High hour 8.1 Volvo

[Bill Wervey]

Not sure if this should be in the engine section or not, but thought the question was sort of general and I might get more response here.

I have som interest in a Chris-Craft 28' Launch with a Volvo 8.1L, Duo-prop,375hp engine. It has nearly 900 hours on it. Presuming I can see the service records and the proper work was done, is this a high hour count and should it be a concern to me?

 

[Radioactive]

Hours alone cannot be used to determine condition. In fact, a low hours engine could be garbage.

That said, this is not a new engine. With proper care, feeding usage and maintenance, this engine may have more than enough life left for your use. ( or not... )

What you need is a good, rigorous engine survey, by a competent engine surveyor. While this will not guarantee that the engine is perfect, it will give you a very solid basis for making the determination.

If you wish to purchase the boat without the survey, I would assume that a new engine is required. But a survey would be worth it.

Again, how you intend to use the boat will have significant input on the decision. If all you will do is cruise at hull speed up and down a quiet river, it may be perfect. If you intend to go wakeboarding, or making high speed long trips, perhaps not. It all must be considered ( btw: these questions will be asked by the engine surveyor. )

 

[Sandy]

That doesn't sound very high to me, particularly if those hours were over there in freshwater Lake Erie. If the boat is RWC and has been living in SW 900 might be more of a concern

My '88 Crusader FWC carbed 5.7L engines were removed as good-running take-outs at about 2500 hours each. The 2003 upgrade blue 5.7L MPI's that replaced them now have over 2300 hrs so far.

All those ~~ 4800 hrs were in saltwater. I run them conservatively , rarely and briefly above 34-3500 rpm, and change the oil & filter at Crusader's recommended 50hr increments.

Do look at the service records if you can and compare maintenance-done to Volvo's maintenance schedule for that engine. I suggest you check the MEFI scanner history of the hours at each 1000 rpm increment and confirm that 900 hr. total runtime. After a hard run check the scan device for codes.

At idle and at cruise rpm , put your palm on the top of the risers to make sure you can keep it there indefinitely with no discomfort to confirm proper RW flow.

 

[Sandy]

On the other hand , the 8.1's did have notoriety for ingesting seawater. You might care to do a Google search of " Volvo Penta 8.1 L water ingestion " .

 

[Bill Wervey]

I believe the boat was in FL salt water previously, but in Lake Erie the past four years, don't know if it's raw water cooled or not. Have only seen the boat from the outside and on a web site. I am just trying to decide weather to rule it out or not. Thanks for your info.