Buyer Beware !!

N

norriscathy

New Member
Jan 21, 2013
60
east texas
Boat Info
boatless
Engines
boatless
Every time I get close a new snake jumps up !! This time a survey reveled that a "great" gas 390 EC had raw water cooling. This "freshwater" boat has been setting in salt water the last year and a half. I thought that surely every boat this size would have a closed system. Is there any way to tell how much internal damage has been done to the engine from corrosion ? Any idea how much it would cost to install a closed fresh water system? Thanks a ton for your help; this is really getting to be hard work. Norris
 
The problems one has to worry about with sea water cooled engines in salt water are simple.......riser corrosion/rust- not from the cooling side but from being exposed to salt air in the exhaust system 24/7/365. Even then, risers should last 5 years in salt water. Removing risers and checking them is a simple easy task. The more serious issue is the rust that accumulates in the block skirts as rust particles settle out of the cooling water in the block. When the accumulation adds up, the engine won't cool and will run hot because water cannot circulate in the lower part of the engine block. I had 7.4's in a sea water cooled 390EC and ran her 9 years and was just beginning to see the rust accumulation. You can pull the block drain plugs and run a wire down into the skirt to feel any accumulation.

For me, this wouldn't be a deal breaker, just a point of negotiation............
 
The key statement in this post was freshwater. I would venture to say during the production of the 390s that the majority of the boats delivered to freshwater were raw water cooled. Mine is and is going on 19 years, no signs of any problems and the risers and manifolds look brand new.
 
fwebster said:
The problems one has to worry about with sea water cooled engines in salt water are simple.......riser corrosion/rust- not from the cooling side but from being exposed to salt air in the exhaust system 24/7/365. Even then, risers should last 5 years in salt water. Removing risers and checking them is a simple easy task. The more serious issue is the rust that accumulates in the block skirts as rust particles settle out of the cooling water in the block. When the accumulation adds up, the engine won't cool and will run hot because water cannot circulate in the lower part of the engine block. I had 7.4's in a sea water cooled 390EC and ran her 9 years and was just beginning to see the rust accumulation. You can pull the block drain plugs and run a wire down into the skirt to feel any accumulation.

For me, this wouldn't be a deal breaker, just a point of negotiation............
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Thanks Frank; as usual you are a big help. The boat is supposed to have been in fresh water her whole life except for the last 18 months. Any guess what it would cost to install a closed system ? Since I have had to buy a new block in the past,I am just as concerned about winterizing as I am rust . Norris
 
norriscathy said:
Thanks Frank; as usual you are a big help. The boat is supposed to have been in fresh water her whole life except for the last 18 months. Any guess what it would cost to install a closed system ? Since I have had to buy a new block in the past,I am just as concerned about winterizing as I am rust . Norris
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From what I understand once an engine has been exposed to saltwater,It is not recommended to install a closed system-that rust Frank has mentioned will clog the heat exchanger
That said .... a raw water cooled engine in salt water serviced on schedule (changing manifolds every 5 years) should last 15-20 years
That would not be a concern for me -just get a price for all new manifolds and make it part of your deal
 
The makers of aftermarket closed cooling systems generally say you have a narrow window of salt water exposure to work with if you are going to convert. I think it is something like 12 months or less. However if you are going to convert an engine, you can run a rust converter thru the cooling to help stop the rust flaking off.

If this were my project, I wouldn't spend the $2-$4K for closed cooling if the boat were going to be kept in fresh water. I'd have the risers pulled and checked and the gaskets replaced and move forward. Winterizing can't be difficult because there are literally thousands of inland boaters with sea water cooled engines who do it every year.
 
fwebster said:
The makers of aftermarket closed cooling systems generally say you have a narrow window of salt water exposure to work with if you are going to convert. I think it is something like 12 months or less. However if you are going to convert an engine, you can run a rust converter thru the cooling to help stop the rust flaking off.

If this were my project, I wouldn't spend the $2-$4K for closed cooling if the boat were going to be kept in fresh water. I'd have the risers pulled and checked and the gaskets replaced and move forward. Winterizing can't be difficult because there are literally thousands of inland boaters with sea water cooled engines who do it every year.
Click to expand...

I am one of those that froze and cracked a block. In this area you can winterize your boat; have a week or two of 75-80 degree days in late winter. Of course you then have to take the boat out; then it drops to the low 20's for a week. This can happen several times during the winter and you have to re-winterize each time. That 210HP block I had to replace wasn't cheap. Norris
 
norriscathy said:
I am one of those that froze and cracked a block. In this area you can winterize your boat; have a week or two of 75-80 degree days in late winter. Of course you then have to take the boat out; then it drops to the low 20's for a week. This can happen several times during the winter and you have to re-winterize each time. That 210HP block I had to replace wasn't cheap. Norris
Click to expand...

If you keep the boat in the water over the winter use bilge heaters. No winterization costs.
 
And what do you do if there is an ice storm/power outage and the marina is 200 miles away??? As USBoats column states "using engine heaters to prevent frozen blocks is risky behavior". Norris
 
norriscathy said:
And what do you do if there is an ice storm/power outage and the marina is 200 miles away??? As USBoats column states "using engine heaters to prevent frozen blocks is risky behavior". Norris
Click to expand...

If you are that far away, that can be an issue. I'm a few minutes from mine unless i am out of town. Our lake stays warm through the winter here as well, so with the boat floating, you really don't need very much heat to keep everything happy.
 
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