Survey Question

B

Bam073

New Member
Mar 1, 2008
177
Long Island
Seller accepted a final offer, looking to deliver next month. The boat is a 2005 300 Sundancer with 140 hours, twin 5.0s, bravo IIIs. I'm going to get a survey done but do I need to get an engine compression check done as well. It will add about another $400. I'm thinking it's still somewhat of a new boat and am hoping that the detailed survey will be enough.

Any thoughts?

Chris
 
Ah, good question. When I bought my old tub back in 2004, I did not opt for the compression test. If I were to do it again, I'd go get it done, regardless of the boat's age. We spend SO much money on these things, in the vast scheme of things, what's another $400? BTW, My engines turned out to be fine. Just lucky I guess!
 
Your right, it is a small investment for piece of mind. I'm wondering if as the surveyor is going through the work whether or not he will advise if it should be done. At least a good one not looking to make the extra dollars for nothing.
 
Sounds a little high to me....but I agree with Ron. If nothing else, it will at the very least give you a good base for any future issues you may find yourself troubleshooting.

I had compression test done on my last two gas boats I bought....a 1998 330DA in 2001 and a 2002 380DA in 2005. I don't remember the price, but it was considerabley less than $400.
 
Bam073 said:
I believe the exact price was $175 per engine totalling $350.
Click to expand...

That's only $21.88 per cylinder for peace of mind. I don't know if the surveyor would go for it, but I'd hand him a new spark plug gapped to perfection to stick back in each hole after each test...some additional peace of mind for that ride back home with the captain.

I'm not a whiz with codes and such on engine electronics, but it would be nice if the surveyor can connect to each engine to see what the max engine temp, rpm, etc has been. If the engines were maintained according to the service intervals, they likely are fine.

Hopefully you obtained the operator manuals that came with the boat. Take a look at the recommended service intervals at 100 & 200 hrs and ask the surveyor about those areas. I'm not certain if the 2005 year had zerks on the motor/drive coupler splines as well a zerk to grease the gimbal bearing. They are a big maintenance time saver. It may even have Perm-a-Lube U joints which don't require a grease gun.

Good luck with the survey....oh and if you havn't already found it, good luck finding the super secret storage compartment in the mid cabin!
 
I don't have the boat yet but can't wait to look for the secret storage!

I'm going to have the seller's marina do the spring commissioning which is a tune up and everything else to get the boat ready for the season. I want to bring the boat back to my slip and be ready for the season and not have to wait for my marina to put the work order in.

How do you like your 300?
 
Bam073 said:
Seller accepted a final offer, looking to deliver next month. The boat is a 2005 300 Sundancer with 140 hours, twin 5.0s, bravo IIIs. I'm going to get a survey done but do I need to get an engine compression check done as well. It will add about another $400. I'm thinking it's still somewhat of a new boat and am hoping that the detailed survey will be enough.

Any thoughts?

Chris
Click to expand...

Get the engines checked, $350-400 is a very small price to pay for two things, piece of mind that everythings good which enhances your confidence in the boat and, in the event there is a problem, you know now and adjust your offer for repairs or walk away. It's a pretty new boat so chances are the engines are fine, but even with up to date maintainance records you never know. Good luck with the new boat!
 
First boat did not get it done and was fine. But second time around for piece of mind I opted for it. Location plays a large role in price I imagine but the $400.00 seems a bit high to me for ONLY a compression check. If there is more diagnostics involved since your boat is much newer then mine I don't know...

But anyway, it will give you a basic indication and piece of mind on how tight the engine is and if it does turn up a problem the solution is far and away more then the $400 you paid and then you can use it as leverage to work out an agreement on repair....
 
Hey Chris,

Not only would I recommend you get the compression check I also recommend you have the merc certified mechanic (the person is a merc certified mechanic, right) also pull the drives, both of them and inspect the drive coupler and gimbal ring.






As long as they are in there and find no issue I’d have the seller’s permission that the person check alignment, grease and tighten the gimbal.

A bad drive coupler is a $2000 per drive repair. A bad gimbal is a $3,000 per drive repair. Both require the engine to be pulled. OK so someone figured out a way to change a gimbal with out pulling the engine but that method has more serious issues and does not save any money so I don’t see the point.

A captain can ruin a drive coupler by going at idol speed for as little as 40 hours. Going WOT is not hard on the coupler. Going idol speed kills them quick.

If you don’t keep the gimbal tight it will wear out fast. If it breaks your drive will fall off and your boat will sink.

This is one more reason why you see fishing boats with trolling motors.
 
Last edited:
This boat may be subject to the corrosion issues I covered in 2 threads that started with "Heads Up....."

http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6038&highlight=heads+up+aluminum+manifolds

http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5277&highlight=Heads+up+Kool+Fuel+3


I don't believe your engine will have the aluminum manifolds (I'm not sure) but you may need to have your engine surveyor inspect the fuel coolers. The fuel cooler thing could run up some big expenses if they must be replaced. It would be better to find the problem while the seller still owns the boat.
 
....oh and if you havn't already found it, good luck finding the super secret storage compartment in the mid cabin![/quote] - My 5yr old found it - and hid in there! - welcome to the 300 club - you're going to love it!
 
Presentation said:
A captain can ruin a drive coupler by going at idol speed for as little as 40 hours. Going WOT is not hard on the coupler. Going idol speed kills them quick.
Click to expand...

Doug - My operation / maintenance manual states if the boat is operated at idle for prolonged periods of time, the coupler should be lubricated every 50 hrs for Bravo models, and every 150 hrs for Alpha's. I presumed this is regardless if it is a 4.3, 5.0 or 5.7 (350 Mag).

The manual doesn't warn against operating at idle as long as the drive coupling receives some extra grease. The reason I bring this up is my boat has a Troll Control feature which sync both engines around 850 rpm max....I'm confused why Merc would offer this feature if it is harmful to the drive coupling and gimbal....I'm not aware of any warnings in the Smartview OP manual regarding its use with I/O's.

Have you read or experienced something different?
Thanks


BAM073 - sorry to drag your thread off topic.
 
Stray Cat said:
....why Merc would offer this feature if it is harmful to the drive coupling and gimbal.....Have you read or experienced something different?
Click to expand...



Hi Jeff,

As far as I know, going idle speed does not harm the gimbal. It harms the drive coupling.

Yes, I have had experience with this.

The problem is so sever that there is now a stainless steel replacement part available so when you pull the engine and toss the shot aluminum part you can replace it with stainless steel.

Maybe this should be on its own thread.
 
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