Boaters chime in plzz engine question

RUNINAGT

RUNINAGT

Member
Oct 3, 2005
237
2
18
CHARLESTON S.C.
#1
I am looking @ purchasing a 1994 Bayliner Capri 18.5ft. Boat is in imaculant condition. Has been garaged since it was new and only one owner. The seller only used it once last summer and it did great. He had it @ the shop when I looked @ it due to the trim not working correctly. They checked it out and stated no problem found, possible trim button stuck.
Anyway took it out on the water. Overheated within 15 minutes. Smokin and all. Got back to dock and he put it back into the shop, they stated the thermostat was stuck and they replaced the impeller due to it being worn.
Took back out, ran for about 40 min started to heat back up. let it sit @ idle then gave a bit of gas and the temp gauge went back to normal. Ran boat for about another 30min and it overheated , smokin and all. Towed in.
When the engine was hot we could see some bubbling coming from the head gasket area. Went away as the temp went down.
He took back to shop and they go it to act up. Said the exhaust elbows were clogged so they replaced them. About $1200 from what I understand.
We are going to attemp the 3rd run. The boat is in great shape otherwise, guy is a customer of mine and is very trust worthy. He is repairing as we go. Still giving me the boat @ the same price.
My question is should I be worried about the bubbling coming from the gasket area if on this ride it does great??
I have been told by some that it probably did that due to the pressure in the engine from it being so hot. Compression readings are still good.?????

Sorry for the long post but I am stuck on the decision to get it. Price is right $5000.00 im telln ya it is super clean. The carpet under the bow seats is the same color as the carpet in the middle of the boat.
 
#2
Was it water that was bubbeling, and if so was it coming from between the head and the block? A blown headgasket would have to be fixed whether it was a boat or a car. If the boat is clean and what you want, it would depend on the money but it mightbe worth it. afterall anyone with mechanical skills could tackle a head gasket and save a lot of money!
 
#3
TY 25TH. Didn't think I would get many post on this and I was correct. LOL
Anyway it was bubbling what appeared to be just air?????? Didn't look like water, and the oil dipstick still had clean oil on it when I checked it the next day. You are correct though it does not look like it would be very hard to replace.
Question on compression test.?? Would the reading's on the compression test still be normal if the gasket has been compromised? Should we perform the test on a cold or hot engine. I would think cold, if the engine is hot wont the gasket swell to cause it to seal better??
I am gonna take her to the lake this weekend, would ya think a gasket issue would show it's uglyness with in a good days worth of driving. Running full throttle quite a bit @ that.
 
#4
I would say just go run it and see how it does. If the gaskets do need replaced, it isn't that hard. I would have them checks the other bellows while they are in it too. You got it easy man, you should see how much I have my boat torn down! Doing a gimble ring repair on twin BBC/ Bravo 1 set-up. One thing to consider with this boat is how rough does the water get where you will be using it. The new ones (last few years) aren't too bad but those older Bayliners aren't made very good and are very rough boats to ride in and fall apart. I work on boats for a living and have drove almost all makes and models that are on the Lake of the Ozarks. But other than that if its in good shape and you like it go for it as long as it gets fixed. I take it a trailer comes with the boat?
 
#5
Its a 1994 Capri 1850ls Yeah trailer is included along with vest and all safety equip. I have looked @ many other boats in this price range 5-8 grand and it seems to be very hard to find something clean and in good shape. Seems like all I get is something with ripped seats or a dealer saying what do you expect for that money.
The truth is. Bayliner or not, this thing is so freakn clean it set the standards high for anything else. It books for about 5400 and im getting it for 5K.
Yes I have heard the Bayliner stories LOL saying "they were made to line the bay floor." We will be in the lake for the most part, not too rough. I have heard the horror stories but then have heard a boat is only as good as the person that took care of it.
So if you work on them then you don't see an issue with the bubbling if it does good this weekend.???
Once again thanks for the help guys it is much appreciated.
 
#6
I have heard and always had a bad taste for Bayliners but to be honest you said it right there. If the boat was cared for, even with the abuse they see (which can be a lot of stress) it should last for a good long while. Being a 94 there should be plenty left in it, and with care from you it should be a good boat.

The test this weekend will be a good one. Run it hard and see what happens. If it goes well then it might not be a concern, or at least one you have to deal with right away. If it worries you, see about having it fixed or fixing it yourself in the winter time (if you guys even have winter down there).
 
#9
Good luck with it and like 25th said, run it hard while test running it. Tell the seller why you are doing so. If he say's no, walk away, there is a reason. A good 30 seconds to a minute is usually enough at wot (wide open throttle) once the engine is warmed up to tell if it runs alright. And yes, the Bayliner can be a decent boat on a calm lake, it just will not take well to the rough water.

A few thing you MUST check before buying. Make sure the stringers and transom are not rotted out. This happens alot, even on a boat that is in mint condition to the eye. Stringer check. Take a large screw driver and hold it by the opposite end of the handle and tap up and down the stringers about 12-15 inches each side of the engine mounts. The stringer is the part of the boat the engine mounts are bolted to and run from the rear of the boat towards the front. You will be able to tell by the sound if they are rotted. They are made of wood with fiberglass and gel coat covering it. Now the transom. This is the part of the boat in the very back. Using the handle of the screwdriver just like above. Start tapping in the middle around the transom assembly (just behind the engine where it goes through the boat to the out drive) and work your way out atleast 24 inches each side and as far up and down as you can reach. Just as above, this is also made of wood with fiberglass and gel coat on top of it. These are vary common problems in used boats and are not cheap to repair. For example if the transom is rotted, you are looking at 3 hrs min. to R&R engine and about 20-25 hrs to rebuild transom + materials. This will equal out to around $2500-2800. When you check the transom do it from the inside of the boat NOT the outside. The worst part will be on the inside. I am in the middle of doing one on an 8.3 Regal at the moment and it is not fun! But be sure to check these, especially on a Bayliner. I am not saying this just because I don't like them (as long as you like boats you are good in my book!) but like said, they are not built as well and more apt to run into these problems.

Also, if you find other boats in your area in the boat trader that are in the price range, feel free to post a link here or email them to me and I can give you a good idea on whether the boat will hold up good and the ups & downs to them. Good luck
Brandon
[email protected]
 
#10
Brandon thanks a lot man. I was this . - . close to bringing the camera today to take some snaps of it for ya but didn't. I will get some tommorrow and post them here.
I really want a fishing/ski boat. Fishing for me and my son to go out in the AM with a trolling motor, prefered. Then ski type so the wife would enjoy it more. I figure we will keep it thru the rest of the summer if it does good to see if the wife enjoys it. If not then we will ace it and get the fishing type that I want. Wife is not much of a boat type, so we'll see.
Once again ty very much, been a great help. I will check those items in a bit. We have the boat here @ our shop. Owner is gonna just let us take it out without him. I really think he's ready to be done with it. Like I stated earlier he is one of our long time customers and very thrust worthy.
 
#11
So the purchase is going down, congrats. If this is your first boat your going to be hooked. Once you get the hang of the "work" involved like loading, unloading, cleaning, winterizing etc... you can spend most of your effort enjoying it.

My friend has a similar sized bow rider (2001 18' Sea Ray) that we keep out in Long Island Sound (Between CT and Long Island). The boat is about as small as you can take out in those waters, but we never had an issue. The bow has seen its fair share of "under the water" time but boats usually handle a decent amount of abuse. The best bet with a smaller boat is to keep an eye out on weather, tides, and the conditions on the water. If the conditions look rough, you might spend more time not enjoying it, especially with a wife and kids. Take them out on clam days, get them into tubing, fishing and such and they will grow into the boat thing!

Good luck with it, and post the pics when you get them!
 
#12
Just an update. No pics yet though, can't find the cable for our camera.
Anyway the boat did great, we went out FRiday for about an hour and it did great. Took it out Sunday with the wife and kids and went tubing , cruising and then parked @ a beach. My SIS had there Grady White out with us.
Once I find the dern cable I will post the pics.
We got it up to about 40-45. Lotta fun
Thanks for all yalls help.
 
#13
Bayliner was notorious for spending money on the apperance of there boats but not as much in the construction. If you have ever restored a boat and replaced stringers and other parts of the hull you know what a pain in the butt it is.

I would stay away from Bayliner, they are for sale for cheap everywhere......there is a reason why!


EDIT: I only read the first few posts and just looked up and saw that you got it. I am not going to edit my comment. What I said is my opinion.

Congrats on the new toy, I hope it gives you years of trouble free fun :)
 
#14
Flavadave4 said:
Bayliner was notorious for spending money on the apperance of there boats but not as much in the construction. If you have ever restored a boat and replaced stringers and other parts of the hull you know what a pain in the butt it is.

I would stay away from Bayliner, they are for sale for cheap everywhere......there is a reason why!


EDIT: I only read the first few posts and just looked up and saw that you got it. I am not going to edit my comment. What I said is my opinion.

Congrats on the new toy, I hope it gives you years of trouble free fun :)
Click to expand...


To each his own. I hope I dont have any problems as well. It doesn't bother me a bit when ppl talk about it. It took us everywhere we wanted to go and we had a blast with it. Just dont curse me with bad luck.
 
#15
Glad you like it man. Everyone has their own opinionn on boat manufacturers. By now you get the story behind Bayliners. Just take good care of it. If I were you I would go the outside of the boat on the transom and put a bead of silicone around the outdrive to help ensure water doesn't leak through at all and rot the transom and also, take the 3 screws out of the drain plug (if it is the square brass bolt style) and pull the whole thing out and make sure it is good and siliconed up and put it back it. Just make sure to take out the whole thing and not just the plug, its real easy, just 3 screws most of the time and it pops right out, may have to pry it a little. But these are the 2 places if water leaks your will loose the transom. Just a little advise for anyone buying or who already has an loder boat. Now find the cable and post pics!
View attachment 368856
http://s114.photobucket.com/albums/n252/bhensley7233/?action=view&current=boatracheal044.flv
Just got my drives back on last night and now only need to put the inside tie bar back on then time to lake test! Wish me luck. I had some sloppy steering issues on mine.
 
#18
Nice boats, and yes any preventetive stuff you can do now, will help tons in the long run... I can't wait to me making enough money to jump out and grab a boat.

Also bad98RT, I don't think I have seen trim tabs on a boat that size. Granted I have never really looked for them but it just surprises me a little. Nice boat though!
 
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