1999 VP 4.3 Overheated and SX Outdrive Corrosion - should I be worried?

[emilime75]

I'm looking at a 1999 Chris Craft with a 4.3 and an SX drive, it's 3 hours away from me. Overall, the boat looks good except for some fading on the exterior and trailer. The boat is currently located about 8 hours away from the nearest body of salt water, but I don't know if it was previously used in salt.

The story from the seller is that it starts up and runs fine, but last time it was out it overheated and starting it on muffs it isn't circulating water. Am I safe to assume that if it starts and runs fine after it overheated, the engine hasn't been damaged? It's my understanding that salt water use accelerates corrosion, and if not maintained it could cause the manifolds to fall apart. If the manifolds are bad, would this cause an overheat situation? I'm not too concerned with it not circulating, that seems like a relatively easy and cheap fix, unless there's something I'm not understanding.

The reason I question salt water use is the photo I've attached and the corrosion present on the outdrive. Is this normal for a 10 year old boat? Excessive? An issue I should be concerned with?

I have no experience with Volvo Penta marine drivetrains, only MerCruiser.

Thank you.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I personally would not even consider this boat

first, that amount of neglect on the outdrive to let corrosion go that far indicates none of the other service has been done....ever

second....the fact that it overheated and the owner didnt look into it, would echo the first statement.

third... no you can not assume that the motor has not been damaged. at a minimum, if there is no cooling water, both exhaust hoses have been burned to the point of needing replacment. worst case, it overheated enough to warp the heads and take out the bearings.... but still runs.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... I'm with Scott on this one,.... it looks abused, 'n neglected,.....

'n never ever assume anything,.....

 

[emilime75]

You guys tell me not to assume anything, then make some wild assumptions yourselves.

Before I continue, no, I have not fallen in love with this thing and I am not going to make a rash decision without thoroughly inspecting it. Just looking for insight and to gather info so I can come up with a list of questions to ask before I decide to make the 6+ hour round trip. It is priced at about 1/3 of where research tells me it should be, so I'll pursue it to the point I decide not to based on what I learn.

From what I'm seeing on various forums, Volvo drives tend to have a reputation of corrosion, most often caused by having the incorrect type of anodes for the type of water the boat is used in. I've also read reports where this amount of corrosion can happen really quickly, like 1 year old boats, so I wouldn't necessarily call this excessive neglect.

If it was overheated to the point of warped heads and roasted bearings...I wouldn't call that a motor that still runs good. Can it run? Maybe. Can it run good? I'd think not. The owner did look into it to the point of learning that water was not circulating. Claims he has too many other projects and life is keeping his interests elsewhere. I've certainly been there myself, so that doesn't sound too far fetched.

OK, so dig deeper and maybe ask for a video/audio of the motor running on muffs? Ask about salt water use? Can anyone answer the question about damaged manifolds/risers causing over heating issues?

 

[Saline Marina]

The way I think most used boat sales by owner go are...I got a quote to fix the problem and it was way more than I wanted to spend and so its easier to sell this, disclosing what's known about the issue and put the money towards something else.

You are definitely would be buying into a problem here. How much is totally unknown. It could be an impeller kit ($100 problem). It could be a leaking o-ring between the castings which is a victim of the corrosion ($5 problem). Could be an engine swap depending on how far it ran into overheat...($2000 problem). And there could be other issues once you get past the initial one.

Not trying to sway you either way but go into a ~20 year old boat purchase knowing its going to need a steady diet of troubleshooting and repair work.

 

[dingbat]

You can tell a lot about a man by how he takes care of his toys....In this case, ridden hard and put away wet....

I wouldn't drive 40 minutes to look at a boat in that condition.

 

[emilime75]

Well, it's a moot point now. The seller has decided to keep it and fix it in the off season.