[Suck My Wake]

We are thinking of going to check out this boat. 1996, It has 5.7's and Bravo 3's with 570 hours. I have been looking at a bunch of stuff lately and need to set my bearings as far as engines and drives. Taken care of properly these engines should have a lot more life in them. How about outdrives? I had a B3 on the boat we just sold and it was in really good shape at almost 400 hours (gimble ring replaced a few years ago). The only issue I know of with B3's in the 90's was the rear seal leaking if you didnt pay attention to galvanic corrosion.

Anyway just wanted to get opinions about engine/drive hours.

 

[Convincor]

Looks like a nice boat. 570 hours is low in my opinion. I have heard many opinions on how many hours you can get out of a marine engine. I say, just run them till they don't run anymore. With proper maintenance of course. I don't see why you cannot get 1500 hours out of a well maintained engine. Some people may laugh at that, but I have heard mechanics say they have seen engines with that many hours on them. If you are real serious about the boat then pay a mechanic to check out the out drives. Look at the oil within. That is the most important thing to look at to start.

Good luck my friend.

 

[Suck My Wake]

Whenever we do settle on something to make an offer on, I will definitely have a mechanic check on drives. And especially if we go with rudders. I have no knowledge about inboards.

 

[Garry]

Bill, I agree, and even bump that number up a bit and say 1500-2000 hours on a properly cared for engine. So maybe they laugh at both of us!!

 

[dockrocker]

QUOTE(Convincor @ Aug 4 2009, 12:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Looks like a nice boat. 570 hours is low in my opinion. I have heard many opinions on how many hours you can get out of a marine engine. I say, just run them till they don't run anymore. With proper maintenance of course. I don't see why you cannot get 1500 hours out of a well maintained engine. Some people may laugh at that, but I have heard mechanics say they have seen engines with that many hours on them. If you are real serious about the boat then pay a mechanic to check out the out drives. Look at the oil within. That is the most important thing to look at to start.

Good luck my friend.

What he said - take care of the equipment and it will take care of you. Treated properly and with regular preventative maintenance I see no reason you couldn't get 1000+ hours out of that gear.

OTOH, if you take off immediately after a cold start, slam the throttles WFO from rest, change the oil and lube once every three years whether it needs or not, well, then you should make good friends with your mechanic

 

[Stodge]

QUOTE(Suck My Wake @ Aug 4 2009, 01:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Whenever we do settle on something to make an offer on, I will definitely have a mechanic check on drives. And especially if we go with rudders. I have no knowledge about inboards.
That should be looked at as part of the survey you'll want to have done on your prospective new boat.