first time owner of any kind of boat

Just bought a 1994 jet fling for $2000. put it on the water and it smoked like a BBQ. Took it to a shop and he said smoking is normal since it has been unused for 4 months. Previous owner said he ran 32/1 in both tanks premixed. Mechanic said it could cost 2500 to 3500 for new engine depending what is wrong. Besides the service fee of $90 to check it out I would love for it to be a simple fix for me and my 9 year old son to enjoy without being stranded. He suggested I may have to cut my losses before beginning repairs. What a disappointment. I have worked on Ford auto engines before, but this is Japanese to me. I am lost on what to do or where to turn for help. What a horrible first time experience this has been for me and my son. Can anyone help or guide me in the right direction?

Re: first time owner of any kind of boat

I just bought a 1997 Four Winns Fling. I don't know much about your situation but I would say jumping to buying a new engine might be much. There are no NEW engines, rebuilt is about $2500 but you can rebuild it yourself for well under $1000 if you have the knowledge.

1.Where is the smoke coming from? (Engine compartment, exhuast?)
2. Is it white/blue smoke?
3. Does the boat run OK? It is normal for a 2-stroke to smoke, especially when you first start it up or if you are running heavy oil. The manual calls for 50:1 on the oil mix, so 16oz per 6 gallons. Mine has a 12 gallon tank so I put 32oz of oil mixed in my tank.
4. Do you have a engine compression checker? I would check the compression on all 4 cyls.

I have only had the chance of running my boat three times. Once for the test drive, twice for some quick "get to know her" test runs. Then the worst happened, it overheated due to the inline water filter jar coming off without me knowing it. Without re-telling my story, you can read my progress at the below forum. I beleive I see light at the end of the tunnel, but this project has been more of a one step forward two steps back kind of deal.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=489522&highlight=fling

Re: first time owner of any kind of boat

White smoke came out the back and eventually built up in the engine compartment. The mechanic/shop owner said his compression test came back 30% on two of the tests and it would cost me 700 just to tear it down and see if there were any other problems. He said by the number of engines he has built it looks to be 3000 plus and that was a low estimate. I am leaning more towards rebuilding it it just so happens this is no Ford 302 or 351 Cleveland that I could do myself. I am not sure if I am being taken for a ride since the mechanic had several other nicer and high performance boats in his warehouse that seem to be precedent over my small boat. I love this boat and have all the time to slowly buy here and there to slowly get it on the water so me and my son can enjoy it. I am just unsure where to begin or start. I cant even find a website to order from or get research on this Fling. He told me it would be better to sell it for a loss and move on. I just dont give up that easy. If you can advise me on "help" I would appreciate it. By the way, do you premix in both tanks or keep the fluids in two different tanks and let it mix itself as it hits the engine? Thank you for replying. I am pretty lost on this alien engine.

Re: first time owner of any kind of boat

It's not hard to work on this engine once you can diagnose what is wrong with it. There is a website you can go to to order a service repair manual for this boat, they are also on eBay... search "OMC Turbojet 115 Service Manual". They range from 45-$70 but they are worth every penny, I wouldn't touch the engine until you have it.

I also have a "parts manual" with exploded views of parts of the engine. Private Message me your address (if you like) and I will mail you one... I have 2 copies I got from BRP (BRP or Bombardier bought out OMC years back when they went bankrupt and they make Johnson/Evinrude, Sea-Doo, Can-Am, etc... I work for a logistics company and we supply parts to them so that has been a big help)

With the service manual, do a compression test yourself. Very easy process and the testers are about $20-$30 at any local NAPA/Autozone type store. They come with instructions, you don't want your compression to be more than 15% different between the cylinders. If it is then (or if it is very low, optimal is around 120psi) you may have ring issues, head gasket issues, etc.... but all are fixable if you are ready to put in the work.

If the engine is running and working, but just has issues I wouldn't say cut your losses and sell it. $2000 isn't bad for that, it books for around $3200 on NADA.

Does it have an inline water filter? You can easily see if it does, in the engine compartment to your left mounted to the transom will be a filter with a jar tightended around it. If you don't have one, get one! This is your best defense to clogging your water coolant lines in the engine which can easily cause an over heat. You don't want to be where I am at right now.

I will do the best I can to help but right now I would get the service manual, compression tester (or borrow one) and the parts manual with exploded diagrams. This will help you familiarzie yourself with the engine, how it works, how the cooling lines work, everything and then also allow us to see where your engine readings stand so we know where to start. Understand, I am no expert... I have just spent a lot of time researching and working on this engine.

Re: first time owner of any kind of boat

Well...I will be getting the compression tester tomorrow and looking for the service manual online ASAP. I'll check the filter as well. Fill you in afterwards on the results. private message sent

Re: first time owner of any kind of boat

Bought a manual on ebay for $62. Also bought a compression tester and tested the cylinders. 3 came back at 125 and the fourth at 123. I will wait for the manual to proceed any further. Manual should arrive in 4 days.

Re: first time owner of any kind of boat

Good, private message me when you make a post back to this so I can be sure to check back. If you don't want to wait on the parts manual that I am sending, the electronic version is at the below link:

http://www.boats.net/parts/search/OMC/TurboJet/1996/115TJEDB/parts.html