boat question

Bullardbs

Bullardbs

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 7, 2007
Location
Thomasville, NC
Found a deal on a boat but it needs bearings in the outboard part of the engine. That being said is that something that will cost a arm and a leg or is it something that can be done with a little work. I work on cars for a living and have done engine swaps head jobs etc so the work dont bother me just wanted to see what was involved and if it would be worth messing with.
 
Depends on the motor and what you mean by "outboard part". If your talking lower unit work, they take a couple of speacial tools to rebuild. It is kinda rare that the bearings are the only thing damaged, usually the powerhead eats pistons and sleeves due to overheating, low oil or too many RPMs. The lower units eat gears due to water in the oil or strikes on hard objects.

What engine and what part are you talking
 
its a 3.8 v6 and a OMC 800 Stern Drive the owner said it got water in the outdrive and needs bearings just trying to see what it will cost to fix and if it is worth my time
 
Well the value/worth while all depends on the boat it is attached to... Most ib/ob boats don't tend to hold their value as well as a true inboard or performance outboard or outboard bass boat. With all that said the OMC IB/OB was always a rare bird as opposed to the Merc. Value is based on the rest of the boat... to fix the interior is 1500-2000, trailer is 500-600 for misc. BS... steering is 400-600... trim pump/lines 800-1000. Just like truck the little shit eats you alive. Usually a reason why no one fixed the "bearings". Just an FYI a run of the mill open bow bayliner, sea-ray, cobia, dixie with motor or drive problems should be free to 500 dollars depending on the other items stated above...post pics and more details
 
B.O.A.T. = Bust Out Another Thousand

They can be fun but a lot of work. Like JeepTruck has said some IB/OB's take a few special tools to break down and reassemble the outdrives. If its apart you might as well replace the impeller and seals to avoid having to tear it down again in the future. An older, cheaper boat may end up being WAYYYY more expensive in the long run. Check for soft fiberglass around the outdrive as well as the floors.
 
It also depends on if the water in the outdrive came from inside or outside the boat. Water intrusion from the outside of the outdrive means big $. If it was the gimbal bearing that went bad from the engine bay being flooded (it can happen, dont ask :shaking:) that's about a $300-$400 fix. However, if the gimbal bearing went bad from water, you gotta check out the u-joint for possible failure too. Ok, I'll tell the story. I, I mean someone I know forgot to pull the plug on my, cough, his boat after taking it out of the water. Well, the boat sat for a month or two with the non rain repelling cover on it. the boat esentially sank in the driveway. The water was just about up to the carb when it was realized. The alt was bad, there was water in the hydraulics, the trim pump had to be rebuilt and the gimbal bearing was toast. Everything but the bearing was a diy job.
 
It's also worth noting that anything non-essential to life always costs much more. If the "bearing" is essentialy the same as some random wheel bearing but wearing an OMC or Merc badge on teh box it will be 6-7x more expensive.

Many times a decent I/O bowider in good shape can be had for less than the price of replacing an outdrive. And wrenching just isn't as fun as riding. Take it from the guy with the offshore boat that apparently likes spending time inside a shop.
 
I would stay way from a boat that wasn't water ready.

You might could make it happen. But, the learning curve is steep as well as expensive.
 
willness33 said:
I, I mean someone I know forgot to pull the plug on my, cough, his boat after taking it out of the water. Well, the boat sat for a month or two with the non rain repelling cover on it. the boat esentially sank in the driveway. The water was just about up to the carb when it was realized. The alt was bad, there was water in the hydraulics, the trim pump had to be rebuilt and the gimbal bearing was toast. Everything but the bearing was a diy job.
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Pretty funny story if I do say so. Funny to think of sinking a boat in your driveway!
 
You of course know what the happiest two days of a boat owners life is.............





The day you buy your boat and the day you sell your boat.


Good luck, and have fun with it.
 
Rox&Mud said:
You of course know what the happiest two days of a boat owners life is.............
The day you buy your boat and the day you sell your boat.
Good luck, and have fun with it.
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In my case, it was the day I bought it and the day the ex-wife decided she wanted to keep it. That's her shit now.:fuck-you::bounce2:
 
Well bought one and will be picking it up tonite will post pics if I can get some to turn out when I get home
 
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