Is it worth a rebuild, and by who

[Tatum]

My buddy has a boat that I fish on with him regularly. Its a fairly nice 1997 Stratos 285 with a 90 evinrude. About 6 months ago it started loosing alot of power (went from 50ish to 20mph). Besides sometimes a little tricky to start it runs fine just half the power. Well he took it to a mechanic and they told him the engine needs to be rebuilt. Compression on starboard side was 120's, port side was 80's. Instead of fixing it, he just went out and bought another boat. Offering me the boat for 1600 bux. I am by far no mechanic , which is why I have a series of questions, and here they are...
1. Could it not be a ignition or fuel problem being its just on one side of the motor ?
2. Is the boat worth buying? ( Its legitamitly worth 3500-4000 in good running condition)
3.If it does need to be rebuilt, how much is a average price?
4. Does anyone know of any decent mechanic in the South Carolina area

 

[jonesg]

Re: Is it worth a rebuild, and by who

A compression difference from side to side like that tells me its more likely the head gasket let go, simple diy fix,

what is the year and model number of the engine,
we don't care what boat its on.

 

[mikesea]

Re: Is it worth a rebuild, and by who

could be head gasket,or possibly had a head changed that had different comp.possibilities.As for rebuilding,you can look at the IBOATS site,under engines you can find rebuilders and prices.Im guessing around $2800,as long as your block and crankshaft is reusable.Yours runs ,so im confident its OK.But,if you and or friends have mechanical skills ,you can do it for more than half that .you will need to get machine work if you decide to rebore all cylinders and install next oversize piston kits ,which is the only real way to total rebuild.Before you do anything too drastic though,do a decarb.by injecting carbon remover .There are a few posts on the procedure.Then a new head gasket,be sure to torque the bolts,240 INCH pounds ,NOT FOOT POUNDS.inch pounds.Keep in touch with progress.As long as the engine is clean,no other real problems,its a good engine with a good capability of rebuilding.Should you decide to have it done by someone,please be sure to check out the builder,there are alot of scammers.some here in FL.

 

[Tatum]

Re: Is it worth a rebuild, and by who

Well I decided to go ahead and get the boat. Thanks for the help, I will keep updating progress.