I went to look at a boat yesterday with the seller telling me it "runs perfect". Unfortuantely there was no way to water test it at the time. I took along my compression guage and a few other tools to help determine the condition of the engine and sterndrive.
Ok, so I get there and the guy has the water hose and muffs ready to go and asks if I want to hear it run. I said not yet, first I would like to do a visual inspection.
Open the dog house and,,, everything (I mean EVERYTHING) on the interior of the dog house has a very light film of oil on it. Not only an oil film but a dirty oil film due to it trapping dust for a long period of time.
I told the guy the engine had "issues" because the only way for that to happen is from excessive blow by that isn't being sucked into the carb. His reply, no way, it runs perfect.
Ok, pull the flame arrestor off and there is oil everywhere and the arrestor is fully clogged where the crakcase vent hose connects. He again asks if I want to hear it run and I say not yet, instead I want to remove the spark plugs and run a quick compression test.
Oh oh, guy gets agitated and finally says he won't allow me to do that and says I may damage something. (Pulling a spark plug is a big task in his world I guess. Or he KNOWS what the results are going to be.)
Long story short, he would not allow the test and I walked away knowing that this guy fully knows the engine is worn out and he is going to dump it on some unsuspecting buyer.
So, if your in the boat buying market, look for an oily film in the dog house. If you see it, run away and find another boat.
Ok, so I get there and the guy has the water hose and muffs ready to go and asks if I want to hear it run. I said not yet, first I would like to do a visual inspection.
Open the dog house and,,, everything (I mean EVERYTHING) on the interior of the dog house has a very light film of oil on it. Not only an oil film but a dirty oil film due to it trapping dust for a long period of time.
I told the guy the engine had "issues" because the only way for that to happen is from excessive blow by that isn't being sucked into the carb. His reply, no way, it runs perfect.
Ok, pull the flame arrestor off and there is oil everywhere and the arrestor is fully clogged where the crakcase vent hose connects. He again asks if I want to hear it run and I say not yet, instead I want to remove the spark plugs and run a quick compression test.
Oh oh, guy gets agitated and finally says he won't allow me to do that and says I may damage something. (Pulling a spark plug is a big task in his world I guess. Or he KNOWS what the results are going to be.)
Long story short, he would not allow the test and I walked away knowing that this guy fully knows the engine is worn out and he is going to dump it on some unsuspecting buyer.
So, if your in the boat buying market, look for an oily film in the dog house. If you see it, run away and find another boat.