Looking at buying a 2004 Fiesta Vee 270 - what to watch out for?

J3ff

yup - is it a standard size bolt?

rasbury

Some of these(maybe all) have a drain tube that you can pass through the drain plug. Mine is located in the port side and and the hose is clipped against the transom. It may even be attached to the drain plug so when you remove it, it pulls through. It's a pretty long hose with a fitting on the end to drain.

J3ff

rasbury said:

Some of these(maybe all) have a drain tube that you can pass through the drain plug. Mine is located in the port side and and the hose is clipped against the transom. It may even be attached to the drain plug so when you remove it, it pulls through. It's a pretty long hose with a fitting on the end to drain.

Thanks, found it, should have remembered that.  Problem is the oil is so thick it's hardly dripping out and even with a pump it's hard to get out...

J3ff

This motor is done for good.. let's talk new motors- Jmicheals has talked me into a 383 - anyone else want to jump on that train:?

Handymans342

Why not a 496?

J3ff

You tell me overall cost would probably be my #1 reason why not.. going to start a new thread on this topic. 

jmichels

383 is way to go for best bang for the buck and hp . 

trip_n

i feel for you man...definitely takes all the fun out of it.
make sure your drives all good.
enjoy a winter project with the 383...new/reman
a good christian doesn't have/need to explain !
can i have a " amen "

happy waves...

J3ff

I'm hoping the season isn't over for this boat... going to have to hand over almost all the available cash I have, but it's not a big problem, just have to stop buying toys

While the motor is out, probably going to have the drive serviced, bellows done, gimbal bearing, etc... hopefully there are no more surprises, but I'm betting there will be. 

Amen!

Cableguy Greg

The 383 stroker is the way to go if you have to get a new engine. Getting a long block is the less expensive way to go if you are short on cash. Here is the link from Merc. https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/engines/inboard-and-sterndrive/remanufacturing/plus-series-bravo-sterndrives/

J3ff

So long blocks seem to have more HP vs  the 383... why is the 383 the way to go vs a cheaper longblock with more HP?

rasbury

wow, your taking this a lot better than I would have...but it could just as easily happened to any of us on a purchase. Good luck in sorting this out. I hope the seller will participate with some of the cost but I would not hold my breath. Do you know where it was serviced? Would be interesting to talk to them and see if they told him of the imminent failure and rather that fix it, he sold it. That might be cause to go to court....

Trashman

I'd remove the engine and tear it down to see what the failure was. Maybe have it rebuilt or replace with the same engine.  You've had enough issues already and if you go with the same engine you will have less aggravation and  spare parts.  Just my opinion. 

J3ff

rasbury said:

wow, your taking this a lot better than I would have...but it could just as easily happened to any of us on a purchase. Good luck in sorting this out. I hope the seller will participate with some of the cost but I would not hold my breath. Do you know where it was serviced? Would be interesting to talk to them and see if they told him of the imminent failure and rather that fix it, he sold it. That might be cause to go to court....

I don't think they'd tell me anything like that, but I do have his service persons contact info.  The seller told me he was going to have the past 5 years of stuff to me on Saturday. That didn't happen, which led to some frustration being sent to him this morning after a weekend of sitting on a dead boat.  He has now promised all service records will be sent tomorrow by noon.  

What is becoming very clear is that it was a gamble (800 hrs, etc, Micheal T voiced concerns I should have listened to) and I lost that bet.  The silver lining here is I do like the boat, the smell is gone, I love the color and almost everything about it.. even sitting on it with friends on a mooring on Saturday was just fun. Is this a huge bummer ? yes.. but it'll come out with a motor that I know everything about, brand new, with a couple year warranty and more horsepower. 

I also do want to believe that this 65 year old guy who had me meet him at his house where his wife and grown daughter were there when we took it on a ride is a decent person and did not do this on purpose and is probably torn up about it as well.

Am I hoping he'll throw me a couple bucks? Yes... do I expect it in the least? Nope, not at all. 

J3ff

Trashman said:

I'd remove the engine and tear it down to see what the failure was. Maybe have it rebuilt or replace with the same engine.  You've had enough issues already and if you go with the same engine you will have less aggravation and  spare parts.  Just my opinion. 

Will def. have a friend tear it down to find point of failure.  As far as I've heard the 383 is a drop in replacement, seems like a no-brainer if it's "easy"

MDboater

@J3ff:

When you looked at the oil before purchasing, did it look new or did it look like it had almost a season of use?  Is the filter brand new?  If the oil and or filer looked new then I would very suspicious.  I think you mentioned the need to drain oil and that's when you discovered the problem.  What was that about?  

J3ff

I actually checked the oil everyday (only three days of actual running motor)

The oil filter was replaced last October as it's written on the filter (I guess some people replace at the end of season..) 

The oil color was perfectly fine until Friday morning.  HOWEVER on the second day of ownership (when it wouldn't start) I did notice that the oil color was fine, but it was high and talked to the previous owner about it.  I should have known right then to NOT do anything else to it and hand it off to a mechanic.. It was 2 or 3 inches high on the dipstick.

Instead I fixed the starter and ran it for 20 or so minutes before the next time I checked (Friday morning) and found the oil/water mix..

MDboater

But did the oil look new or used?  What I am getting at is did the PO change the oil right before you looked at the boat?  

It is preferable to change the oil at the end of the season, typically while winterizing.

J3ff

no it did not look brand new, my mechanic actually commented on it the first day of ownership that it looked a little dirty. 

J3ff

Boat is on the way to the shop tomorrow.. ordering parts this week, installation next week as long as there's no huge problems we're unaware of hopefully back in the water by the 2nd. 

Cableguy Greg

What did you end up doing? A 383 or did you get a long block? Hopefully they will get you back in the water sooner.

J3ff

383 stroker

randy56

was 383 reman or new? once your back in the water report difference   

J3ff

I assume it's a reman.. don't think they make new ones.. my mechanic said mercury doesn't buy back the old ones anymore..oh well, was hoping for a little bonus.

jmichels

u could sell it for parts. 

jmichels

prob not much salvagable.

Trashman

I'm curious, how much for the engine, is it fresh water cooledand will it just bolt up to the drive.  Where did you buy it from? 

rasbury

Jeff, I understand your comment, hope it was not intentional...I bought mine from a 75 year old man....nothing seemed to work on our boat! But we powered through it and learned a lot.

J3ff

Trashman said:

I'm curious, how much for the engine, is it fresh water cooledand will it just bolt up to the drive.  Where did you buy it from? 

Haven't gotten to that step yet.

The boat yard (Norwalk, CT)  I'm talking to has said that the freshwater cooling system on this exact motor (383 stroker) is almost too complicated for its own good and are trying to say not to do it. My last question to them is how long of a warranty is offered. Based on that I'll tell them what we are going to do. At the moment I'm leaning toward regular cooling, taking it in from the salt.  If this motor lasts 12 years on salt (like the current junk one did) that'll be good enough. 

$ 9895 is what I'm being quoted as for the 383 stroker mpi motor. 2000 - 3000 for install depending on what else is wrong with the boat. 

I'm also being told it's a straight drop in replacement, a day or two at most to swap. 

J3ff

rasbury said:

Jeff, I understand your comment, hope it was not intentional...I bought mine from a 75 year old man....nothing seemed to work on our boat! But we powered through it and learned a lot.

Yeah, I don't think anyone in this deal expected such a disaster, keeping a positive attitude really is the only way to get through it.  I'm just thankful to have enough resources that I can fix it and get back out there... I knew this could be a possibility going into it, was hoping for the best, didn't work out that way, oh well.