z1nonlyone
Seaman
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2010
- Messages
- 58
I didn't think this would happen to me. I have been reading this forum and then recently went out and purchased a 1997 Chaparral 1930, with a Mercruiser 5.7, Alpha one gen 2 with 200 hours on the motor. The boat was in great shape with shiny fiberglass, clean and supple upholstery with no sun damage, and a clean engine. We paid $7000.00 for the boat with custom twin axle trailer. We knew of the importance to check the oil and we thought we did that.
The oil on the dipstick was clean as a whistle, however it appeared to be way overfilled! About 1 inch above the full line. We thought that someone had just overfilled it, WRONG! The motor started and ran fine when we tested it at the sellers driveway. We checked the oil again and it looked fine.
Well, the deal was made and we were anxious to get on the water. We were giving the motor a once over and noticed a new noise coming from the rear of the engine. We diagnosed it as a bad Gimble Bearing. Yep, we yanked the outdrive and noticed some rusty water in the drive bellows, however the gimble bearing was not rusty. So we changed the bearing and also replaced the water pump, shift shaft seal and gaskets, and put it back together.
During our further inspection, we noticed that the alternator was not charging. We yanked it and found it to be VERY rusty inside. It was so bad that the large red cable going to it had rusted and fallen off! We thought it would be a good idea to suck out some of the oil to get the level correct. I had a "oil boy" vacumme system that draws oil from the dipstick. As soon as we started sucking oil, out came the chocolate moca!!! Our hearts sank!! We felt cheated!! I have never heard this said on this forum before but lesson one is,
"YOU CANNOT JUDGE THE CONDITION OF THE OIL BY LOOKING AT THE DIPSTICK!!!"
So we drained the oil and changed the filter. We hooked up the rabbit ears and ran the engine. We ran it for about 2 hours. We would occasionally stop and check the oil level to see if it increased. It did not. My first question is
1. Is running the engine with rabbit ears, and checking the oil level a accurate test for water intrusion, or must the boat be tested in the water?
After further testing and inspection, we noticed that the outdrive tilt hydrulic pump reservoir was also contaminated with water???? It had evidence of overflowing and was full to the brim with moca colored gooey mess! This pump is located on deck level, not in the bilge. We started wondering if the boat had been submerged, or allowed to fill with water somehow? Wishfull thinking, but my second question is
2. Since there were no signs of rust inside the valve covers, and since the oil level did not change during our running tests, could this boat have taken on water by being submerged or flooded by rain? There were no visible "water lines" or stains that would confirm this. So far, the seller has refused to return our calls!
The starter motor/solenoid is acting up also,,,,probably rusty, but we have not inspected it yet.
We would love to think that we don't have a cracked block! What should be our next inspection proceedure? Any help would be appreciated!!
Chris
The oil on the dipstick was clean as a whistle, however it appeared to be way overfilled! About 1 inch above the full line. We thought that someone had just overfilled it, WRONG! The motor started and ran fine when we tested it at the sellers driveway. We checked the oil again and it looked fine.
Well, the deal was made and we were anxious to get on the water. We were giving the motor a once over and noticed a new noise coming from the rear of the engine. We diagnosed it as a bad Gimble Bearing. Yep, we yanked the outdrive and noticed some rusty water in the drive bellows, however the gimble bearing was not rusty. So we changed the bearing and also replaced the water pump, shift shaft seal and gaskets, and put it back together.
During our further inspection, we noticed that the alternator was not charging. We yanked it and found it to be VERY rusty inside. It was so bad that the large red cable going to it had rusted and fallen off! We thought it would be a good idea to suck out some of the oil to get the level correct. I had a "oil boy" vacumme system that draws oil from the dipstick. As soon as we started sucking oil, out came the chocolate moca!!! Our hearts sank!! We felt cheated!! I have never heard this said on this forum before but lesson one is,
"YOU CANNOT JUDGE THE CONDITION OF THE OIL BY LOOKING AT THE DIPSTICK!!!"
So we drained the oil and changed the filter. We hooked up the rabbit ears and ran the engine. We ran it for about 2 hours. We would occasionally stop and check the oil level to see if it increased. It did not. My first question is
1. Is running the engine with rabbit ears, and checking the oil level a accurate test for water intrusion, or must the boat be tested in the water?
After further testing and inspection, we noticed that the outdrive tilt hydrulic pump reservoir was also contaminated with water???? It had evidence of overflowing and was full to the brim with moca colored gooey mess! This pump is located on deck level, not in the bilge. We started wondering if the boat had been submerged, or allowed to fill with water somehow? Wishfull thinking, but my second question is
2. Since there were no signs of rust inside the valve covers, and since the oil level did not change during our running tests, could this boat have taken on water by being submerged or flooded by rain? There were no visible "water lines" or stains that would confirm this. So far, the seller has refused to return our calls!
The starter motor/solenoid is acting up also,,,,probably rusty, but we have not inspected it yet.
We would love to think that we don't have a cracked block! What should be our next inspection proceedure? Any help would be appreciated!!
Chris