OFFICIAL - 450DA Owner's Thread****

We had the same nagging smell on our 450, When we changed the hoses to the new Trident it was gone. I think there was 85' total in the boat, The wife and I done it in 2 weekends.There are support clamps in some hard to get to places but it can be done. We took a heat gun to warm it for making bends and getting it on fittings.If you are going to keep the boat it is well worth the effort. We took our waste tanks out and went to a car wash and they cleaned up like new. Did get some looks though LOL!! Good Luck!!
Thanks for replying. How did you remove the hose from the mid cabin head to the vacuum pump under the floor in the galley? It appears to have support clamps under the shower.
 
I am looking at a 1996 460DA with the CAT 3116 engines with 1600 hours. The boat was originally salt water but has been in freshwater in Missouri for a few years. I would keep the boat in MO. I'm fairly uneducated and unfamiliar with a boat this size and the Sea Ray brand. I have read through this thread and learned many things already.

I talked to a Cat mechanic and he said that the 3116 should be good for well over 1600 hours, is there anything in I should be worried about or check on? That specific mechanic isn't super familiar with the unique marine setup so he guided me to consult with someone who has more experience with the marine setup.
Besides having the hull surveyed, what other boxes should I check before agreeing on the purchase?
Any and all information is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.
 
Caterpillar engines are very forgiving, however, they do require some regular maintenance. If that maintenance isn't done on time, you can expect to have to catch up on the deferred maintenance at some point. Those items begin to catch up with the boat at around 15 to 20 years.

Here is a list:

Renew seawater inlet hoses - $500
replace seawater pumps - $2000
Replace dripless shaft seals- $2500 (includes a haul out)
Remove, clean and repaint after coolers - $2600 (includes replacing all the hoses located under the after coolers)
Replace all sacrificial zincs- $350 (do hull zincs at the next haul out)
Reset engine overheads (reset injector timing and adjust valves)- $1200
Replace transmission oil coolers- $750
Clean the heat exchangers- $1800



I own this same boat and I do the maintenance according to Caterpillar's maintenance schedule when it is due and I never miss a scheduled maintenance hit, so I know what the costs are. If you buy this boat, plan on bringing the maintenance current then keep up with Cat's schedule in the future. If you do, the future maintenance is easy to handle and reasonable to budget for.

Caterpillar furnishes dealers with a chart of engine longevity that showman unusually short service life because it is based on running the engines at 85% power settings all day every day. Recreational boats are not run that way, for example, where we are we can't even get the boat on plane until we are clear of harbor entrances and other traffic in channels approaching the Gulf of Mexico. We also find the cruising speeds are far more comfortable at 78-80% power. I have about 1400 hours my engines and the oil samples come back every year like the engines are new. Also, based on local experience here, the 1600 hour engine life is extremely conservative. A friend of mine owns a 45 ft charter fishing boat and he repowered the boat with new 350hp 3116's in 1997. I saw him over the winter and he had 16,000 (thousand; not hundred!) hours on both engines and had only replaced one fuel pump, a few alternators and a few injectors, and had only lost 1/2 day of fishing in 20+ years, and he goes out every day from March to December and commercial fishes all winter going out on 1-2 week trips, weather permitting, all winter.

Hope that helps...........
 
The a/c strainer on a 450da is 3/4”.
Frank, got down to the boat today, and noted the Perko Strainer is for the gen set, mounted right next to the port engine strainer. I didn’t have anything to properly measure, do you or anyone else know the pipe size measurement for this one so I can order the cover gasket for it? May not get down to boat again for a little while. I looked but couldn’t find identifiable numbers on it.
 
Thanks for replying. How did you remove the hose from the mid cabin head to the vacuum pump under the floor in the galley? It appears to have support clamps under the shower.
best I remember I had the Vac generator out and i could reach everything from laying under the floor. There are some clamps after the pump on the port side in the rear berth, When you pull up the cushions there is a 12" space in the cut out,mine had the radio amps mounted on it. Just lift it up and there they are.
 
Tried fixing the motorized port side sofa today. At the end of its extension it would lean over. Found a few screws that were loose and tried it again. Same issue other side (forward) end of the sofa. Never thought to remove the cushion there. Pulled it up and found a small treasure of goods! Most importantly is this never been opened blender for the counter unit! Along with a bunch of canvas to cover the deck hatches... all of which do not appear to been touched in nearly 20 years!
upload_2020-6-16_17-21-0.jpeg
 

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Tried fixing the motorized port side sofa today. At the end of its extension it would lean over. Found a few screws that were loose and tried it again. Same issue other side (forward) end of the sofa. Never thought to remove the cushion there. Pulled it up and found a small treasure of goods! Most importantly is this never been opened blender for the counter unit! Along with a bunch of canvas to cover the deck hatches... all of which do not appear to been touched in nearly 20 years!View attachment 86615

Excellent find. I can almost taste the Mudslides.
 
So CAT in their infinite wisdom now sells our belts in a two-pack. We have two belts on our engines the smaller belt is sold individually #036-6775 so if doing both engines you'll need two. The other belt is a 2-pack #1S-1193 so just buy one of these (2 belts included). CAT 3126.
 
I’m cannot find the original post. I need new rubber windshield gaskets. While doing that I figured I would reseal the screws.
1. What is the process?
2. What size gasket do I need? I measured I need to purchase 39 feet.
thanks
 
I’m cannot find the original post. I need new rubber windshield gaskets. While doing that I figured I would reseal the screws.
1. What is the process?
2. What size gasket do I need? I measured I need to purchase 39 feet.
thanks



Almost........

Just be sure you do only one screw at the time. Removing more than one can let the windshield frame flex and break the seal to the deck. The only way the windshield can leak is thru the screw holes so remove them one at a time, fill the screw hole with sealer then reinsert and tighten the screw, but do every other screw, then do it again sealing the screws you didn’t do on the first pass.
Frank

To 450da@yahoogroups.com
I re-sealed the windshield screws yesterday & the foam gasket covering the screws was quite brittle and falling apart. Fisheries is an hour drive but there is a West Marine 10 minutes away... Anyway WM price matched Fisheries and it went from $59 to $20....

https://www.fisheriessupply.com/taco-marine-tco-v30-0750b8-1-v30-0750b8-1
 
Almost........

Just be sure you do only one screw at the time. Removing more than one can let the windshield frame flex and break the seal to the deck. The only way the windshield can leak is thru the screw holes so remove them one at a time, fill the screw hole with sealer then reinsert and tighten the screw, but do every other screw, then do it again sealing the screws you didn’t do on the first pass.
Frank

To 450da@yahoogroups.com
I re-sealed the windshield screws yesterday & the foam gasket covering the screws was quite brittle and falling apart. Fisheries is an hour drive but there is a West Marine 10 minutes away... Anyway WM price matched Fisheries and it went from $59 to $20....

https://www.fisheriessupply.com/taco-marine-tco-v30-0750b8-1-v30-0750b8-1
Is that the foam gasket or rubber? Rubber is superior?
 
Is that the foam gasket or rubber? Rubber is superior?

It's foam because it needs to be compressed to get in there and then it expands to keep water out. It will shrink years down the road so keep your leftovers to fill the gap.
 
Just threw the belt on my Koehler generator. Does anyone know the part number and a cross reference for a place like Napa?
 
Good morning
I’m thinking in the next few months on purchasing one. I read the thread several times and have a few questions
What are the differences between the 95 and 98 model. Beside the galley flipped and the power seats? also is there an hour meter in the engine room. One 95 I looked at the owner told me when the did the survey they found an hour gauge in the er that was less than the tach.
im looking at another 95 with 3126 and it has digital tachs with a. Hour gauge of 400. They are guessing that the hours around a 1000. They sold the boat in 2004 with 400
 
The floor plan was changed in early 1997 galley to port to galley to stbd to accommodate adding a washer dryer combo (the wrinkle-master). This also required the change from stand alone freezer and refrigerator both 6.7 cu ft. The galley to port layout is a much larger and more utilitarian layout.

Sea Ray used Teleflex racha in the 450da and they proved to be flakey and not repairable first a reasonable fee. Most 450 owners replaced the Tefeflex tachs with Aetna Engineering Digital tachs and owners who cared about preserving their boat’s history saved the OEM tachs to be able to prove total engine hours. My boat is a ‘96 model, i have replaced the OEM tachs twice and I have other sets of OEM tachs showing actual hours, plus you can see both tach changes, when and the engines hours, when the Aetna were installed in my maintenance record. Without a record of the tach changes, dated oil sample results or a work order for the tach change, you are going to have to believe the seller or brokers Guess at the engine hours.

engine hour is important on marine Diesel engines. There are several critical maintenance requirements below 1000- 1200 hours So with just a gusss at engine hours, you may have to go back and to the 250 hr, the 1000 he plus a coolant change.

Finally, it is a mistake to start shopping for complex boats like the 450da By beginning at the cheapest boats listed on yacht world. Instead, look for the nicest, cleanest boats with a service record.
 

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