Leaning towards I/O motor boat. What to stay away from or what to go for?

[tigerbull]

Looking at purchasing a family boat. Used to outboard engines. Considering inboard for next boat. Not sure what to look for though. Looking for easy maintenance and reliability. Will be pulling a couple of knee boarders and 3 person tube. I am used to doing basic work myself (winterize, impeller). Any help appreciated

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... Welcome Aboard,.... Hit the stickies in the various forums here at iboats, 'n educate yerself with the many boatin' terms,....

We deal with I/Os in this forum, Mercs in particular, inboard/ outboards, Sterndrives, full on inboards are quite different,....
I'll move this thread to the non-repair forum for ya, it oughta get some good replies in there,....

Anyways,..... For I/O boats, buy Nothin' that says OMC on it anywhere,... OMC has been outa business for over 2 Decades,...
Older Volvos can be Great, or a real problem, depends on which ones,....
Merc.s are the most common, 'n because of that, parts are much easier to find, as well as service if need be,....
For power, Don't buy anything but Chevy, GM power,...
Everything else is a Problem to get marine parts for,....
Especially the Merc 470s,....

 

[tigerbull]

I guess I should of been clear to say that I am looking at an I/O. I would be looking at something a little newer and with some luck fuel Injected. I will not eliminate carbed though. Say for example the Volvos. Some are great and others have issues. Are there some to stay away from? I am a touch confused about the power comment and saying to stick with Chev/GM. Is that part of a Merc motor?
What about common issues to look for? I have watched some videos on YouTube, but the part that always freaks me out is a cracked block.
Also the Mercs have different "sizes". 3.0, 4.4... Are there any that I should avoid?

Thanks in advance

 

[Lou C]

Well if you're lookin for a late model if not a Merc but a Volvo check around to see if Volvo parts and service is available where you are. Otherwise Merc will be easiest to get parts and service. I would try to avoid boats with cat converter exhaust because it greatly increases the cost of exhaust manifold replacement.
As a general thing compared to outboards I/Os need more regular maintenance. So it goes without saying avoid boats that were not maintained. The one plus for I/Os is that the auto based engines are cheap, simple and easy to work on.

 

[HT32BSX115]

I guess I should of been clear to say that I am looking at an I/O.................I am a touch confused about the power comment and saying to stick with Chev/GM. Is that part of a Merc motor?

Just about everything you're probably interested in is going to be "ChevGM"

Some I/O's in the 90's (OMC, Volvo and Merc) used FOMOCO engines, but the marine industry pretty much abandoned Ford in the 90's. So anything from about the mid to late 90's on will be GM. There's some boat manufacturers that might now be using Ford but it will most likely be coupled up with a transmission and a propshaft. (inboard)

Any I/O old enough to have a Ford engine in front of it will probably be older than you want anyway, BUT even if it's perfect, you should still avoid Ford I/Os.

I am with LouC, I suggest Merc too (vs Volvo) .....only because there seems to be better used (and new) parts availability.

Cheers,


Rick

 

[Alumarine]

Just to elaborate on what Rick was saying.
Both Volvo and Mercury have used GM/Chevy motors exclusively for quite a few years.
Non in particular need to be avoided.

 

[Fishermark]

Also the Mercs have different "sizes". 3.0, 4.4... Are there any that I should avoid?

Th 3.0 will probably be too under powered for what you want to do. A 4.3 should serve you well and be fairly easy on the wallet.

 

[ericga]

More common on cruisers but I would definitely stay away the Volvo XDP composite outdrive.