2nd Sea Trial went bad-- now what ?

C

cacioa

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5171
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I had a survey done last week on a 2000 340 sundancer with 7.4 magnum horizon engines (550 hours). Nothing major on the survey, Seller agreed to install 2 new batteries and one alternate. I ended up paying for an oil change.

--upon a 2nd sea trial showing that all is well with the boat (holding charge...) we were underway at around 4000 RPMs and the low oil alarm went on. the pressure was reading around 7! We had to bring the RPMS down to around 2000 and the alarm went off --pressure was at around 40 the whole way in. When we got back to the dock we realized the oil change wasnt done. An independent mechanic at the dock changed the filter and placed a mechanical gage on the motor. This time oil pressure seemed fine when we increased rpms on the mechanical gage. The independent Mechainc said the oil is very dirty. --still has viscosity, but hasnt been changed in a while. It was also low by a 1/2 quart. They are going to change the oil and filter and take me out for a 3rd sea trial. My questions are as follows:

1-- Is there anything specifically I should be doing on RPMs... for this Sea Trial?

2-- Should I run it for 10 minutes, 20 minutes???

3-- If the alarm goes on again, is it reason enough to walk away from this boat?

4-- Due to the existing oil being black and an alarm going on already --Is that enough reason to walk away from the boat?

Had a compression test done at time of survey --all cylinders came back within normal range. Does that mean anything in this case? does it rule out any lack of lubrication issues?

I realize these are a lot of questions --Any advice would greatly be appreciated

Thank you
 
Sounds like a couple of serious issues. You paid for an oil change, which was not done. Not sure i want to do business with these people. Second, oil is very dirty, indicates poor care at best, neglet etc.

There are just too many good deals on great boats to accept this. WALK.

John
 
Walk because of dirty oil ?

If the oil has not been changed, I'd ask for a sample and send it to Blackstone for an analysis ( I do this on every boat I buy) ... If it has been changed, run it for an hour and see what happens... look for foaming of the oil in the cap.

If the oil alarm continues to sound at high RPM's that might be a good reason to walk ... but i doubt it was caused by dirty oil. how dirty was it?
 
If you need a 3rd sea trial I have to agree start looking for another boat. I believe in Karma this boat isn't sending you good signal's.
But in the end it's your choice. Not knowing the details like how the boat is outfitted and the agreed upon price I really can't give you my opinion. However, it needed new batteries, an alternator, you were supposed to get an oil change and the oil looks neglected I would be willing to bet if they couldn't keep up with these minor maintenance items other things were neglected.
Bill
 
I also think an oil analysis would be a better way to check the condition of the oil and it's contaniments. Oil does get dark especially when its hard to pump out all the old oil prior to refilling.
 
Oil analysis without historical data and previous test samples is basically useless unless it shows very high levels. you need a long history of oil samples to see what is really going on.
Who was in charge of the oil change? Did they know it was not done? I could imagine, as a broker, having someone come over for a sea trial if they were promised an oil change and not verifying it was done first! It also really depends on the price. If you are paying more than $50-60k I'd walk as you are overpaying.
 
true... historical data is a nice to have but if your on the fence and the oil sample comes back with red flags... much more comfy taking a walk.
 
Maintenance is the most important part of the motor/drive train. They know they haven't kept up. Offer half the asking...just to be a butthead.
 
You paid for an oil change that wasn't done. You had a low oil pressure alarm during sea trial. The mechanic indicated that the oil looked like it was overdue for a change. I would walk.
 
Why did you end up paying for an oil change? That never happened?

You may just have a sender/gage problem. I would have them check it out first, before you waste any more time on this one. At the least, bring the mechanical gage with you on the sea trial. Good luck.
 
Sounds like you are dealing with a bunch of amateurs. Its bad enough they didn't change the oil BEFORE the survey and unacceptable they didn't change it AFTER you paid!!

I would be very unhappy. One major reason I walked away from a boat, they put a 99 cent toggle switch on the main panel....in a $100k+ boat. A big WTF, and red flag. If your not going to take care of an obvious issue with pride, I don't want to imagine what lurks within.

Don't walk, RUN!
 
If you are looking for a reason to walk then walk, if you really like the boat then understand it is a boat and **** happens dig deeper to make sure things are OK and move forward. Although it is true there are lots of good deals to be had there is also a lot of poorly maintained boats out there. Finding a boat that has fresh oil and assuming it is in better condition then the one you are looking at is ridiculous the boat with fresh oil may have been just changed for the first time in years to prep for the sale. Here you know you need to look closer but I wouldn't walk yet.
 
2 years ago a friend of mine was at cruise speed in his 2000 Silverton with the same motors and the same thing happened to him. He shut it down and come home on one motor. After much investigation it turned out to be a defective Mercruiser brand oil filter. No problem since.

Also, check to see if that Sea Ray is one of the boats that had the recall to modify the exhaust system due to water ingestion. If it is, make sure it is done before you buy the boat.
 
many unknowns here... problem could have been the oil filter or the sender... old oil indicates lack of maintenance which is an issue but not necessarily reason to walk, especially if the price recflect the lack of maintenance.

what amazes me is that who ever did the preflight on the boat didnt' check the oil and didn't notice it had not been changed!

good point on the exhaust issue, also if that's a Vee drive, those velvets had issues between 98 and 00/01. most likely fixed by now but if the boat had low hours and has never been pushed there still could be a surprise with overheating tranny fluid and bad regulator
 
quote:
Originally posted by Billylll

If you need a 3rd sea trial I have to agree start looking for another boat. I believe in Karma this boat isn't sending you good signal's.
it needed new batteries, an alternator, you were supposed to get an oil change and the oil looks neglected I would be willing to bet if they couldn't keep up with these minor maintenance items other things were neglected.Bill
Click to expand...


+1 +2 +3!!!! RUN
 
if the oil has now been changed, an oil sample is not going to help.
 
If you are going to do an oil analysis, hurry up and get it done on the grungy old oil that's in there now.
 
You refer to the sea trial in the first person "Should I run it for 10 minutes, 20 minutes???" causing me to think that you are not using a mechanical surveyor for this part of your transaction. True or not true???...

If you are not, than you should remedy that immediately.

With regard to the oil pressure situation, I believe that you (your mechanical surveyor) should test the pressure on both engines with a mechanical oil pressure gauge, and at varying RPMs and speed.

Your sea trial should last until you are satisfied, though I'm thinking that it should be in the hour to hour and a half time frame range; two hours if you feel the necessity.

It is during this time that your mechanical surveyor should be using an IFR temp gauge to check the usual "hot spots" for potential issues, not that they become the responsibility of the seller, but to give you peace-of-mind.

If you can obtain a sample of the before-changed oil, than it wouldn't hurt to do so; if not, than no big deal, though the 1st oil sample could become the benchmark for your maintenance schedule - assuming that you complete the transaction...

In conclusion, your comments to indicate that the engines seem to be OK, but the oil pressure situation needs to be settled before you go to closing...

One more thing - salt or fresh water location...
 
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