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Commander
- Joined
- May 31, 2002
- Messages
- 2,842
Friend gave me a boat with a locked up motor. He traded a gun for it around the first of the year. The guy he got it from got it from an auction in California. I think it's an '82 Mark Twain, supposed to get the titles next week. It was supposedly running back in March (8 months ago). Has 3 new tires on the trailer - actaully 2 on the trailer and 1 in the boat - trailer is in excellent shape, and a brand new marine battery. Motor is a Merc 120 with a pre-alpha outdrive. Boat doesn't look abused, just died through old age and neglect!
Original add for a v-hull, mines a tri-hull but looked about the same.
Interior is stock, 25 year old cracked vinyl. Floor has a few soft spots.
Motor wouldn't budge. Locked up solid. Pulled the cylinder head yesterday. Engine doesn't look bad. Hone marks still in 3 of the cylinders, no ridge at all. Looks like #4 had a leaking head gasket. You can see the rust trail down the side of the cylinder.
Obvious probs with #4! Hoping the valves aren't totally shot (if they're only 90% shot they're going back in)!
Bellows was leaking. Input shaft, gimbal bearing and u-joints are all rusty but work freely.
I hope to get the thing running for the price of a head gasket. Pulling the motor this afternoon. Hoping I can free up #4 and put it back together.
I plan to clean up the existing u-joints, replace the bellows (looks like original equipment!) and bolt the drive back on.
If the thing actually runs decent, I'll go ahead and replace the u-joints and gimbal bearing. Then I'll pull up the floor and see how bad the stringers are.
I plan to use it to play with. Try it with and without a Hydrofoil and maybe Smart Tabs. If I can get it usable for a few hundred dollars it might be a decent little fishing boat and something to experiment on without screwing up my nice boat!
Any advice / comments appreciated!
Original add for a v-hull, mines a tri-hull but looked about the same.
Interior is stock, 25 year old cracked vinyl. Floor has a few soft spots.
Motor wouldn't budge. Locked up solid. Pulled the cylinder head yesterday. Engine doesn't look bad. Hone marks still in 3 of the cylinders, no ridge at all. Looks like #4 had a leaking head gasket. You can see the rust trail down the side of the cylinder.
Obvious probs with #4! Hoping the valves aren't totally shot (if they're only 90% shot they're going back in)!
Bellows was leaking. Input shaft, gimbal bearing and u-joints are all rusty but work freely.
I hope to get the thing running for the price of a head gasket. Pulling the motor this afternoon. Hoping I can free up #4 and put it back together.
I plan to clean up the existing u-joints, replace the bellows (looks like original equipment!) and bolt the drive back on.
If the thing actually runs decent, I'll go ahead and replace the u-joints and gimbal bearing. Then I'll pull up the floor and see how bad the stringers are.
I plan to use it to play with. Try it with and without a Hydrofoil and maybe Smart Tabs. If I can get it usable for a few hundred dollars it might be a decent little fishing boat and something to experiment on without screwing up my nice boat!
Any advice / comments appreciated!
