Purchasing '01 180 BR

[Shiggs]

Hi everyone, new here and looking at buying our first Sea Ray boat. It's a 2001 180 BR with the 3.0 Mercruiser & Alpha One foot. Everything on the boat is pretty mint, but when we took it out for a test drive with the current owner we ran into a lot of idling and stalling issues.

It just did not want to hold an idle, and at low running speeds (if it didn't stall) it was revving and slowing all on it's own with the throttle steady. My first reaction was "time for a carb rebuild". I wanted to post here and see if there were any other ideas?

Another small problem is that we were seeing the temp running a bit hot (~180 but the gauge isn't that accurate above 170). It held steady, but I thought that was warm for that boat. Maybe an impeller or thermostat issue?

The current owner is taking it to the mechanic to fix the problems identified before we would purchase it, but I wanted to get some extra things to look at (if any).

Thanks! Can't wait to join the club "for real"!

 

[Little Ducky]

Do you know when the last full tune up was? How old is the fuel on board?

The 3.0 is a bit finicky when cold starting but it shouldn't be stalling at idle.

Hopefully some new plugs (possibly new wires and a distributer cap) and a container of fuel treatment will get this 3.0 back to performing well.

 

[Shiggs]

It was properly winterized & full tune-up done when pulling it out last year. The gas was treated with stabilizer at the same time. It doesn't get a ton of use, and the prev owner said 2 weeks ago it ran just fine and idled great.

I get the feeling I'm looking at just something getting into the carb. But yeah I can take a look at the plugs and distributer cap as well. Thanks!

 

[89P270]

I dont know much about the 3.0L but from the sounds could be several things - Failing IAC/TPS. Makes me think TPS because it idles up and down. Fuel is another issue area. Even with Stabilizer, ethanol fuel is still a PITA and your on the right track for carb cleaning/testing. Try to stick with no ethanol gas. For a trailerable boat not so bad. Find the local grainge and buy there. The more worrisome is the heat. Should not be running at 170, more like 160 (depends on thermostat too though). Gauges are notorious for poor readings at this age of boat. Bring a temp gun with you next time. Check several locations on each exhaust riser. Looking for hot spots. Can you hold you hand on riser without pain, good, likely at/below 170. Are there spots on risers at 190 and some at 160? Time to look in more detail. What's the oil filter housing temp? Should be more than block but below say 200ish. Ask owner what thermostat is in it. If he doesnt know, start to look harder at all mechanicals. Does he have any maintenance records? There should be a ton to review. I had a 3 ring binder full on my 2002 Rinker I bought in 2016ish. I am not sure the outdrive you have but figure its an Alpha so when was the last time the impeller was changed? Worn out impeller will definitely cause overheating - Mild if slightly worn, a lot if heavily worn, should change every 2 years. Good luck with the purchase and enjoy! Sea Rays are good boats

 

[Shiggs]

Wow that's a lot of info to check into! I actually have a mechanic who's going to take a look at the boat. I'm guessing impeller probably hasn't been done in a _long_ time, so that's definitely high on the replacement list. I have an IR gun so I'll make sure to bring it with me to check temps as well, that'll hopefully give better readings.

There are good maintenance records for the boat since it's purchase in '01. This is the second owner, and they're only selling it because they don't use it much. The first owner had it almost all of the 20 years and kept immaculate records. There's only 400 hours total on the motor, but I'll troll the records to check for impeller replacements and see when the last one was done.

It's always been in fresh-water, and kept in shockingly good shape so I'll be shocked if it's been THAT long. But thank you for all the places to look for sure!

 

[blaster]

The temperature gauge on the 1998-2001 model years for the SeaRay 180 reads 180* on every one I have seen, including the one I had. I went all through this issue and the motor has a 160* thermostat. The official statement from SeaRay and the service department at my dealer was “these 180’s run a little hot on the gauge”.

 

[Shiggs]

The temperature gauge on the 1998-2001 model years for the SeaRay 180 reads 180* on every one I have seen, including the one I had. I went all through this issue and the motor has a 160* thermostat. The official statement from SeaRay and the service department at my dealer was “these 180’s run a little hot on the gauge”.

Well that's music to my ears. So all I'm looking at is likely a carb or fuel thing to solve. The impeller looked like it was pumping good water to me so I was surprised it ran hot. We've agreed to the purchase and it's on its way to my mechanic tomorrow who will start diagnosing the idle problem. I'm almost officially a sea ray owner!