Engine Cover for 1997 185 Bowrider

D

dalej

New Member
Jun 18, 2007
15
Virginia
Boat Info
185 BR
Engines
Alpha II
My engine cover is badly cracked. I'm not sure how it happened but the part is now longer available -- it is a molded plastic cover made by a sub that is out of business. My dealer has tried but is out of ideas and so far Sea Ray hasn't been very helpful. Any ideas??

Thanks,
dalej
 
Where are you located? I can't believe your dealer can't help you out. Maybe you need to call around to some different dealers. Your post caught my attention because I have a '98 185. Which seating configuration do you have? Where exactly is the crack?
 
Maybe a dumb question, but have you emailed SeaRay directly about that dealer not being able to get it for you?
 
Thanks for the replies.

The cover has several cracks. In 1997 the cover was made from ABS molded plastic instead of fiberglass (should have gotten a '98).
My boat has a captains chair on the right and back to back chairs on the left with seats on either side of the engine cover.

I emailed Sea Ray and received no response. I called a Sea Ray rep at the factory and was told that the subcontractor was no longer making the part (I think they're out of business) and that I could possibly have one made by someone who molds plastic parts. He had no further suggestions.

I just wrote a letter to Sea Ray.

BTW, the '98 engine cover looked similar but has a different part #. The guy at the factory said that it would not fit.

Dale
 
That is a tough one. I'm surprised the dealer isn't more helpful. I would call every dealer within 500 miles until you find someone who can help. Someone has to have that part somewhere. I would imagine that having one made would be cost prohibitive.
 
I did receive a reply from Sea Ray to my letter. They basically repeated what I know -- the part is not available and they can't do anything about it.

They suggested that the dealer may be able to suggest a fiberglass fabricator that can make one.

I found out on my own that the part was made by Viking Industries of El Dorado, AR. That company was bought out by Alltista Corp and the factory is now up for sale. No help there.

I'll get back to the dealer but I don't expect much at this time.
 
dale, this is just a wild a$$ idea, but maybe you could talk to one of the bath remodel guys. There's a Re-Bath franchise here, I don't know if you have one. They put the new covers over old bathtubs, etc. They probably have a lot of experience with that kind of plastic. Who knows, maybe they could suggest some kind of repair. Or maybe a body shop. Cars are half plastic now I think.
 
Thanks, Mike. That's a good idea and I'll follow up on it. As a last resort I will try to get it covered with vinyl at a shop.
 
You might consider a gel type crack filler for plastic, sand, prime and paint.
 
I was doin a Goggle search for this very same problem with my 185, what ever happened and who else had this problem and what did you do to solve it??
 
I don't know how handy you are, but hand-laid fiberglass is low-tech (just need gloves), and very effective. Paint to match, and you have a pretty good fix. Hardware stores sell the cloth and resin, and it it not expensive.

If the cracked area is flat, perhaps epoxy in a flat piece of plastic. I rebuilt the engine cover on my 1982 Seville, and it worked great and looked fine eight years later when I sold the boat.

I agree any car body shop is a good place to find professionals who know how to make a damaged part look like new.

Good luck.
 
I may be wrong but I looked on BoatTrader.com and found a 1998 185 and a 1997 185 and the engine covers looked the same to me you might want to check and see if the 98 will work.Plus I looked at the parts manual for both and the part #s are different but on the hinges they are the same, could the reason the part #s being different is that yours is ABS plastic and the 98's is fiberglass? Just a thought.
 
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You could probably get a Flexible Bumper Repair kit from an Auto Body supply company and do the repair work yourself. The stuff is basically a 2-part epoxy, that hardens into a flexible plastic. It's for cars, so it needs to be painted afterwards (otherwise, the epoxy is a flat black), but the stuff is VERY easy to work with. Can you post any pictures of the damaged area so we can see what you've got to work with?

Stuff I've used before for general fabrication work: http://yhst-13811118617756.stores.yahoo.net/dy6flburekit.html
 
I have a 1997 190 that has the same issue. I tried to fix the cracks with fiberglass epoxy (no cloth) but it did not work well. I might try again with cloth this time but not so sure its going to work well. Anyone ever find a good solution or figure out if the 1998 part fits and where to find one?

I also had the face of my tach come unglued from the back and the dial spun so it is useless and covers the hour meter. Found a place that has some replacements and they were very nice.

www.fpmarine.com


Matt
 
I never got it solved. I've contacted two others that had the same problem. Sea Ray was no help to anyone. Covering the engine cover with vinyl may be the only solution.
dalej
 
I talked to a dealer in VA he said when they get trades that are cracked they spray them with bed liner. I looked into that and it sounds like a great idea. You can get just about any color you want and it will last forever
 
I have the exact same problem... and have gotten same answers from Sea Ray. Will be checking periodically to see if anyone comes up with a decent solution...

dave
 
Had the same problem. Took it to a guy who dose plastic repair and auto work to get repaired. First time i took the boat out the old cracks started running again. Finally decided to just have a sunpad and bench seat made and get rid of the cowling seating. Couldnt be more happy. Had the entire interior of my 97 185 done.
 
I think that Cranca has the right idea. I'm going to look into it. Another solution that I heard about was covering the cover with vinyl and padding. At this point I don't think that would work for me.
 
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