1989 VIP/ OMC Cobra 2.3

[Mcdaniel1991]

Hello all, I'm a new member here and a new (used) boat owner as of yesterday. We picked up this boat for $400 as the owner said the outdrive was bad. Well after I got it we took it to the lake and tested it and everything worked like it should but the gimble bearing was very noisy. So I pulled the drive off and sure enough the bearing is bad and the bellows have a huge hole in them.

So I ordered a rebuild kit from Sierra and a install tool from eBay. Hoping to get it back on the lake this weekend.

So now on to my dilemma, the floor has a few soft spots in it and I'm worried about pulling it out to replace and find rotten stringers. I'm pretty handy I'm.a wood worker but have never taken on replacing a floor. I found a video about just putting a 3/4" floor over top of the old floor but I'm also skeptical about that. Any suggestions?

 

[Mcdaniel1991]

[No message]

 

[Mcdaniel1991]

...

 

[Scott Danforth]

Do not just cover up rotten wood with another layer. If your floor is soft, your stringers and transom have long since rotted away.

 

[Mcdaniel1991]

That's my fear, that they are rotten. However the floor only has 2 soft spots so maybe I will get lucky.

My plan is to finish fixing the gimble bearing and bellows. Lake test it again and make sure everything works correctly then asses the floor and make a decision.

I know that it depends on certain things but is there a roundabout coSt of replacing the floor and stringers. Like I said I will be doing all the work myself.

 

[Mcdaniel1991]

Well I was getting it tuned up and when I started siphoning the oil out I find this.


I'm pretty bummed out now. Don't know what's causing it but my head just keeps thinking cracked block. The PO did the winterizing himself and even talked me through his process.

I'm thinking about building a pressure tester for the cooling system but that will only confirm a leak correct? I still won't know if it's had gaskets or cracked had our cracked block.

 

[Scott Danforth]

That's my fear, that they are rotten. However the floor only has 2 soft spots so maybe I will get lucky.

there is a 1 in a 100,,000,000,000,000 chance that your floor is rotten and nothing else is. however boats rot from the keel up, the first to rot is the transom, then the stringers, then the floor.

couple that with the milkshake oil you have, and you need to ask yourself. do you love the boat enough to put $5k into it?

 

[Speak]

Look at my restoration thread - you can rebuild the boat in the cheap if you do all the work yourself. But you have to be resourceful, and patiently work through all problems you uncover. I too had milky oil in the motor - I needed a cyl head. It's doable but do you want to put yourself thru this? In the end you will have a boat that you will know every inch of. And that's a cool feeling!

 

[jerryjerry05]

Change the oil and run it and see if it happens again.
The 2.3 was only made 4 years.
​The 2.3 it's exhaust manifold is hard to find and if you do it ain't cheap.
Pull the manifold and check the ports for water.
Any water on the plugs?

 

[Mcdaniel1991]

I was thinking about going up a hose the outdrive and pulling the plugs and turn the engine over and see if water comes out. But that won't tell me where it's leaking. Taking it to the lake this weekend and I'll see how bad the engine is taking on water.

Change the oil and run it and see if it happens again.
The 2.3 was only made 4 years.
​The 2.3 it's exhaust manifold is hard to find and if you do it ain't cheap.
Pull the manifold and check the ports for water.
Any water on the plugs?