Greetings from Iowa

[tomace13]

I guess I should have figured it out when you said the deal gave you their commission back.. That’s good of them to do that but I guess they will make the money back form you with the labor of installing the new engine. 630 hours isn’t very many for having an engine fail. Was the selling dealer the servicing dealer for the boat, I just wonder if they have any service records? They obviously kept the boat looking nice and clean.

They had records for the last 3 years on hand. Nothing but annual maintenance done.

I should mention that the shop who currently has it is not the shop I bought it from. The shop I bought it from is an authorized cobalt dealer, they sold this boat when it was new in 1995 and serviced it its entire life. I will likely tow it back to their shop to let them look at it and do the work.

[MoRiver]

Nice looking boat. Too bad about the engine. Hopefully the rebuild isn't too costly.

[tomace13]

Sorry for the late reply, things took a turn for the worst quickly. Before purchasing this we took it out for a test drive and everything went great. The day after bringing it home we took it out again for a short 1 hour cruise after work and again it went great. Then the weekend came. The motor developed a knock. I immediately returned to the marina, got it loaded on the trailer, and dropped it off at a local boat mechanic. My worst fears were realized on Friday when he called to confirm I had likely spun a bearing on the crankshaft. Metal in the oil. To top it off the trim was also being finicky and he confirmed that the trim motor needs replaced.

The dealer I purchased it through is giving me their commission on the sale, which was $1500, and now I’m working with them to figure out what direction to go. I will either be having the motor completely rebuilt or purchase a rebuilt GM block. I’ve been told the 5.8s made by Ford are difficult to find parts for, which may complicate a rebuild.

So it’s been a rough first week of boat ownership. Trying to stay positive. At least this is happening at the end of the season and not first thing in the spring next year. I’ve got all winter to get it right, and then I should hopefully be trouble free for many years to come with a fully rebuilt motor.

[AsLan7]

Sorry for the late reply, things took a turn for the worst quickly. Before purchasing this we took it out for a test drive and everything went great. The day after bringing it home we took it out again for a short 1 hour cruise after work and again it went great. Then the weekend came. The motor developed a knock. I immediately returned to the marina, got it loaded on the trailer, and dropped it off at a local boat mechanic. My worst fears were realized on Friday when he called to confirm I had likely spun a bearing on the crankshaft. Metal in the oil. To top it off the trim was also being finicky and he confirmed that the trim motor needs replaced.

The dealer I purchased it through is giving me their commission on the sale, which was $1500, and now I’m working with them to figure out what direction to go. I will either be having the motor completely rebuilt or purchase a rebuilt GM block. I’ve been told the 5.8s made by Ford are difficult to find parts for, which may complicate a rebuild.

So it’s been a rough first week of boat ownership. Trying to stay positive. At least this is happening at the end of the season and not first thing in the spring next year. I’ve got all winter to get it right, and then I should hopefully be trouble free for many years to come with a fully rebuilt motor.

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By quoting yourself tomace13 I think you've ALMOST found yourself at the nexus of the universe with BBP. ....you just need to answer yourself to join him.

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[Big Block Power]

Sorry for the late reply, things took a turn for the worst quickly. Before purchasing this we took it out for a test drive and everything went great. The day after bringing it home we took it out again for a short 1 hour cruise after work and again it went great. Then the weekend came. The motor developed a knock. I immediately returned to the marina, got it loaded on the trailer, and dropped it off at a local boat mechanic. My worst fears were realized on Friday when he called to confirm I had likely spun a bearing on the crankshaft. Metal in the oil. To top it off the trim was also being finicky and he confirmed that the trim motor needs replaced.

The dealer I purchased it through is giving me their commission on the sale, which was $1500, and now I’m working with them to figure out what direction to go. I will either be having the motor completely rebuilt or purchase a rebuilt GM block. I’ve been told the 5.8s made by Ford are difficult to find parts for, which may complicate a rebuild.

So it’s been a rough first week of boat ownership. Trying to stay positive. At least this is happening at the end of the season and not first thing in the spring next year. I’ve got all winter to get it right, and then I should hopefully be trouble free for many years to come with a fully rebuilt motor.

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By quoting yourself tomace13 I think you've ALMOST found yourself at the nexus of the universe with BBP. ....you just need to answer yourself to join him.

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I T13 join bbp!

[tomace13]

Sounds like I’ll be having the existing block fully rebuilt. With the dealer pitching in $1,500 it will only cost me around $2,000. Honestly I’m just thankful it happened now and not next spring. Hopefully the block is in good shape and only needs to be honed. Not sure how much extra meat is on these 351s.

I was looking forward to getting a couple months of boating in before putting it away, it’s going to be a long fall/winter. Knock on wood, here’s to hoping I’m getting my bad luck out of the way early.

[katoom450]

Sounds like I’ll be having the existing block fully rebuilt. With the dealer pitching in $1,500 it will only cost me around $2,000. Honestly I’m just thankful it happened now and not next spring. Hopefully the block is in good shape and only needs to be honed. Not sure how much extra meat is on these 351s.

I was looking forward to getting a couple months of boating in before putting it away, it’s going to be a long fall/winter. Knock on wood, here’s to hoping I’m getting my bad luck out of the way early.

Acronym for B.O.A.T. Break Out Another Thousand.
I have to say though, at least it’s not break out another 200 thousand like on a new boat!

[dustinm]

We could swap engine bills... I am doing another for my Chevelle.

[MoRiver]

Sounds like I’ll be having the existing block fully rebuilt. With the dealer pitching in $1,500 it will only cost me around $2,000. Honestly I’m just thankful it happened now and not next spring. Hopefully the block is in good shape and only needs to be honed. Not sure how much extra meat is on these 351s.

I was looking forward to getting a couple months of boating in before putting it away, it’s going to be a long fall/winter. Knock on wood, here’s to hoping I’m getting my bad luck out of the way early.

Hopefully running solid for next season!

[tomace13]

Finally some potential good news!

I got a call this morning from the dealer that parts have been ordered, and a bad lifter was at fault. After priming the culprit, the tick went away. The dealer will be covering this small repair and everyone is happy.

I’m both relieved and infuriated now. The first shop, which was recommended to me by the local marina, seems to have just gone with the worst case scenario without even checking if it was a minor issue. This is after I told the mechanic that I believed it was just a bad lifter. He also told me that there was metal in the oil, which I didn’t realize till after the fact was impossible. Without dropping the pan or cutting open the filter you’d never find metal in the oil. I’m left to believe he was trying to con me into paying for a $6,000 rebuild and probably just swap out the lifter.

Word to the wise, get a second opinion and trust your gut. Hopefully I’ll be out on the lake this weekend!

[Krob1114]

Finally some potential good news!

I got a call this morning from the dealer that parts have been ordered, and a bad lifter was at fault. After priming the culprit, the tick went away. The dealer will be covering this small repair and everyone is happy.

I’m both relieved and infuriated now. The first shop, which was recommended to me by the local marina, seems to have just gone with the worst case scenario without even checking if it was a minor issue. This is after I told the mechanic that I believed it was just a bad lifter. He also told me that there was metal in the oil, which I didn’t realize till after the fact was impossible. Without dropping the pan or cutting open the filter you’d never find metal in the oil. I’m left to believe he was trying to con me into paying for a $6,000 rebuild and probably just swap out the lifter.

Word to the wise, get a second opinion and trust your gut. Hopefully I’ll be out on the lake this weekend!

Wow, that's really good news. Hope you have a great weekend.
The story of the first shop mechanic really gets my stomach knotted. I've had a life time of people the were either trying to rip you off, or were incompetent, or just lazy.

[MnLakeBum]

Finally some potential good news!

I got a call this morning from the dealer that parts have been ordered, and a bad lifter was at fault. After priming the culprit, the tick went away. The dealer will be covering this small repair and everyone is happy.

I’m both relieved and infuriated now. The first shop, which was recommended to me by the local marina, seems to have just gone with the worst case scenario without even checking if it was a minor issue. This is after I told the mechanic that I believed it was just a bad lifter. He also told me that there was metal in the oil, which I didn’t realize till after the fact was impossible. Without dropping the pan or cutting open the filter you’d never find metal in the oil. I’m left to believe he was trying to con me into paying for a $6,000 rebuild and probably just swap out the lifter.

Word to the wise, get a second opinion and trust your gut. Hopefully I’ll be out on the lake this weekend!

That is amazing news, congrats! I spent most of my career in sales calling on the automotive & marine repair market and unfortunately there are some dishonest people out there. 630 hours is not many and it would be unusual to need a new or rebuilt engine.

[tomace13]

No boating this Labor Day weekend. Lifters are apparently back ordered. Here’s to next weekend and hoping fall holds off for a couple more weeks. This is Iowa though, it could be 80 today and 30 tomorrow.

[Big Block Power]

It's in the 60s here and rain. Hopefully to the water tomorrow without rain. We booked a place with a slip.

[tomace13]

Called the dealer to get an update, lifters are hopefully arriving this afternoon. Fingers crossed on getting the boat back for this weekend, I'm trying my best to be patient and entertain myself with planning future projects, but its getting difficult. On the plus side I've been killing my honey-do list.