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Random Quote: I aint geting on it, it ain't got no trollin motor. Grandpa boarding a cruiseship
All right here's the deal in a nut shell. Took my boat out today,ran fabulously for 20 mins, then I started loosing RPM"s and speed. I brought engine into neutral, as soon as I did this engine stopped. Open up engine hatch, all I can see is what appears to be oil slopping around bilge. My buddy throws out anchor and we call a tow. As we are waiting for tow I ceck oil stick,as I had feared dry as a bone. Engine is a 260 Mercruiser.
How screwed am I???? is there any possibility this will be a quick low cost fix? What could it be?
Could marina/mechanic done something wrong or missed something? For all intents and purposes this was my maiden voyage of season. Back around memorial day she was splashed by my marina. I took her out for only 10mins then until today.
I have my marina do all my maintenance and winter storage and spring commisioning, are they at all culpable? I pay a handsome sum of money every year and this is what I get? This makes me want to take up gambling.
how old is engine ? depending on age maybe oilpan is rotted and if all oil leaked out while under power most likely you have done some severe engine damage.
Just can't tell about any of your questions at this stage. Too little info from you to us, and you probably don't have a lot more info yet either.
A few thoughts. "Could" marina be culpable? Sure, but just as easily, they "could not" be. Depends. Lots of the things they commonly screw up should have showed up in that first ten minutes by Memorial Day. Did you look in the hatch after that run? But they could have messed up something that took longer to show up.
As to damage, cost, etc. who knows? Sure could be a cheap fix (hose, gasket) and maybe you didn't run it long enough with oil low enough to do real damage. But maybe you did. Then it won't be cheap, etc.
See what I mean? Absolutely no point now in discussing what it "could be." Total waste of time. Need to find out what happened to oil, first, and how. Then intelligent guess can be made about damage. Also, filling with oil (once the leak/break has been found/fixed,) turning it over by hand and then seeing if it will run, and how well is next. And so on.
"Could marina/mechanic done something wrong or missed something?
For all intents and purposes this was my maiden voyage of season. Back around memorial day she was splashed by my marina. I took her out for only 10mins then until today."
did you check the oil between the 10 min ride and this ride? Hope its the oil filter.
Well just got diagnosis, oil pan went. They filled with oil. Started said it didn't sound good. They are going to pull engine for further diagnosis!!!!!!
Running a motor without oil/oil presure is not good. Everything that moves in and engine needs oil some parts more then others. Even if it did sound OK it still justifies a complete tear down to see if any dammage was done that will take life from a motor.
If this is a worse case scenario what am I talking in $$$$$, anyone care to estimate so I don't have a heart attack when they tell me. The sad part is I'm trying to sell the boat! I don't even know if I should fix it or sell it the way it is.
I would guess I probably have to fix it to sell it.
worst case, you could be looking at a new motor, or at least a rebuild. Could be in the field of 5k-8k depending on dmage, rebuildability, and cost of a new motor. You also have to gauge the market. 1 motor, or 2? If you get a new motor, and the boat is solid, you could fetch a good price, and lose almost nothing by replacing, then selling. That being said, if you have 2, you'd have to replace both to get any return on replacing 1. Lastly, 9x out of 10, probably cheaper, and easier, selling as-is, for a cheap price, just telling any prospective buyers, motor definitely needs rebuild, or replacement.
Here is latest, mechanic said all bearings are shot. I need new long block so says mechanic. What am I looking at for $$$. I am selling boat should I fix and continue to sell or sell as is?
well I think he is lying about needing a long block. You should be able to get away with a short block, and using some of the old equipment, not destroyed. Long and short of it, you're looking at least 90% of the price of a new motor. Try and get an idea on the price of a new motor, then there is your price. Plus, installation, testing, etc.
The judgement on whether to fix or sell as is, is up to you ultimately. Try and gauge what your boat is worth with a blown motor, and what it is worth with a good motor. What it's worth with a good motor, probably add about $2,000 because yours isn't just good(if you replace), but brand new. If the difference is less than the cost of the motor, sell as is. If it is really close, or larger, then fix it and sell.
Another update, mechanic suggested putting in new short block. Said 2g's for block + installation. He suggested I try and find used one or re-man. I'm looking for 5.7 litre 260-300hp mercruiser or equivalent. Any suggestions?
best bet, go around to "racing" shops in your area. a lot of those guys buy boats with say a stock engine, and buy a big-block and have all kinds of tricked out turbo stuff added. Where does that stock motor go? Not sure, but they might know.
As to whether or not it's worth it or not, just changing the short-block out for around 2g's, definitely worth it. Even though it would only cost the new owner 2gs, it would at LEAST depreciate the boat by more than double that by not having it, so it is worth it.
If you want, you can find out who merc uses(They use regular car manufacturer short-blocks and use all the marine stuff to make them marine) and try and find one of them too. That might be the cheapest way, but you will incur more time in the mechanic "building" it up. For probably 1g more you could get the used one out of a cigarette boat that got hopped up.
Here's a link to Jasper remanufactured marine engines. I have used their short blocks in trucks and they are reliable and reasonably priced. Good luck.
If you can't do the work yourself, I doubt it would be worth paying for the repair in order to sell the boat. First you have to come up with the money to do the repair, then you still have to find a buyer, and in the mean time, hope nothing else goes wrong. Might be better to cut your losses and sell it as a project.
Need advice/breakdown 
