305 Volvo penta will not turn over help

[Bushidomma]

Hi I'm new to the forum and boats I'm looking at buying a 1988 imperial 21ft cuddy. The problem is the owner said it will not turn over when you try to start it. He said it was running good then at the end of the day he loaded up went home. Then the next time he tried to start it it would not turn over. Are there any ideas on what this could be. All help is greatly appreciated

 

[Don S]

Re: 305 Volvo penta will not turn over help

Could be anything from a loose wire, to an engine with water rusted cylinders and needing a new engine.
Since you don't own it, keep looking. If the owner can't or hasn't tried to fix it, you can bet it's an expensive reason.

 

[etracer68]

Re: 305 Volvo penta will not turn over help

When you say, "it wont turn over", do you mean the starter isnt turning the motor, or, the starter is spinning the motor over, and it wont fire?

 

[Bushidomma]

Re: 305 Volvo penta will not turn over help

I don't know if the starter is turning the motor or not, all the guy said was it just won't crank over, and he's moving and doesn't have the need for a boat anymore he is asking 500 for it and trailer, do you think this would be a good price? And worth trying to fix?

 

[billbayliner]

Re: 305 Volvo penta will not turn over help

If the boat would meet your needs, it's probably worth looking into.
You'll want to do a little more investigation, but be careful if you use the front balancer bolt to roll the engine over. Don't risk stripping or breaking this bolt. Better yet use a strap wrench over the balancer.
With this drive, if the upper drive is rusted badly and frozen, that can also prevent an engine from turning over.
See if the drive oil is up to the correct level and clean.
Spinning the prop shaft may not tell you anything about the upper if the lower isn't frozen up.

 

[Bushidomma]

Re: 305 Volvo penta will not turn over help

hey everyone i just talked to the owner and he said the motors not locked up, i asked him what he thinks is wrong with it and he said he thinks it needs a shimm for the starter, does this sound right? im going to look at it tomorrow so what do i need to check for? thanks for the help

 

[Don S]

Re: 305 Volvo penta will not turn over help

Personally, trusting what a seller says is wrong is not a good idea.
He wants your money, and probably has no clue what the problem is or if the engine is locked up or not.

NEVER believe what the seller says. You will learn that soon.

 

[Bushidomma]

Re: 305 Volvo penta will not turn over help

i completely agree, i just wanted to state what he said to see if that sounded right since im new to boats except for owning a pontoon a few years ago, thanks for the reply

 

[Black as]

Re: 305 Volvo penta will not turn over help

i completely agree, i just wanted to state what he said to see if that sounded right since im new to boats except for owning a pontoon a few years ago, thanks for the reply

My Suggestion is take someone with you that is mechanical minded and knows boats or it will cost you in the long run

And what Don Said ......................NEVER believe what the seller says

 

[Maclin]

Re: 305 Volvo penta will not turn over help

This...

"running good then at the end of the day he loaded up went home.............next time he tried to start it it would not turn over"

does not jive with "the starter needs a shim", just sayin'.

A starter shim will not just wear out or disappear, so if it truly ran good the last time (whenever that was!) then something happened later that he is not telling you, just my opinion.

Did they say when that last time was? End of last season? or years ago...! makes a difference.

It may not be a locked up engine but they are definitely leaving some of the story out.

As suggested, definitely have someone knowledgeable with you if you decide to check it out. Get the seller to talk more and see if more "bad" comes out, or if they contradict themselves. If other family members come around then ask them how much fun it was until it had problems, that kind of thing. Just stay casual, no need to call them out on it right then and there if something does not add up, but the more info you have the better for you.

Some sellers know how bad it is but act dumb and put together some amorphous mashup of a story regarding what they think it needs, usually not related to what is wrong. Then when called out on it the tune changes to "Oh Wow, I had no idea (thanks for taking it off my hands)." I guess it is easy for them to live with you thinking they are just dumb versus you knowing they are a liar.

 

[kevincave]

Re: 305 Volvo penta will not turn over help

i bought one like that, ran and parked it..2000$ and 6 mo later it turned over, even started....

 

[bnicov]

Re: 305 Volvo penta will not turn over help

For $500, the trailer alone is worth it. If you are mechanically inclined, you could give it a go. It could be something simple or it could need a new engine, I'm sure you can find something that runs halfway decent at the local scrapyard if that's the case. If you have to pay someone to do the work, I'd say leave it alone and find a boat that runs because boats can get expensive real fast.