Siezed 454 OMC King Cobra

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Siezed 454 OMC King Cobra

No worries, Rick. Thanks for your help.
However it shakes out, I will have this thing out for a test by Labor Day.
I will keep you updated with pics and such.

Mike

Pictures will be great.....we love project pictures!

I know a guy locally that had a big boat with the same drive as yours and the 7.5L engine (90 or 91 I think)

He had his Spitfire ignition fail on him and his only choice was to buy the complete points-type ignition from my previously installed 460.

He did get it all back together and it evidently ran good enough for him to use the boat for a while (then he sold it FAST!!)


Since you got the boat fairly cheep, If the drive is otherwise ok, you should be able to sell it easily. (I got $1450 for my King Cobra Dog-clutch drive) Yours should be worth as much or more! (I sold ALL my OMC "stuff" over a 2-3 year period a little at a time on ebay, craigslist and to people here that actually sought me out!!(you cannot post anything to sell here on iboats though) All totaled, I got about $3500 selling all the "stuff" (I still can't believe it!)


Good luck,


Rick

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: Siezed 454 OMC King Cobra

I have seen that cone drive king sell used for 3k..

I can't wait for pictures...
We want pictures now.. I would like to see what ya got for 2k....

 

[sam60]

Re: Siezed 454 OMC King Cobra

OK. I'll try photobucket link.....

http://s246.photobucket.com/albums/gg114/poofdirt/

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: Siezed 454 OMC King Cobra

WOW she is nice... For sure worth a fix

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Siezed 454 OMC King Cobra

Yeah! Nice boat to install a 454/496/502 & Bravo III or DPS!

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: Siezed 454 OMC King Cobra

502 & Bravo III

Go for broke... She is a big ol fat girl.. Needs the extra motivation

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Siezed 454 OMC King Cobra

Yeah!!....as soon as I find one it's going in front of my Bravo III in my Four Winns Liberator!!!!

 

[sam60]

Re: Siezed 454 OMC King Cobra

Thanks. I will send you DURING and AFTER pictures also.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Siezed 454 OMC King Cobra

Going to be fun getting that engine out of there.

 

[sam60]

Re: Siezed 454 OMC King Cobra

Piece of cake with a mechanic Buddy who started rebuilding trannies at 10 years old and has a 45 x 75 shop in his backyard and a forklift. The 8 years working as a marine mechanic doesn't hurt. Going there Saturday AM to pull the exhaust manifolds and inspect the valve guides. I think it will be running Sunday with drive on or off.

It's too early to say that I am changing it. Repower is a worst case cenario. Best case is getting it running good for 2 years of enjoyment and sell it.

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: Siezed 454 OMC King Cobra

I wanta forklift in my backyard.. Some people have all the cool toys

 

[sam60]

Re: Siezed 454 OMC King Cobra

His forklift is in the shop in the shade. If i repowered he would find a way to put a cummins 5.9 in it, which I would prefer over anything.

 

[sam60]

Re: Siezed 454 OMC King Cobra

Yeah! Nice boat to install a 454/496/502 & Bravo III or DPS!

What is a DPS ?

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: Siezed 454 OMC King Cobra

Volvo Penta dual prop outdrive I think.. Chances of finding that affordable are slim...

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Siezed 454 OMC King Cobra

What is a DPS ?

Yeah. the volvo DPS. NICE setup! I looked for one (either 454/496/502) ! I also priced (NEW) Volvo 496/DPS and Mercruiser 496/Bravo III for my repower and found them similar in price.....

I figured $25,000 was a little much to spend on a 1987 boat .................

Then I started looking for USED Volvo and Merc engines and drives.....

I found a LOT of different year Merc engine/drive combinations locally............. I never found a Volvo engine and drive setup.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Siezed 454 OMC King Cobra

Your boat is well worth fixing--very nice hull. With the spark plugs pulled and a good MMO soaking, you should easily figure out if the engine is locked. Like you previously mentioned, you can use a breaker bar and 1/2" socket to manually turn the motor over--clockwise.

You can also easily figure out if the outdrive is the culprit. Drop the lower unit and kick it through the gears--noting how easy the propeller turns forward and reverse.

Very, very few inboard-outboard engines ever wear out. Most die from a lack of maintenance, especially when water is left in the engine to freeze. My Mercruiser 470 dropped a thrust bearing into the oil pan partially locking the engine up. It was an easy fix, however.

Just take it step by step. If you had to re-engine your boat, you can inboard outboard systems online at much more reasonable prices than in the past. You would certainly get your money's worth.

Another option you could take is to purchase a big used outboard engine--preferably a 4 stroke. Fiberglass over the transom holes, and have an external motor mount fabricated to hang on the transom. With a 500 pounds of weight savings over an I/O, you can end up with much better performance out of less horsepower. And, the price is right.

 

[sam60]

Re: Siezed 454 OMC King Cobra

Thanks Bamaman for your positive comments. I would like to be on the lake soon, but won't until I'm convinced that I have checked everything that I can. The PO got stranded in a cove and towed to the marina and parked it. He really never did any maint, unless something was wrong. He had the OMC outdrive rebuilt with a combo of new/used parts and gears in 2005 so I hope it is just a starter like he claims.

As far as an outboard goes, this thing has a large swim deck, so I don't see that working out too easily.

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: Siezed 454 OMC King Cobra

Thanks Bamaman for your positive comments. I would like to be on the lake soon, but won't until I'm convinced that I have checked everything that I can. The PO got stranded in a cove and towed to the marina and parked it. He really never did any maint, unless something was wrong. He had the OMC outdrive rebuilt with a combo of new/used parts and gears in 2005 so I hope it is just a starter like he claims.

As far as an outboard goes, this thing has a large swim deck, so I don't see that working out too easily.

Did it die then wouldn't restart or did he kill it to chill in the cove then it wouldn't restart? I noticed Navada.. You taking it to Lake Mead?

 

[sam60]

Re: Siezed 454 OMC King Cobra

Engine is coming out in the morning. Seized tighter than a bull's a** at fly time.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Siezed 454 OMC King Cobra

Engine is coming out in the morning. Seized tighter than a bull's a** at fly time.

Ok,


If you decide to fix the 454 and try to run it, be absolutely sure you break the manifolds away from the riser/elbows so you can check the gaskets and check for corrosion/leaks etc.

It's possible that you have a riser-manifold leak or a crack in either the manifold or riser that allowed water to run back into an open exhaust valve after shut-down.

You'll probably verify that when you remove the heads and find one or more cyls with rust in them from water that came in through the exhaust.

This is what happened to my previously installed 7.5L (460) V-8....mine wasn't severe......it just let enough water in a cyl to briefly cause a hydrolock that made it hard to start....

After a while it always did start......It wasn't enough water to get a lot past the rings and into the oil though.....

It's just one possibility.......