1ST boat, need help to get it in the water.

Joined
Apr 3, 2012
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14
Just purchased my first boat yesterday, a 1983 bayliner capri cx225 with a 5.0 volvo pena drive. The boat is very rough cosmeticaly, but the drive seems to be in good working order. Yeah, what am I saying I have no idea what to look at. I want to check seals, and make sure the drive is in order, then I will take it out a time or two before I begin tearing it apart to take care of the cosmetic issues. Can anyone explain some of the general maintence items I should check out before getting it wet? Any and all help is appreciated, bayliner bashing unwanted.
 

BonairII

Commander
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Jun 7, 2011
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2,727
Re: 1ST boat, need help to get it in the water.

I don't have any experience with I/Os, but the water pump is the first thing to check and/or replace. Do not even fire the motor up until you are sure you have good water pumping.
You'll need muffs or a large container filled with water that is high enough to submerge the intake screens.
 

captmello

Captain
Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Messages
3,826
Re: 1ST boat, need help to get it in the water.

Welcome!

Congrats on the new boat.

If you do not have any history regarding the past maintenence, I would suggest the following:

New impeller (as stated above)-mounted to the front of the harmonic balancer
new ujoint bellows-http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=309095.
when changing the bellows, you can check the ujoints and PDS bearings
Complete tune up


I'd hate to have you break down on your first voyage.

Pick up some muffs for running on land and run the engine a bit to get an idea of how it runs. Don't rev the engine up too high however without any load. 2000 rpm max.

You'll need to identify your engine model and outdrive model to get parts. If the engine is a 5.0 GM sbc w/4barrel carb, then the model would most likely be an AQ225 and your outdrive is a 280 or 270...If you're still unsure, post some pics.

Since the boat is old, don't be in too big a hurry to get on the water. If something is wrong, you could end up with a much larger repair by rushing into it.
 
Joined
Apr 3, 2012
Messages
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Re: 1ST boat, need help to get it in the water.

I don't have any experience with I/Os, but the water pump is the first thing to check and/or replace. Do not even fire the motor up until you are sure you have good water pumping.
You'll need muffs or a large container filled with water that is high enough to submerge the intake screens.

Thanks for the suggestion, I have already started looking over all of the hoses and general engine things but I guess I would have over loooked that.
 
Joined
Apr 3, 2012
Messages
14
Re: 1ST boat, need help to get it in the water.

Welcome!

Congrats on the new boat.

If you do not have any history regarding the past maintenence, I would suggest the following:

New impeller (as stated above)-mounted to the front of the harmonic balancer
new ujoint bellows-http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=309095.
when changing the bellows, you can check the ujoints and PDS bearings
Complete tune up


I'd hate to have you break down on your first voyage.

Pick up some muffs for running on land and run the engine a bit to get an idea of how it runs. Don't rev the engine up too high however without any load. 2000 rpm max.

You'll need to identify your engine model and outdrive model to get parts. If the engine is a 5.0 GM sbc w/4barrel carb, then the model would most likely be an AQ225 and your outdrive is a 280 or 270...If you're still unsure, post some pics.

Since the boat is old, don't be in too big a hurry to get on the water. If something is wrong, you could end up with a much larger repair by rushing into it.

Thank you, I have no plans to hurry and get into the water. Though I do want to hurry and get it all put together, and gone thru so I can be reasonably sure it won't break down on me for atleast the first time out.
 

Mullin

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 12, 2011
Messages
256
Re: 1ST boat, need help to get it in the water.

Have you run it at all yet?

First order of business is to make sure the motor is worthy of throwing money at. Get some muffs and a garden hose so you can get it up to running temp. Then, do a compression test. Water can freeze and crack blocks and heads alike. Maybe you are in Florida or somewhere it doesn't get that cold, but it is still a good place to start and the compression tester is cheap on amazon.

General maintenance:

Change the oil. Both motor and outdrive. Look for signs of metal debris and water too. This should normally be done every fall.
Charge the battery.
Check to see if you have a fuel filter/ water seperator. Yes, then replace the filter and check the old one for water. No, then add one.
Change the impeller (as stated before)

Tune up:
-change the plugs, at least pull them and look at their condition. You can see a lot of how the motor is running by the condition of the plugs.
-inspect the plug wires for cracks and wear
-inspect the cap and rotor for excessive wear
-points and condenser should be changed every two years, you will need a dwell meter.
-check timing

Don't forget your safety gear like a horn, fire extinguisher, an oar, and life jackets. Starting fluid can be handy too.
 

bnicov

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 25, 2009
Messages
348
Re: 1ST boat, need help to get it in the water.

Change the engine oil and oil filter
Change the fuel filter
Change Impeller
Inspect all hoses
Inspect manifolds
Inspect spark plugs and wires and replace if necessary
Inspect distributor cap and rotor and replace if necessary

Outdrive
Remove outdrive and check u-joints
Change outdrive oil and inspect old oil for metal debris and water intrusion
Align engine
Change bellows
Replace outdrive

Add fresh fuel and fire it up with muffs on supplying fresh water
Make any adjustments to carburetor if necessary
Check ignition timing
Splash and go!!
 

TyeeMan

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
849
Re: 1ST boat, need help to get it in the water.

Caution on running the boat on muffs. I learned this this year. My boat is a 95 Lund with the Volvo DP-C drive, , the drive is very lite grey in color, exhaust out the anti ventilation (cavitation) plate, probably like yours. Any way, when you put the muffs on and turn the water on, look for a stream of water coming out of a hole about 1/2" in diameter located very low and to the front of the bullet or gear case. If you see that water stream, plug it up!! I neglected to do that and I think that was part of my water pump shelling out. It couldn't get enough water to the pump so the impeller smoked.

Just thought I'd pass that on . . . . Good Luck!
 

Don S

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Messages
62,321
Re: 1ST boat, need help to get it in the water.

Outdrive
Remove outdrive and check u-joints
Change outdrive oil and inspect old oil for metal debris and water intrusion
Align engine
Change bellows
Replace outdrive

Just a note to say you do not remove the drive on an 83 model, and you do not do any alignments.
Assuming he has a 275, 280, or 285 drive he only needs to remove the upper gear box to replace the bellows.
 

billbayliner

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 30, 2006
Messages
553
Re: 1ST boat, need help to get it in the water.

This might be a 275 drive.
Good suggestions for the sea water pump impeller, checking exhaust risers, fuel filter, timing, bellows, ujoints, etc.
You should replace the water neck fitting when you have the transmission off to do the bellows and u-joints. This is a wear item that needs to be replaced every several years.
These corrode and will cause a suction leak.


Look at the ring anode and the anode on the transom shield. They might need to be changed too.

Ditto Don S. No need to pull the whole drive, just the top gear box [aka transmission] and there is no engine alignment required once after initial engine installation on this type of drive.
Two orings for the trans and one each for dip stick and drain plug, and a new gasket for the oil fill plug.
That's four orings and one gasket.
While the drive oil is drained do a pressure and vacuum leak down test. The shift unit piston seal probably needs to be changed. If it is black or brown it's an old one.

The 280 s/p drive uses engine oil. 30W if in cold water and some use 40W if in warm Florida water.

Checking the PDS bearings is almost impossible without removing the PDS since this connects to the engine. You will be able to tell if they are extremely bad, but not if border line bad!
Best to assume that they need replacement and bite the bullet. If the rear bearing goes, you might have some pretty good damage here.
PDS is #65 here.
8067_big.png

When doing timing, look at your OEM timing specs and check the advance at 3,000 rpm to make sure it's advancing the right amount. IOW, check more than just initial timing advance.
 

bnicov

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 25, 2009
Messages
348
Re: 1ST boat, need help to get it in the water.

Just a note to say you do not remove the drive on an 83 model, and you do not do any alignments.
Assuming he has a 275, 280, or 285 drive he only needs to remove the upper gear box to replace the bellows.

And our resident VP guru has been heard from. Thanks for the correction Don, I'm just going off of what I'd do for mine (SX-M).
 
Joined
Apr 3, 2012
Messages
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Re: 1ST boat, need help to get it in the water.

PICT0117.JPGPICT0118.JPGPICT0119.JPGPICT0121.JPGPICT0123.JPGThank you everyone! I grately appreciate all the help. Over the weekend I took to looking it all over and snaped a few photos for reference. I've been told that it was a 280 as it was replaced a little over a year ago, and it still has sharpy markings on it saying so. as far as the boat goes, I bought it as a learning tool and for a little fun. I know its ugly and ruff, but for what I paid I basicaly bought a good trailer and got a free boat with it. This way if I attempt to fix something and it turns out ugly I'm not really out anything and gained in experence. So brace yourselfs for the photos.
 
Joined
Apr 3, 2012
Messages
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Re: 1ST boat, need help to get it in the water.

Ok so new questions, I was tinkering around a bit this weekend and discovered that the wiring under the dash is a cobbled up mess and the fuses have a habbit of self ejecting. So the question is does anyone know an effective way of upgrading to a blade style fuse holder? I was thinking of getting a weather proof wiring set up from painless but am not sure how many circuits and what amperage needed or how to begin figuring it out. any better ideas would be appreciated, last thing I need it to be trying to replace a circuit with wet hands while boating. Also the gages have been replaced with after market and are mostly shot, the only two that still have needles are the speedo and tach. Any recomendations for cheep replacements?
 

captmello

Captain
Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Messages
3,826
Re: 1ST boat, need help to get it in the water.

before redoing the wiring and the gauges, I would continue to explore the drivetrain to make sure it is in usable condition.

Have you run the engine yet? A compression test will give you a good idea of the engine condition, but needs to be done correctly.

I would pull the upper gear box as well to get a visual on the ujoints and PDS bearings as metioned earlier. Any play in the bearings is a sign they are bad and should be replaced before they cause more damage. Pulling the engine is required to replace the bearings.

Here is a link regarding pulling the upper gear box.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=309095
 
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