Pre purchase questions

75torino

Member
Sep 25, 2011
45
Brogue Pa
Boat Info
1989 340 Sport Fisherman 1982 270 Sea Ray Sundancer 330 TRS drive
Engines
Twin FWC 454 Mercruisers
Hi I hope this finds everyone well My brother is in the process of purchasing a 1989 340 Sea Ray Sundancer The boat itself is in fine condition just needs some cosmetics My question concerns the engines 454 fresh water cooled mercruisers with V drives These engines have 1000 hours on them On average what is the life of this engine Thanks Conard
 
We have 2950 hours on both of ours. Do not burn oil. Boat goes Just as fast it always went. Have met people who replace them at 1500 hours. If you look on the site you will find maintenance is key for any boat item lasting a long time.
 
We just turned over 1100 on ours. Dido on the preventative maintenance is the key. See if you can get service records to be sure they were maintained properly.
 
I asked about the records but he did not have any He does his own maintenance as he is a mechanic I check all fluids and they were all clean The bilge was well kept and neat I have a 340 Sport Fisherman but my boat only has 350 hours on it Thanks to all !!!!
 
Get a thorough mechanical inspection from a reputable mechanic. And even if he did his own maintenance, did he not keep a record of what he did? I always make a note of when I do any DIY maintenance for my peace of mind, and resale. Ask him how often he changed the oil at least. Should be at least once a year. You'll want to get oil samples and have them sent off to a lab and checked for water. A surveyor can do that for you. Mechanical inspection and thorough survey are going to be key.
 
A lot can be told from compression tests done by a good mechanic.

Bennett

I agree. Total hours is less of an indicator of health of the motors than a good inspection and compression test by a mechanic that knows what they’re doing.
 
Clean oil is an indication of just changed. It is no indication of when the previous change was made. Ask to see the log book. If no mention of maintenance ask why. It takes me 4 hours to change the oil. I figure if I am going to spend 4 hours I should write it down.
 
Don’t forget that an oil analysis will give you some indication of the health of the engines too.
It would pay to do the transmission fluid analysis too and generator oil if the boat has a genny.
 

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