new boat... hopfully minor issue

[RotaryRacer]

Re: new boat... hopfully minor issue

There is no oil. It is a two stroke PWC motor.

It looks like a 717 720 motor. You can pick up used ones for a few hundred bucks usually. You can also get a rebuilt one from SBT for $800 or so.

I would be interested to know how it got a crack in the block.

 

[jprice]

Re: new boat... hopfully minor issue

I would be interested to know how it got a crack in the block.

Believe me, I'd love to know that as well. Maybe it wasn't winterized properly, who knows.

All I know is it ran great during the test drive (or at least as far as I could tell). Running 45-50mph up and down the river, seemed like it was a champ.
Until I buy it and take it out on my own.... then suddenly it's a clunker.
I just don't get it.

Anyway, tomorrow I'll see if my JB-weld patch holds, or if I have to lay out $800-$1000 (plus installation) for a new engine.

...somebody please remind me why the hell I decided to buy a friggin boat???

 

[Adjuster]

Re: new boat... hopfully minor issue

Go to Harbor Freight and get yourself a handheld laser thermometer. Take readings on several positions of both engines and compare. Less than $20.00. Are you sure it is a crack and not a mark/seam from the original aluminum casting. My first guess would be blown gasket.

 

[jprice]

Re: new boat... hopfully minor issue

Are you sure it is a crack and not a mark/seam from the original aluminum casting. My first guess would be blown gasket.

I wish it was, but it's definitely a crack in the block... plain as day.
The only good news in this whole story is that there is no overheat issue (as far as I can tell). When the alarm went off during the flush, I touched the engine and exhaust, and they were barely warm.

For about a minute I though I was in good shape until I saw water shooting out the side of the block.

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: new boat... hopfully minor issue

...somebody please remind me why the hell I decided to buy a friggin boat???

Because of the picture in your avatar. I assume that is your kid having a blast on the boat.

 

[jprice]

Re: new boat... hopfully minor issue

Because of the picture in your avatar. I assume that is your kid having a blast on the boat.

Yes it is. That pic is actually from the test drive. I so desperately want to get back there. I just don't want to lose the shirt off my back doing it...

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: new boat... hopfully minor issue

I so desperately want to get back there. I just don't want to lose the shirt off my back doing it...

I hear you there. I have been boatless all year so far.

 

[indy440]

Re: new boat... hopfully minor issue

i wonder if the guy had a JB weld patch on it before and it fell off somehow...

but im still not sure why the overheat alarm was going off... maybe a coincidence and a broken sensor? Maybe there was enough water leaking through the crack that it got too hot where ever the temperature sensor is?

another thought, are you sure its the alarm for overheat going off? I think sometimes they use the same buzzer for low 2-stroke oil level alarm...

either way you need to fix that crack, I can't see the picture because it must be blocked here at work or something so im not sure exactly where it is. If its just the waterjacket on one cylinder that is cracked I'll bet you could fix it without replacing the cylinder... I would braze it for you if you were local...

 

[jprice]

Re: new boat... hopfully minor issue

Didn't seem like there was any jbweld, or any kind of patch there previously. All the original engine paint is clean and intact. I'm sure there would be some indication of a previous patch.
Wish there was a patch on there before, because maybe then I would have noticed it during the initial inspection before i bought it.

I cleaned it up, v-grooved it with a dremel, and put the jb-weld on it last night. It's cured now, but I didn't have a chance to test it today.
It's supposed to rain all day tomorrow, but I'm still going to pull it into the driveway and give it another flush test.
Rain or not... I just gotta know.

 

[Maclin]

Re: new boat... hopfully minor issue

Unfortunately we all find out much too soon why the used toy we bought was for sale!