Steal deal on damaged boat

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Strongman221

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I have a chance to buy a beautiful Searay for a great price. One problem though, the seller, who I know well, somehow wore a hole the size of a silver dollar in the front of the gear box at the bottom of the lower unit. He says it happened from bobbing in the sand while tied to a moring ball, and it does look possible. I put it in the water today and drove it, briefly, and it seemed fine. Can I weld a patch over the hole, and does the water that has been in there cause damage. I'd rather not spend thousands to fix it if I can help it.
 
emoney

emoney

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Re: Steal deal on damaged boat

If it's really in front of the gear box then, yes that's a problem. Lower units are sealed and meant to stay that way so the gear oil doesn't get water in it. I surprised it drove far with a hole in it. Might want to post a picture so we can see where its at. You can also check the LU fluid and see if there's water in it. There's a flat-head screw on the side both above and below the prop shaft marked "fill" or "vent" to access.

A used unit shouldn't be "thousands", btw.
 
Grub54891

Grub54891

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Re: Steal deal on damaged boat

So you drove it with a hole in the case? That means there was no oil in there either,driving it or just running it briefly had ruined any chance of that unit being saved. You need a complete lower and upper unit!
Grub
 
thumpar

thumpar

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Re: Steal deal on damaged boat

You should probably post what you have and pics would help. The boat brand doesn't matter.
 
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TilliamWe

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Re: Steal deal on damaged boat

A complete BRAND NEW replacement Alpha One drive is either $1400 or $1500 from Sterndrive Engineering, sold right here on iboats.

And while water will lubricate gears a bit, running it with a hole in the lower unit (which means it has or had VERY little oil in it) was a mistake.
 
thumpar

thumpar

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Re: Steal deal on damaged boat

It could be a Bravo and that would get spendy. Need more info on engine drive.
 
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TilliamWe

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Re: Steal deal on damaged boat

thumpar said:
It could be a Bravo and that would get spendy. Need more info on engine drive.
Click to expand...

True/ A Brand new Bravo 1 lower unit from SEI is $900, right here on iboats. But of course, you'd have to have the top checked out/rebuilt. WHich would be more $$$$$.
 
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Strongman221

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Re: Steal deal on damaged boat

IMG-20120818-00454.jpgIMG-20120818-00455.jpgStrong-20120819-00457.jpgStrong-20120819-00460.jpgStrong-20120819-00461.jpg

This is the boat- a 2004 SeaRay 185 sport, 4.3L V6, 73 hrs, spotless interior, motor, hull. Worth $5k with that kind of problem? It has an Alpha One sterndrive.
 
ktbarrentine

ktbarrentine

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Dec 12, 2011
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1,296
Re: Steal deal on damaged boat

Ouch! Go for the SEI replacement drive (whole enchilada). The drive on that boat is now junk. Still not a bad deal overall... (knock the price down a grand to cover the drive) nice looking boat.
 
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dollarten

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Jul 28, 2011
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Re: Steal deal on damaged boat

Strongman221 said:
View attachment 164666View attachment 164667View attachment 164668View attachment 164669View attachment 164670

This is the boat- a 2004 SeaRay 185 sport, 4.3L V6, 73 hrs, spotless interior, motor, hull. Worth $5k with that kind of problem? It has an Alpha One sterndrive.
Click to expand...
The price you mentioned would qualify as well bought . Before you change the bottom unit , take off the top cover on the upper drive and see if any water circulated in that area You will see corrosion on the top bearing race , if so replace the whole thing with an after market unit or Mercruiser , if you will
 
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