Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

Adventures of buying used, what is your story (almost sunk boat yesterday)


hawaiianstyln

Recommended Posts

So I bought my boat almost exactly 1 year ago.  I have put in an enormous amount of upgrades, replaced parts, etc....  Yesterday I'm hanging out at a sandbar, we decided to pack up and trek about 4 miles back to dock down the river (Maumee river, Toledo OH).  We quickly noticed we couldn't plain and the back end was heavy.  Opened up hatch and realize we are taking on a scary amount of water.  At this point I don't know if we have a big leak in the hull or anything and I couldn't visually see anything wrong.  Not being able to diagnose at that moment, 6 kids/4 adults, I realized safety is #1.  I quickly jumped in the driver seat and hauled a$$ to the nearest marina 800 yards away.  I came screaming into the marina too, past the no wake zone....People were yelling at me until I yelled back stating that I'm sinking taking on water (they quickly shut up and gave me a thumbs up).  Get to the dock and let the bilge pump everything out.  Cranked her back up and realize the hose that attaches to the oil cooler (I think it's the oil cooler) that leads to the dripless shaft is laying in the bilge and water is screaming out of that oil cooler into my bilge.

That hose was zip tied, wtf.  yes zip tied....

sometimes you just can't see everything to make sure things are good when you buy a used boat.   #*@&#(@#  what concerns me is that engine was about 209 degrees by the time I got to the dock because limited water circulation.  I attached the hose and re-ran her and everything seemed great/smooth, but that engine was 1/4 under water enough that the belt was flinging water everywhere.  I should probably Lube my bindex on the starter and other things?

Link to comment

That sucks!  But good news is these motors are more resilient than you think.  I once ran my 350 on my VLX with the large J hook off & water spraying everywhere, high temps & it ran fine after that for years.  I recently ran my MB's engine after winterize (empty block) without water for prob 5 minutes or more, then kept restarting it trying to figure out why it wouldn't suck water from the fake lake, engine temp hit about 180 before I shut it down.  Everything was fine, even my well lubed impeller.   My wife has forgotten to turn the boat engine off twice now.  Once was just a few minutes from dock to stage area.  The other we got off as a major storm rolled through & it ran for probably 5-10 minutes before we caught it.  Still runs strong, holds temp great.  

Edited by racer808
  • Like 1
Link to comment

I just don't know what temp would cause a head to crack.  I do know that this motor likes to eat up some oil more than my other boats.  I was down one quart after running the boat heavily about 7 times all day.  When I say heavy, that includes running boat for 8 hours of wakeboarding or pulling kids on tubes, or simply running at WOT back and forth to sandbar/launch site/or even local bar and grill on the water.  I know some past threads people say that their motors eat oil like that and others don't at all.  Other than that, she runs GREAT!

 

Link to comment
19 minutes ago, hawaiianstyln said:

That hose was zip tied, wtf.  yes zip tied....

At least you caught it!  I went over the water, fuel, and electric path from entry to exit on my used boat.  Unfortunately that's what you have to do - in addition to other stuff.

  • Like 2
Link to comment

lesson learned for sure.  That hose that popped off is kind of hidden on the back side of the cooler (bottom side I guess) so I should have at least felt to see if there was a hose clamp

Link to comment

If you winterize you would likely have seen that during the process.  As part of normal maintenance I check all the hose clamps each year as well as the bolts attaching the rudder to the steering arm and that hold the rudder in place.

My concern would be what type of care the previous owner took with the boat if there really was a zip tie holding the hose to the oil cooler.  Maybe in an emergency situation you might do that to get back to the dock but once back on the trailer it would be fixed before ever thinking about launching again.  After a year you likely would have come across most issues. 

If the alarm for temp was not going off or only for a couple of minutes you should be fine with the motor.  I would check for any water in the bilge though the next time out.  Maybe run around for 30 minutes before coolers, wet passengers or waves add water to the bilge and make sure it is dry. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment

good point.  I don't really "truly" winterize mine because I added a hot dawg heater in my garage.  I definitely wouldn't have removed that hose but over the next few days I will just trace everything down and make sure I don't have anything else that was rigged like that.

 

Link to comment
4 minutes ago, Fman said:

One of my spring rituals is to start my boat on a fake lake and run it to normal operating temps.  It allows you to take a good look at the engine, monitor gauges, and discover any leaks.  Just something to consider.

indeed one of mine as well, if not multiple times before my first run of the year.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
2 hours ago, hawaiianstyln said:

I just don't know what temp would cause a head to crack.  I do know that this motor likes to eat up some oil more than my other boats.  I was down one quart after running the boat heavily about 7 times all day.  When I say heavy, that includes running boat for 8 hours of wakeboarding or pulling kids on tubes, or simply running at WOT back and forth to sandbar/launch site/or even local bar and grill on the water.  I know some past threads people say that their motors eat oil like that and others don't at all.  Other than that, she runs GREAT!

 

Normal operating range of an engine is 195 - 220 in a car... Boats run cooler due to well... endless supply of cool water.... From my understanding...  a sustained > 240 is your enemy

  • Like 3
Link to comment

I had the cover for my impeller come off last year. Running to get to a fireworks show with most of the family on board. I had replaced the impeller, and in the process found a couple if the bolts that hold the cover on were broken off. No big deal, they got replaced, put in new impeller and a new gasket, and went about using the boat for a couple weekends. Then cruising along, the dreaded beeping of an alarm, and my screen starts flashing a temp alarm.  When i opened the engine compartment, water spraying all over the place, trace it back, and shut it down. I had to call the wife to come with the other boat, and tow us in. Fished around in the bilge while under tow, and find all 4 bolts, the cover and the gasket. Reassemble by feel, and tightened a little harder back at the dock. Ran fine the rest of the summer, had me a little worried though.

I have since checked every nut, bolt, fitting, and wire for any sign of wear. And that also has become part of my spring checklist. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment

You are not the only one who's newly purchased "used" boat almost sank, or was taking on excessive water.  I purchased my 2015 22 VLX last May with about 75-hours.  While out on the lake last fall, my bilge pump began to expel water while preparing to dock.  This was unusual because I was only out for a few hours and did not do any water sports on this particular day.  When I arrived home, I removed the transom drain plug and lake water began to pour out for about 1.5 minutes.  My previous boat never took on so much water while just floating around on the lake.

While out of the water and in my garage, I inspected the exterior of the boat and could not find any source of leaking, so I hooked up my "fake a lake" and had my wife start engine while I was searching for any leaks.  Right away I noticed my engine block was leaking water into the hull from the capped heater ports.  There were two 5/8" heater ports on the engine block, one for a hose to the heater and a second one from the heater back to the engine block.  Both of these ports were capped off by a 5/8" heater bypass caps (one at each end).  Both of these caps were cracked and leaking  water into the hull.  Luckily, they were only leaking when the engine was running.  The part cost about $6.00 for two caps and took about 30 minutes to fix.  It scares me that something so simple could have caused so much damage.  If I had been out on a bigger lake and far away from any docks, I could have severely damaged my boat.  Also, I was shocked by the fact that both of these rubber caps were so cracked on a 2-year only boat (as of last summer).  I totally would have expected them to last longer. 

The video below shows my diagnosis in my garage last September:

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment

The PO of my boat said the only problem with it was the heater would trip the breaker if it ran to long.  i kept noticing the floor in the walkway by the helm would get wet, more than usual and I took on more water than seem reasonable for the people getting in and out.  Also noticed the water was hot. Long story short. The heater core was cracked and leaking into the blower fan. Put an extra load on the motor causing the breaker to trip. 2 for 1 on that fix.

 

Glad you made it back safely and no major issues have come up.

  • Like 1
Link to comment

Bought my first boat used from a fellow in Lake of the Ozarks.  Drove up from Texas.  2 hours later towing home into the setting sun we stopped for a long line of road construction pausing traffic for 1-way travel.  

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEECCH!!!!! thump.  Yup, lower case thump.  Barely felt a nudge in the SUV.  Turns out that a V-Drive on a Single Axle trailer with surge brakes will do a huge number on Chevy Colorado.  Fit right under the platform and impaled itself on the trailer.  All it did to the boat was bust up some of the plastic bits hanging off the back and the trailer brake lights.  Totaled the truck.  

I was REALLY happy I took the extra hour on site with the PO to get the insurance straightened out rather than taking care of it on Monday.

Edited by Slurpee
  • Like 2
Link to comment

Malibu used to use small Zip tie to connect the Water cooled shaft seal tube. My 06 had it and heard stories of others failing, that's what made me trace mine down and put on a proper clamp.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
36 minutes ago, dalt1 said:

Malibu used to use small Zip tie to connect the Water cooled shaft seal tube. My 06 had it and heard stories of others failing, that's what made me trace mine down and put on a proper clamp.

oh damn man.....

Link to comment

Good to hear you managed the situation OK with no one getting hurt or damage.

Be prepared to rebuild/replace the starter in about a year though.

  • Like 3
Link to comment

If 209 was all you saw, I would not be concerned.  I have never messed with boat cooling systems, but in the auto world the concern is not really the water temp hurting the engine.  The concern is boiling the water which pushes it out of the cooling system and is replaced with air.  The problem really starts creeping in around 230-240+ water temps in your auto cooling system due to the pressure and antifreeze.  Then you end up with air in the system(instead of water) which then creates very bad problems due to rapidly rising temps inside the combustion chamber and then things can start to melt down.

In the NASCAR world, we were having to beef up radiator designs and cooling systems when teams figured out they could run 260+ water temps at 60-80psi which equated to more front tape on the grille which equated to more downforce.  NASCAR finally woke up to that safety hazard and put max PSI rules on the pressure relief valves.  Probably not very safe to blow up a radiator at 80 psi with 280deg water with a crewman standing over it. 

Anyway, as long as you were still flowing some water thru the engine and the 209 temp was accurate I see no reason for concern from my non-boating experience.  I would guess an open cooling system is not under pressure so it would boil at 212?  But you also are constantly replacing any boiled water with fresh water(unlike a closed system) if it was still flowing water so no real high chance of hot spots or air pockets?

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Glad everyone is ok. If you have that much water an over the side ballast pump is a good plan b. Mine is way faster than my bilge pump. 

 

When I got my 2004 the owner told me it has new trailer tires.  Later I checked the date codes and found out what he meant was 'I replaced the 2 tires I had flats on and the other 2 are really old."

 

Also someone had used a non reinforced hose for my raw water intake and the impeller could suck it flat. Luckily some water was getting through and I never had any over heating or impeller damage. Ski dim got me a new hose quickly after I found the problem. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment

So far on my used purchase, I have replaced and learned lessons by not checking/looking/thinking about it:

  1. Tires had flat spots, replaced all 4 with best carlisles I could get
  2. 3 out of 4 calipers were seized up, replaced all 4
  3. master cylinder trailer actuator looked like peanut butter it was so dried.  Spent hours flushing and cleaning lines and added new DOT3
  4. Shower pump completely seized, replaced.
  5. Shower pump head cracked and leaking, replaced.
  6. 2 ballast pumps seized blowing fuses.  Cleaned inside with hull cleaner and work like new
  7. added spare tire.
  8. bilge pump wires were bare and just twisted on laying in the bilge no tape/nothing.  fixed with re-splice and heat shrink
  9. Current situation: Boat is burning about 1 quart about every 7-8 times out.  We do run it WOT a lot for miles to get to certain destinations.  I've heard others burn oil and some don't.  It's not smokey and you can't find the oil anywhere so I'm just going to stay up on adding and checking every month if need be.
  10. Starting battery was slowly dying, replaced.
  11. No bow WindScreen to be found, bought new online
  12. Boat was acid washed just before pickup, then realizing later that the boat didn't seemed to be wiped down every time after use because I found HEAVY areas of baked on water spots
  13. Back ski locker gas shocks were shot, replaced
  14. upholstery ski lockers had that mildew stain issue from using a black cover, replaced by Malibu Gabe.

at this point, I've spent hours and hours and hours getting this baby to look new again.  Even local dealer gave me a big WOW when I pulled up a few months back.  :)

I would like to think I have good experience checking out used boats before I buy them, but the list above got the best of me. 

Link to comment
7 minutes ago, hawaiianstyln said:

So far on my used purchase, I have replaced and learned lessons by not checking/looking/thinking about it:

Just think of how much you've learned!  You probably know more about your boat than 99% of us.

Re #9, if oil pressure OK, maybe do a compression test or have a leak down test done - later.

  • Like 1
Link to comment

I bought my '97 Tantrum in 2010, never really had any major issues because I am super proactive about preventative maintenance, but here are a couple of things that caught me off guard:

1. Water pump started leaking first summer I had it out (fixed while in the water)

2. Accessory belt too loose after I changed the impeller, belt started slipping

3. Had most of the drain plugs (blue) crack and leak, they get old and brittle and crack in half.  Easy replacement but didn't think about it.

4. Last season the main ring terminal (under the boot) on the alternator cracked in half, I suspect it had been fatigued for years and just finally went.  I noticed it right away, always check my gauges on startup.  But if it had gone out on the lake would have been stranded.

5. Broken shifter cable, broke right one morning out on the buoy, so lucky it didn't happen out on the lake.  Always check your Morse shifter, the brass pins wear out and they are pretty easily replaceable.  New shifter/throttle cables are also an easy thing to do (at least on my boat).

6. Broken impeller bits on the transmission screen; I am super careful about changing my impeller, but never thought to look at the screen, did so when I was winterizing last season and discovered all sorts on bits of old impeller and housing; I had been running the boat for 7 years with this crap in there!  Now my starboard riser is cool, was wondering why it always ran a little warmer!

 

Edited by solorex
  • Like 1
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...