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Help!! 1987 Malibu Skier mechanic needed in Santa Rosa CA


marinmalibuer

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Hello fellow skiers!

I have an 87 Malibu that I rescued several years ago from total neglect. It's fairly rough but we still love it but can't seem to find a mechanic that wants to work on it. Of course we've been in a drought for the last several years but this winters rainfall has pretty much erased that so we are considering fixing it up. Last year after the our mechanic got it running the best its run, blew a head gasket and has been sitting at his shop in Petaluma for 6 months waiting to get torn apart to determine the severity of the damage. My wife has begun to lose interest in it although she loves to ski. Not sure whether to donate it, consider a partner or what? Anyone interested in a project? I can reply with a list of things we've done to it so far....

Thanks for any advice!

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A head gasket is not a big deal, if that's all it is.  That year and engine are really easy to work on.  Do you have another guy you can take it too?  Any good boat mechanic can tackle it, doesn't have to be a Malibu shop.

OR...how handy are you, the crew here can walk you thru it if you want.  For example, we replaced the engine in my boat.  I've never pulled an engine before, but with the help from a bunch on this site I removed it, hauled to an engine builder who re-did the engine, and then I reinstalled it all.  Your head gasket might be an easy fix.

And yes - pics!  Let's see what we got here.

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9 hours ago, Rednucleus said:

Hours on motor?

Pics?

Unknown? That's what worries me. When I bought the boat the tranny was submerged in water since the drains were plugged with debris...after draining the pink tranny fluid I've gotten maybe 20 4-6 hr runs on it so I think the tranny is holding up. All the wiring is messed up, speedo's & lights don't work, tach works. After a few tries with different shops, I finally got an auto race shop to dial in the carburetor and it was running great then blew the head gasket? My guy has tried to get to it to pull the heads but is swamped with high end hot rod work. I'll send a picture if your really interested, may consider donating for tax deduction but I'd hate see it go to the dumps... 

8 hours ago, Michigan boarder said:

A head gasket is not a big deal, if that's all it is.  That year and engine are really easy to work on.  Do you have another guy you can take it too?  Any good boat mechanic can tackle it, doesn't have to be a Malibu shop.

OR...how handy are you, the crew here can walk you thru it if you want.  For example, we replaced the engine in my boat.  I've never pulled an engine before, but with the help from a bunch on this site I removed it, hauled to an engine builder who re-did the engine, and then I reinstalled it all.  Your head gasket might be an easy fix.

And yes - pics!  Let's see what we got here.

Hi Mich...thanks for getting back with me! Your right...I can work on it(removed & replaced a 5.7 in my 99 suburban and it runs great)  problem is....it was run in salty SF bay area near Oakland so it appears there is a significant amount of rust on a lot of the bolts...may just take you up the offer to walk me through this...I'll get some pics for you...thanks again!

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Don't send her to the dump, they are cool old boats that are easy to work on.  If you do end up dumping, please let me know, I'd love some parts from it.

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13 hours ago, 2014Skier said:

Don't send her to the dump, they are cool old boats that are easy to work on.  If you do end up dumping, please let me know, I'd love some parts from it.

Yes...they are cool old boats! thanks for reminding me "easy to work on".....think I'll just tear it apart myself guessing I'll need a new motor. I'll take pictures and post for advice and/or help. Btw...I have family in Vancouver I need to visit this year. You ski/wakeboard up there?

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the sporting edge in Antioch would be your closest malibu dealer, there's a bunch of machine shops around that could rebuild your motor, or just get a crate long block and do it your self. 

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