobra maintenance costs?

[seaman-recruit]

Looking to get into boating with a small "pocket" cruiser and have found a 1995 Four Winns Vista with the OMC King Cobra outdrive mated to a 350 GM block. I have read other threads in this forum on avoiding OMC (specifically the King Cobra outdrive) if possible. What I would like to know is *IF* the outdrive has been properly maintained and is in good working order:

1. Is there typically a complete rebuild required anyway at XXX operation hours and if so what is that number?

2. If a major rebuild is required what are "typical" repair expenses so I can factor this into the purchase price.

3. How confident can I be with the ability of a marine surveyor to guage the condition of an outdrive?

Any comments/advice appreciated.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: OMC King Cobra maintenance costs?

Do you really want to get into boating by starting out on a boat with an obsolete powerplant? I wouldn't.

 

[seaman-recruit]

Re: OMC King Cobra maintenance costs?

Boat currently has 400 hours. I would be willing to risk the maintenance costs (if I buy at the right price) but don't have a good feel for when that would typically occur. I would also like to know the "typical" cost of an equivalent Mercruiser swap. I realize that would be expensive but would allow me to compare and analyze current boat listings / prices (OMC vs Merc) more intelligently.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: OMC King Cobra maintenance costs?

Looking to get into boating with a small "pocket" cruiser and have found a 1995 Four Winns Vista with the OMC King Cobra outdrive mated to a 350 GM block. I have read other threads in this forum on avoiding OMC (specifically the King Cobra outdrive) if possible. What I would like to know is *IF* the outdrive has been properly maintained and is in good working order:


Any comments/advice appreciated.

Howdy,


It REALLY depends on what it actually IS.


You need to post ENGINE/DRIVE model numbers or determine what they actually are. If the drive is in fact a Volvo Penta SX type drive then might might have a "find" in a drive that is still FULLY supported by Volvo Penta.

If it's not a Volvo Penta/OMC Cobra joint drive, you might be getting the "interim" drive for which some parts are scarce to N/A.

OMC put that "King" Cobra name on a few VERY different drives.... depending on the actual year model.

1. Is there typically a complete rebuild required anyway at XXX operation hours and if so what is that number?

2. If a major rebuild is required what are "typical" repair expenses so I can factor this into the purchase price.

3. How confident can I be with the ability of a marine surveyor to guage the condition of an outdrive?

1. NO. It can happen with 10hrs on the drive, or 1000 hours depending on how the drive was maintained.

2. depends on what's needed. It can be up to and MORE than the actual cost of simply replacing it. (assuming you can even find certain parts (and in the case of some OMC drives some parts are simply NOT AVAILABLE)

3. OMC is out of business. People that are familiar (and went to OMC schools etc) with 15-20 year old drives are becoming as scarce as the parts.....


Unless you do a LOT of homework, you might be getting a real DOG.

I could be wrong but you should generally stay away from OMC from 95 and earlier.

96 and later are usually Volvo Penta drives. DO NOT USE THE BOAT year model for reference.

Boat manufacturers routinely use "last years" model engines and drives when they build boats...... I.E. if the boat is a "95" model the engine and drive will FREQUENTLY be a 1994 model or possibly earlier!



Caveat Emptor!


Rick

 

[seaman-recruit]

Re: OMC King Cobra maintenance costs?

Thanks Rick. I was planning on looking at the boat this weekend so don't have specific model #'s for engine/drive at this point. I may just take the safe route and only consider boats that have a GM/Merc combo as others on this forum have suggested.

 

[Lou C]

Re: OMC King Cobra maintenance costs?

I agree with all the above cautions, I'd say you need to post a good clear pic of the drive, and then we can tell you what it is, but keep in mind, if it has that odd ball OMC Split fire electronic ignition, those parts are not available any more, people with them have had to convert them to a conventional ignition. Be careful and post pix of the drive and engine. And beyond that, the boat's going on 16 years old....look carefully for rot in the transom, deck and stringers....

 

[seaman-recruit]

Re: OMC King Cobra maintenance costs?

Thanks Lou. I do not have a pic of the outdrive available at this point but there is an engine pic posted at this URL: http://www.usedboats.com/boat-listing/1995-Four-Winns-vista-25/1445726

This boat recently showed up on Craigslist at a reduced price from what this posting shows.

 

[Bondo]

Re: OMC King Cobra maintenance costs?

Looking to get into boating with a OMC King Cobra outdrive mated to a 350 GM block.

Ayuh,.... Don't buy that boat,.... Forget about it all together....

Even for FREE, it Ain't worth the headaches of an OMC....

That's why boats with OMC power are so seemly Cheap....

 

[Don S]

Re: OMC King Cobra maintenance costs?

I looked at the engine picture, it has the OMC shift bracket for the OMC cone clutch drive. You don't even want to go there. That drive has no parts for it, or people to work on it. You can't even adapt a Volvo or Mercruiser to it. Nothing. RUN AWAY.

 

[seaman-recruit]

Re: OMC King Cobra maintenance costs?

Thanks for the review of the engine pic and advice. I guess I'll be looking at a 97 Sea Ray 240 Sundancer this weekend instead. A few more bucks but hopefully not a maintenance nightmare with the GM/Merc drivetrain.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: OMC King Cobra maintenance costs?

I looked at the engine picture, it has the OMC shift bracket for the OMC cone clutch drive. You don't even want to go there. That drive has no parts for it, or people to work on it. You can't even adapt a Volvo or Mercruiser to it. Nothing. RUN AWAY.

Thanks for the review of the engine pic and advice. I guess I'll be looking at a 97 Sea Ray 240 Sundancer this weekend instead. A few more bucks but hopefully not a maintenance nightmare with the GM/Merc drivetrain.

Yee Haw!

Saved another one Don!!

 

[Lou C]

Re: OMC King Cobra maintenance costs?

Yeah well that's for the engine side, make sure you check it for rot, look at friscoboater's thread on his 95 Sea Ray for and example of the rot you can have in a boat that age.....be careful....I'd rather do a complete repower engine and drive, on a solid hull, that do that much glass work, ANYDAY....any older glass/wood composite boat can be a nightmare, the OMC aspect just adds to it....

 

[sethjon]

Re: OMC King Cobra maintenance costs?

Looking to get into boating with a small "pocket" cruiser and have found a 1995 Four Winns Vista with the OMC King Cobra outdrive mated to a 350 GM block. I have read other threads in this forum on avoiding OMC (specifically the King Cobra outdrive) if possible. What I would like to know is *IF* the outdrive has been properly maintained and is in good working order:

1. Is there typically a complete rebuild required anyway at XXX operation hours and if so what is that number?

2. If a major rebuild is required what are "typical" repair expenses so I can factor this into the purchase price.

3. How confident can I be with the ability of a marine surveyor to guage the condition of an outdrive?

Any comments/advice appreciated.

Last year my son, without asking me, bought an older boat with an OMC and it performed great. I was wrong, but he has the Cobra and can still get parts. The King Cobra parts are almost impossible. Stay away from it. Go Merc and never worry about parts or finding a mechanic.

 

[seaman-recruit]

Re: OMC King Cobra maintenance costs?

Yeah well that's for the engine side, make sure you check it for rot, look at friscoboater's thread on his 95 Sea Ray for and example of the rot you can have in a boat that age.....be careful....I'd rather do a complete repower engine and drive, on a solid hull, that do that much glass work, ANYDAY....any older glass/wood composite boat can be a nightmare, the OMC aspect just adds to it....

That is one thing I would like to consider. I live in the Detroit area so have a short boating season. If I were to buy a boat in good condition - get a good season out of it - but then face a "throw-away" drive train repair situation when the inevitable break down occurs - what is a ballpark price on a reman GM 350c.i./Mercruiser package? I have a number of marine repair shops (Merc certified) available close to where I live so may consider this.

 

[mkast]

Re: OMC King Cobra maintenance costs?

what is a ballpark price on a reman GM 350c.i./Mercruiser package?

Anywhere from $5,000-$15,000+ depending on what you buy.

 

[bpgood1]

Re: OMC King Cobra maintenance costs?

i gotta wonder about the actual knowledge level of a bunch of these regulars on this sight because you guys repeatedly contradict yourselves about these king cobras in one thread it says the dog clutch is the worst one in other threads the same guys are telling you that if you get one of the 2 cone clutch models your worries are significantly less.???? is it that you guys are confused or just that your against these things all together???? or maybe not really knowledgeable enough to be spewing these contradicting seemingly confused answers to all these potential buyers, myself included?

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: OMC King Cobra maintenance costs?

bpgood1, Go and try to buy parts for a King Cobra.

You'll have a better chance at seeing God before you find the parts.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: OMC King Cobra maintenance costs?

because you guys repeatedly contradict yourselves about these king cobras in one thread it says the dog clutch is the worst one in other threads the same guys are telling you that if you get one of the 2 cone clutch models your worries are significantly less.???? is it that you guys are confused or just that your against these things all together????

I guess that since there's question marks in the above, there's a question in there. But it doesn't appear that you really want an answer.

You might want to start your own thread with a legitimate question.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: OMC King Cobra maintenance costs?

It doesn't matter if your OMC sterndrive, Yamaha sterndrive, Chrysler/Force outboard, Force L-drive, etc etc etc are good, bad, or indifferent. They aren't fully supported with parts so you probably shouldn't buy one. That's all there is to it. No one is telling the owners of these things to take them out and sink them but we are advising prospective boat buyers that they should avoid these obsolete powerplants. And I think we're pretty darn consistent in that!

 

[bnicov]

Re: OMC King Cobra maintenance costs?

i gotta wonder about the actual knowledge level of a bunch of these regulars on this sight because you guys repeatedly contradict yourselves about these king cobras in one thread it says the dog clutch is the worst one in other threads the same guys are telling you that if you get one of the 2 cone clutch models your worries are significantly less.???? is it that you guys are confused or just that your against these things all together???? or maybe not really knowledgeable enough to be spewing these contradicting seemingly confused answers to all these potential buyers, myself included?

The big issues with these drives are twofold, first, there is a lack of available parts, especially for King Cobra drives. Second, also very important, is that there are fewer and fewer technicians who know how to work on OMC drives, they've been out of business for 15 years.