Need help, asap, buying stingray tomorrow, need advise

fishinleezy

Recruit
Joined
Nov 17, 2012
Messages
3
Hello everyone, my name is Bryan, I'm going to buy an 88 stingray 190svc, its got a 2.5 mercruiser in it and the outdrive is broken, i found an alpha one gen one for a hundred dollars to put on it, i am getting this boat for three hundred dollars, never seen a stingray so i dont know about them, should i do this?????? I dont want lots of problems but i am willing to give it a little tlc, are these solid boats??? or crap boats????

THANKS GUYS, IM GOING TO GET IT AT 11 IN THE MORNING, I NEED SOME ADVICE ASAP
 

eavega

Lieutenant
Joined
Apr 29, 2008
Messages
1,377
Re: Need help, asap, buying stingray tomorrow, need advise

Hi
So I purchased an 88 Stingray 176 SVB earlier this year. I have had no complaints about it at all. It rides very smooth in the water (of course that is a comparison against my previous boat, a 15' tri-hull, which would leave you with bruised kidneys if you it any chop at all). The common complaints I have hear about them is that they don't track very good at idle speeds (I have found this to be a half-truth). Stingray hulls tend to be light, so that they move very quickly.
That having been said, once you are dealing with a boat that is over 20 years old, you need to be very aware of its condition. Check the deck and transom for rotting, soft spots, fiberglass that is de-laminating. The svc means its a cuddy cabin, right? Check the interior for condition.
a 2.5 Mercruiser seems very small for that boat. My own 176 SVB has a 3.0 Mercruiser, and my boat is 2 feet shorter than yours and is the bowrider version (so I would assume it is lighter).
In any case, for $300 I guess you can't go wrong unless this boat is totally rotted out and the motor doesn't work.

Good luck.
 

Bamaman1

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
May 15, 2011
Messages
1,895
Re: Need help, asap, buying stingray tomorrow, need advise

Let me say something about outdrives. They're actually two pieces. The bottom part is the "lower unit".

When you purchase one, the lower unit must be checked carefully to make sure the seals are good--with a pressure test and a vacuum test. They must also be drained to see if there's any water contamination or evidence of metal shards in the bottom. This is best if done by a professional before you purchase the outdrive.

After all, you don't want to spend good $ for an anchor. Do your due dilligence.

I wouldn't want a 120 hp boat that was 19', but your investment is very low. The 4 cylinder Mercruisers are solid motors, but they're all very slow "coming out of the hole." I've had 140 hp and 470 Mercruisers.
 

fishinleezy

Recruit
Joined
Nov 17, 2012
Messages
3
Re: Need help, asap, buying stingray tomorrow, need advise

Ok so i bought the boat, i had an oppurtunity to mess around with it today, all in all very clean boat, dirty but clean, i put a battery in it and started her right up, it took a few minutes but it worked, let it run for 4 or 5 minutes, noticed some smoke coming from the outside of the boat near the outdrive, keep in mind that i bought this thing knowing the outdrive was broken, is the impeller inside of the outdrive???? or does the water pump on the engine suck water up into the motor??? all in all im pretty happy with my purchase just got to buy a 400 outdrive, unless this problem im having now is pricey, when i saw the smoke it wasn';t coming from the motor at all, the hoses were hot but the motor wasnt smoking, oil didn't smell real hot, does anyone know what makes the water flow through the engine??????
 

Bamaman1

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
May 15, 2011
Messages
1,895
Re: Need help, asap, buying stingray tomorrow, need advise

I hope you had water muffs on the lower unit that puts water into the engine if you ran it 4-5 minutes. You have a rubber impeller in the top of the lower unit drawing water to the motor where there's another water pump that circulates water thru the engine.

You don't want to run any motor without it sitting in water or without water muffs feeding water to the motor. The engine heat up and friction w/o water will toast the rubber impeller quickly. Remember that you also have a drive shaft that runs anytime the engine is running in the lower unit. If the lower unit is bad, you don't want to run the motor at all. Fix or replace the lower unit first. At least you know the engine's running--good news.

You can get a new lower unit for $845 from SEI in Tampa, and that includes new seals, a new water pump and a 3 year warranty. For you to have seals and a water pump put into a lower unit will cost you about $400 alone. All the other little parts and bearings that could be bad on a used lower unit are very expensive. The aftermarket lower unit is actually a good value with a warranty.

Now, if you find a used lower unit, you will need to get it checked out professionally--before you buy it. I ignored my lower unit, and I fried it. Now, I'm an expert on what not to do. You cannot just go out and buy an untested lower unit without having it checked out.
 

fishinleezy

Recruit
Joined
Nov 17, 2012
Messages
3
Re: Need help, asap, buying stingray tomorrow, need advise

the muffs were on the lower unit, ok well i didn't know that if the outdrive was bad it wouldn't suck up water, good to know, what about the water pump on the motor??? what does that do?? it doesn't suck water up??

i found a rebuilt outdrive from a boat mechanic for 450, i am gonna go that route, im not rich enough to spend 900, thanks for the help everyone.

i guess im just gonna unhook the hose from the motor and pour antifreeze in it to winterize it, im assuming that will do a good enough job not to crack my moto
 
Top