Simple questions

aero3113

When I said “replaced steering rod”, I replaced the tie rod. That’s the long rod that connects both steering arms in the engine bay.

aero3113

shawnmjr said:

I would Forest Gump it and just keep running. 

If you saw my ‘08 330 you would’ve said the same thing. With one winter of myself working on it we had our best boating season ever. COVID made us use it nonstop. But I was dedicated last winter!

2_foot_i_tis

aero3113 said:

If the gimbal ring is worn, that’s when it becomes an issue. There’s a square hole in the ring that a square part of the pin goes into, once that wears, then the ring and pin need to be replaced. 

Port side pin


Starboard side pin


Luckily I took alot of video and can take stil shots. The images are not perfect, but help me see/review things.

aero3113

To see if it’s the tie rod and clevis pins you’ll need to be in the engine compartment while someone moves the drives. You can also try to re-torque the two nuts you see for the U bolts. I forget what the torque is but that can remove some of the play also.

aero3113

I can’t make out what I see here on the starboard side? Is it a shim or just a strange shadow??

J3ff

I would run to the hills on this one. You have no idea how much salt water damages the metal down there.. I do. It's not fun. Unless the dude gives you a deal for 20k and you plan on having everything taken out, and all rusty things replaced (3k per transom assembly) I wouldn't touch it. Water in the bilge, especially salt water just ruins everything. 

2_foot_i_tis

If your talking about where the gimbal housing meets the fiberglass.. the shiny black area... the port side is like that too.(not shown in above pic) but it looks like it's just shiny like new black paint. I dont know how those areas still look shiny new without out any signs of wear/discoloration like the rest of the bottom paint. And no signs of marine growth! Whatever paint that is or maybe tape was previously covering it at one time? I might want to wrap my next boats entire hull with it!

2_foot_i_tis

aero3113

Now I can see it, looks like fresh bottom paint maybe?

LaRea

The outdrive locks are interesting.  Where does he store this thing that he's worried about the drives being stolen?

J3ff

Dont care what the outside looks like. The inside is what would have me running. Leaking steering pin? Get outta here with that. Move up to straight inboards. These I/O's are terrible. 

Liberty44140

I think that for me to move forward id need a phone conversation. At this point you are obviously serious. If he won’t talk to you on the phone, you should pass. 

aero3113

@J3ff , I know you had some issues but you’re starting to sound like @Handymans342 ! LoL!!

mattie

Also, wonder why it was on the hard all summer? You’d think with CV19 it would’ve been in the water.
Something is wrong, seller is in over his head. Boat has got a necessary repair he can’t afford?

Step away without a proper marine survey & be sure there are no loans secured with the boat.

2_foot_i_tis

LaRea said:

Northern VA?

Live southwest of Richmond, but the boat is currently in Md.
Would boat out towards Norfolk

aero3113

It would be hard to find a mid 2000’s boat in this size with twin inboards in this price range. @2_foot_i_tis would probably have to spend close to double even triple unless he found a good project.

2_foot_i_tis

mattie said:

Also, wonder why it was on the hard all summer? You’d think with CV19 it would’ve been in the water.
Something is wrong, seller is in over his head. Boat has got a necessary repair he can’t afford?

Step away without a proper marine survey & be sure there are no loans secured with the boat.

I was thinking (if legit) , he was in the process of moving, or maybe covid lockdowns hit him hard financially.
And I wouldnt be surprised if he did get an offer earlier, and it went to survey, and the other potential buyer walked, or offered a low price... t(to which he said no) and has now dropped to 45k... realizing the boat does need work.
That would explain why the steering might be disconnected.. if the surveyor or mechanic pointed out the corrosion on the transom and they(or he) were testing things to see how bad things were?

I dont know... I'm doing alot of guessing at excuses. Guess my next step is to decide if I  want to persue with an offer.

J3ff

aero3113 said:

@J3ff , I know you had some issues but you’re starting to sound like @Handymans342 ! LoL!!

I guess that's what the I/O's do to people? lol Handy even had his on a lift!! 

2_foot_i_tis

Do you think if I went in with a low ball offer of 25k, that it should still be contingent of a survey? 
With steering as it currently is, there's be no sea trial.
What else could be wrong with it.... that the 20-25k wouldnt fix? 
Except maybe having compression checks done on the engines.
Any other big ticket items that I'm not thinking of, that may have failed due to lack of maintenance?
1 thing I didnt visually inspect was the a/c compressor.
I did start looking for it, but got distracted before I could find it.

All the similiar aged 342s I see are listed 55k and up, but further away.

2_foot_i_tis

J3ff said:

 Move up to straight inboards. These I/O's are terrible. 

I am completely ignorant when it comes to straight inboards. Never having owned one, or around them much, they kinda scare me with my lack of knowledge about them, what to maintain, what to look for, etc.
Same goes with diesels. I'm not against either of them, they are just outside my comfort zone of basic knowledge. However, if the right boat came along, I would learn.

LaRea

What you get with sterndrives is speed, fuel efficiency, speed, shallow draft, and speed.  Did I mention speed?  A 342 with 350s and Bravos will cruise comfortably at 30 mph getting 1.2 mpg.  Inboards can't touch those numbers.  

The downside is much higher maintenance costs, due mostly to corrosion prevention and replacing the transom assemblies every ten years or so.  With inboards, the running gear requires almost no maintenance.  

bella-vita

My genny  had 8 hours on it when I bought it in 2015 it ran for a year than needed a new impeller and a tune up now it has 185 hours it runs like a champ 

aero3113

I’m not familiar at all with marine transmissions. Are they expensive? Do they have a good life expectancy with no issues along the way?

Handymans342

aero3113 said:

I’m not familiar at all with marine transmissions. Are they expensive? Do they have a good life expectancy with no issues along the way?

Fairly reliable. Need regular oil changes. 

Liberty44140

For the most part Aero they last a long time and have little to no issues as long as you are changing the fluid & filter (which most people here do every 3 seasons) and of course treating it right. If they go replacement is usually much less $ than a drive and they are pretty easily re built by a reputable shop. Sometimes an engine must be moved to get the tranny out, sometimes not. I've heard rebuild can be less than $2k but I dont know for sure, hoping to never have to deal with that. Of course there are no corrosion issues as they are not submerged all summer. 

2_foot_i_tis

Regarding inboards, I will say with the newer? single lever that operates the throttle and transmission, is much less intimidating, than having the 2 sets of levers.

I am a bit weary of the shaft, I dont know, just seems like it could be easily bent by hitting a jellyfish (obviously an exageration)
And the arm that holds the shaft...just seems like they are as beefy as an outdrive.

And the shaft seals can sometimes require the engines to come out. (Which I guess is the same for the transom assembly)
I dont like the thought of pulling engines. (Even on the boat I'm considering)
Maybe it's a typical day for a mechanic, but not having been thru an engine removal/install I just imagine things can get put back wrong kinda easily....or could look sloppy since it's not from the factory.
Guess it would depend on finding a trustworthy mechanic with the experience to do the work.

randy56

Pulling engine's are much easier than a car, a good mechanic can have one out in less than 30 min - 45 min top. There is not that much to un hook. or put back together. 

Aqua_Aura

Not that I need to pull my engine but due to my inability to not research anything and everything that is not relevant to me I did look at tool rental companies and you can actually rent a gantry lift for about $140 a day to remove an engine. Seems like 1 day to remove and 1 day to install so less than $300. That's a 12' wide lift though so it may be tight for some. 

aero3113

My cousin rented a gantry to pull his engine to replace the oil pan. I forget what he paid to rent it but it was very reasonable.

mattie

Very Cool!