1988 Four Winns Sundowner 205

[Johnshan1]

Looking to buy this boat, it is clean with no rot. Are these boats good for ocean use? Can it handle some rough water? How large is the gas tank, the engine is a 5.0, how much hp? Good on fuel? How fast? Also how what would this package weigh in at?

Also the water pump is cracked from freeze up, mechanic said rest of engine was ok, so I take this as gospel? Is this pump the same as any automotive pump on a 5.0 (or close to the same idea) Any tips would be good, thank you for all the help!

 

[Prin]

Re: 1988 Four Winns Sundowner 205

I have a 85 Four Winns and love it. It is a great boat. Mine is a Santara and handles great in rough water. The water pump he is talking about mibht be the impeller which is in the lower unit and totally different from a car waterpump. My gas tank is 44 gals. My 5.7 liter engine is a 260 hp. The Four Winns site should offer some help in information. They are good boats.

 

[Johnshan1]

Re: 1988 Four Winns Sundowner 205

Thanks for the info! Well he said it froze and cracked the water pump, he then had it checked over by the four winns dealer who said, just the pump was bad. I would assume he meant the one on the block, he said lower unit is fine. If I am wrong, if there is no water pump on the actual engine, someone chime in please! Thanks!

 

[tommays]

Re: 1988 Four Winns Sundowner 205

It sounds like the pump on the motor AND if thats the case i would be worried about other freeze dammage as it would have been simple to fix and sell it as a running boat without problems ?


Tommays

 

[Johnshan1]

Re: 1988 Four Winns Sundowner 205

My thoughts too tommays- so I asked him, he said that he wintereized it himself and saw the crack in the water pump come spring, he got freaked out and brought it into the four winns dealer and had them go over it, he said they only saw the pump was bad, and claims he has the receipt saying so. From what I gather he did a half a$$ job doing the winterizing and left water in the pump itself- hope thats the case!

 

[stevieray]

Re: 1988 Four Winns Sundowner 205

Tommays is right - If the pump froze, there's a good possibility the block is cracked as well (the same water that's in the pump is also in the block). V8's tend to crack lengthwise - under the intake manifold (you'd have to take it off to see). It might even run......for a while.

 

[Johnshan1]

Re: 1988 Four Winns Sundowner 205

Does that sound plausable to anyone else? Thanks everyone for any thoughts.

 

[Johnshan1]

Re: 1988 Four Winns Sundowner 205

Anyone else? He says he had a shop look at it, and it just needs a pump. He winterized it, but didnt do it correctly obviously. I am hoping that he just left water in the pump and the engine is fine- is that even possible?

So when I look at this, should I bring a small mirror and light to look at the engine? Thanks for any tips

-John

 

[stevieray]

Re: 1988 Four Winns Sundowner 205

Here's the deal - just one step of many in proper winterizing of a RWC system is to drain the engine. To do this, you have to remove the drain plugs which are at a low point on the block. If this was done, it would have drained the great majority of the water out of the pump. The next step is to fill the whole system with antifreeze, which will mix with any residual water & protect everything. If the pump froze & there was enough water in it to crack it, it is highly likely that niether of the above steps was done. From this, a logical assumption to make is that the block was full of water & not antifreeze when it froze, making a cracked block (or head or manifold or anything else that contains water) a definite possiblilty. Tough things to check without taking a lot of the engine apart. Are you going to believe the guy that's trying to unload this dog (& his hired help)? Your decision.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1988 Four Winns Sundowner 205

run like hell, unless the price is so low you can refit it,

 

[Mark42]

Re: 1988 Four Winns Sundowner 205

Suggest he replace the pump, take it for a test run. If everything is good (no water in the oil, no water or oil leaking from motor) then you will buy the boat and pay for the pump repair.

Otherwise, the deal is off - and he pays for the repair from his own pocket.

 

[Johnshan1]

Re: 1988 Four Winns Sundowner 205

Well the boat is showroom shape, $2000 with flawless galvanized trailer as well as all dock lines and everything else needed to boat. He claims that he "freaked" when he saw the cracked pump and dropped the boat off to the dealer, he has receipt of said inspection, also has every bit of paper work for maintenence and repair since day one, I dont know, its a hard choice. He also has a repair book with it (which im sure he tryed to follow for winterization and missed a step or 3).

Im just trying to figure out if its possible to drain the block and not the water pump.

 

[Boatin Bob]

Re: 1988 Four Winns Sundowner 205

You can't put an automotive type pump on there as it won't last, the marine ones have a SS impeller. Normally I drop my big hose from the t-stat housing to the pump which drains it in addition to draining both sides of the block and then I por some antifreeze into that hose which puts it right inside the pump..

 

[Johnshan1]

Re: 1988 Four Winns Sundowner 205

Thanks Bob. So one could assume that if he drained the block but left the hoses attached to the pump, the block could be okay but the pump cracked?