2015 Malibu MXZ

[jfavor30]

Wondering if anyone out there has owned or owns a 2015 Malibu MXZ.  I am looking to purchase one that has just over 600 hours and am curious if thats to much

[PNWoke]

Asking about hours alone, you’re going to get a lot of different responses.  Imho, if the boat is maintained properly and the work is done on schedule by someone competent, those Malibu powertrains should last 1500-2000 hours.  Since it has 600 hours, it should have had its spark plugs changed out recently.  I would probably pull a plug and take a look at it.  600 hours on a boat that has been maintained well isn’t very scary prospect, especially considering that you are probably going to get a break on the price because of it.  Fwiw my 2014 with 900 hours ran no different from my 2015 with 250 hours.

I would probably pull the O2 sensors off the cats and inspect them for damage.  There was some issues with them from the factory during the mid-2010s.  If they’re cooked/burnt it could be that previous owner didn’t do proper impeller maintenance and overheated the engine.  Always a good idea to pay a good shop/mechanic to pressure test the cylinders.

Edited August 3, 2023 by PNWoke

[jfavor30]

14 hours ago, PNWoke said:

Asking about hours alone, you’re going to get a lot of different responses.  Imho, if the boat is maintained properly and the work is done on schedule by someone competent, those Malibu powertrains should last 1500-2000 hours.  Since it has 600 hours, it should have had its spark plugs changed out recently.  I would probably pull a plug and take a look at it.  600 hours on a boat that has been maintained well isn’t very scary prospect, especially considering that you are probably going to get a break on the price because of it.  Fwiw my 2014 with 900 hours ran no different from my 2015 with 250 hours.

I would probably pull the O2 sensors off the cats and inspect them for damage.  There was some issues with them from the factory during the mid-2010s.  If they’re cooked/burnt it could be that previous owner didn’t do proper impeller maintenance and overheated the engine.  Always a good idea to pay a good shop/mechanic to pressure test the cylinders.

Is there an easy way to pull the O2 sensors off the cats?  I am not sure how to do that

[CaptainMorgan]

i'd also argue that 600 hrs is a positive sign that the boat actually got used regularly (e.g. >60 hrs/yr).  I'd be nervous if it were 8yrs old and had like 100hrs as that means a lot of time it was sitting idle and potentially neglected.

[PNWoke]

On 8/4/2023 at 6:02 AM, jfavor30 said:

Is there an easy way to pull the O2 sensors off the cats?  I am not sure how to do that

Yeah.  There are 2 sensors on the top of each cat, just under the drying/engine tray.  They are similar to the o2 sensors you find on car exhaust.  They are very simple to get a wrench on and unscrew them.  You can usually see the cat damage (if there is any) from the precat O2 sensor because that is the side that gets the hottest, being closer to the cylinders.  The sensors are likely similar to mine in the pictures and are labeled clearly.

Edited August 7, 2023 by PNWoke

[jfavor30]

Thank you!!