What to look for

[daveb11]

Hi,<br /><br />I have just been to look at a 1992 Sea Ray with a 4.3l mercuriser 190hp engine. The boat itself looked in very good condition but the engine did have more rust patches on it than I expected. The main areas were around the bolts on the manifolds and generally surface rust on the areas of engine block I could see. Also alot of the terminals a connectins looked corroded (not massivley but again more than I expected). I appreciate this is a 14 year old boat but the hour meter only reads 127 hours and the owner claims it is genuine. He also had alot of recipts for services etc. Is it normal for the engine to look like this and are there any specific problems with this model or areas which need close inspection? Thanks for your help<br />Dave

 

[Don S]

Re: What to look for

Forget what the hour meter says, it may only be a year old.<br />Rust basically indicates a lack of maintenance.<br />Manifolds and risers are usually only good for 5 years in salt water more in fresh, but still they don't last forever and yours are due if they are original.<br />Cleaning, painting, your favorit corrosion guard of choice used regularly keeps the rust in check to a point. If you are in salt water, bare metal rusts just from the salty air.