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

rasbury

i'm not sure I get that a same replacement fresh water cooled is "complicated"- not a mechanic but if the motor is complete and drp in, all the parts are there? If they are somehow converting a motor...ours is fresh water and think a big plus.

trip_n

good info here...price to...info >scroll dwn and click on closed cooling option
https://www.perfprotech.com/mercruiser-plus-series-383-mag-stroker-mpi-bobtail-marine-engine-865108r80/product/188707

J3ff

thanks trip, very interesting. 

Trashman

I'm glad you got the $$, I'd be throwing up. lol. 

J3ff

Trashman said:

I'm glad you got the $$, I'd be throwing up. lol. 

There's a lot of deep breaths and sighs over here.  I figured I'd be throwing 7k into it over the winter based on purchase price and 840 hours on the motor.  So in a way it's just another 5k to have more power and a motor with a warranty that I know everything about.

Where I will be throwing up is when the marina calls me and says there's huge problems with the out drive. That'll put me over the line of staying calm and collected vs losing my ****. 

trip_n

heck ..... i be mounting the ole 9.9 on the swim platform

J3ff

I guess that could be an option if the drive is shot too.. or I she just gets winterized and I exit the hobby till spring.

Michael T

Make sure sn engine alignment is performed. A 5 minute job when doing it at this point but priceless as s safety measure.

J3ff

Michael T said:

Make sure sn engine alignment is performed. A 5 minute job when doing it at this point but priceless as s safety measure.

Will do and thank you for your advice, should have listened to your concerns on the first page!

I'm going to ask them to change the gimble bearing, bellows, water pump, drive oil, etc.. while it's off. No sense in waiting till winter for that, right?

Michael T

We all hope for the best it's just human nature. I would have loved to have been totally wrong. If you proceed with the 383 I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the torque it has and better acceleration and planning charavteridtics. I hate to see forum members get stuck with big unexpected bills. I hope this turns out for the best :-)

J3ff

ps. "like new" boat appears to have not had bellows changed in the last five years. I'm assuming that's kind of too long right? 

Cableguy Greg

As long as it was checked and appeared ok, then 5 years isn't too long. Since you are going to have the drive off, have it replaced along with the shift boot.

Michael T

Five years is getting a bit old for the bellows, IMO.

MDboater

Are you aware of the issue of the raw water supply line collapsing due to corrosion where it passes through the outdrive?  Consider looking into this issue and/or replacing the hose while everything is apart.

Michael T

Absolutely. This happened to an American boater visiting Canada last summer. He was experiencing overheating problems with a 5.7L  Volvo. The raw water supply hose had softened and was being sucked shut by the water pump. The exhaust flappers were compromised too. One had carmelized and was also contributing to overheating.

J3ff

Okay, got a message that the bellows were changed this year from the marina "but were paid for in cash so there isn't a record" - um, okay, we'll see about that tomorrow when the boat is pulled out. 

MDboater, wasn't aware of that, in the records in 2013 there is mention of finding a "water blockage" where they replaced the impeller, hoses, housing and pump..

I wonder if that is what you're speaking of. 

MDboater

J3ff said:

MDboater, wasn't aware of that, in the records in 2013 there is mention of finding a "water blockage" where they replaced the impeller, hoses, housing and pump..

I wonder if that is what you're speaking of. 

No, I refer to a different issue.  See this thread and the threads it references.  

https://rinkerboats.vanillaforums.com/discussion/1945/solved-engine-alarm-on-merc-496

J3ff

Thanks MD,
 The saga continues. That might end up being her new name.

Boat came out of the water today...and I got a call about this being noticed. 






The other thing I'm starting to wonder about is how great his marina is/was.  I've got an invoice from them to him for the tune of 4500 where they include a "bravo 3 zinc kit" from May 25th 2016..   does this really look like 3 months of wear on them?? I think I've gotten 2 years out of them on my other boats! 

Here's what they look like today:

ps. love the missing one???


Also on this bill was to "clean and paint out drive" for 125 bucks. 

This is why people like me do all our own work, the quality of this boat yards work looks like crap in my opinion. 
What do you all think of these pictures... 

randy56

Ya zinc's can look like that in 5 weeks, expected, not to sure about paint job, must have not did much prep work. 
Swim platform ss screws a gone,salt water, easy fix, but wow. 

J3ff

randy56 said:

Ya zinc's can look like that in 5 weeks, expected, not to sure about paint job, must have not did much prep work. 
Swim platform ss screws a gone,salt water, easy fix, but wow. 

Should have mentioned I took the screws out... they were leaking water with the screws in though..

Weird that they can look like that in 5 months... does it have something to do with the stainless steel props??

What about the one that is missing?!

randy56

Those zinc's come with very little blue loc tight on them, not enough, I've had them work loose before, ended up using red loc tight. nothing to do with SS props. 
There should be a couple more zinc's on the cylinders, seems you need all you can get, they call them sacrificial anodes, because we need them they take the punishment instead of other things, hopefully.   

J3ff

Yeah I get that.. the marina he used painted over what looks like the zincs on the cylinders.. 

Michael T

Those are actually Zinc (right?)  so obviously you're in dslt water. That looks like too much erosion for 5 weeks to me unless your marina's shore power is not good, nearby boats have no galvamiv isolators or your galvamic isolator and/or Mercathode systems are faulty.
I agree that the swim platform can be fixed (no offence meant but this is why I don't like bolt-on swim platforms) bit I'd check for osmosis damage at the site before re-connecting the strut.
I share your concerns about the trustworthiness of your marina. 

randy56

J3ff, I just ordered some new actuators they came in today. If your are faded they don't cost much.

Michael T

The switch to the far right is, by far, the most important........ low beer alarm!

J3ff

randy56 said:

J3ff, I just ordered some new actuators they came in today. If your are faded they don't cost much.

Those are sweet! Where'd you get them from? Def need the one on the right

randy56

newwiremarine.com Ha ha if yours is like mine, the switch on the far right is not active, not hooked to anything, that's where I'm going to put it. 

J3ff

randy56 said:

newwiremarine.com Ha ha if yours is like mine, the switch on the far right is not active, not hooked to anything, that's where I'm going to put it. 

I actually need a "blow up boat and move on" switch... will be used when I get whatever the next piece of bad news is. 

randy56

Perhaps you will have a few extra $ invested, but also a piece of mind, you will have a good boat!

J3ff

well don't be surprised if the first time I go 100% throttle on the 383 it rips a hole in the transom and the boat sinks! Wonder if insurance covers that..