1000 hour maintenance

J

justgotaboat

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I have heard that there is a lot of maintenance that should be done at the 1000 hour mark of my boat (2001 245 searay weekender with 5.0L MPI braveIII) However most of the people telling me to do it are mechanics and I am not sure if they are just trying to upsell me. Is there anything that should be done at 1000 hours that is not part of typical maintenance? It seems to me that as long as the boat is running well it should not matter...

What do you guys think? what do you do, would you do, or have you done?

This all kind of ties into the power/engine issues we are having. we are trying to decide if we should repower our boat since she has a lot of hours and some issues. the thought is put a new crate motor in it, while expensive, it should alleviate a lot of future fixes, and our current problems. plus since nobody can tell us what is really wrong with it, it seems like spending a little more money on something that is brand new would be a better idea than continually trying to troubleshoot an old tired engine that may need a large amount of maintenance in a short time.... all of which could prove to be as expensive as the repower and your still stuck with an old tired engine.

Does any of that make sense? what are your thoughts? We like this boat and layout and plan to keep if for several years at least.
 
Congratulations on getting that many hours of running time on your boat in 10 seasons. That adds up to many enjoyable days on the water. A crate engine is great, but it may not solve all of your problems. You'd still be shifting the electricals, fuel, and power steering and outdrive to your new engine. I think you or your mechanic needs to first narrow down the causes of your problems and their solutions. Then you can decide on a crate engine or a quality rebuilt. A new long block with a bad carb or alternator or wiring harness or starter or outdrive water pump will not be fun. Hy
 
1000 hours on an engine isn't very much. they should last far longer than that. Are you sure your problems aren't something else?

Bob
 
The typical maintenance cycle on a marine engine is 100hrs or annual. Things like fluid changes, outdrive services etc and depending on how the boat is used, ie year around or winterized spark plug and water pump impeller replacements. Other factors on maintenance are saltwater/freshwater use and if it is stored in the water or on a trailer/lift -- this affects things like outdrive bellows and exhaust manifolds/risers. There is nothing special that happens at 1000hrs, although you are getting into the age where other components might need replacing do to age/wear (ie circulating waterpump, alternator, throttle cables, fuel pump etc) these items tend to break then you replace, there is not a specific maintenance schedule. 1000hrs is by no means end of life for a marine engine, if it has been maintained it should last much longer - 2000-3000hrs is not uncommon. You don't say what type of problems you are having with the engine now, so it is hard to say if replacing the motor is a good idea. I would list out some of your issues here on this forum, lots of knowledgeable people who can offer advice. You might find these problems are not big at all. Bottom line I would really understand what is going on before you just replace the motor.
 
What does the owners manual say???

Engine life can be 500 or 4000 hours in boats. The big difference is maintenance and avoiding water ingestion.

Simple tests like compression, vacuum and oil assay will give you some clues as to condition.
 
I agree with Bruce. 1000 hours is not some magic number that I know of. Check your engine and tranny manufacturer and see what they say.

You could also get a complete survey done. If done right that could find issues that need to be addressed.
 
if you are looking for the path of least resistance and budget is not the first concern, a new motor and controls for it will solve the problems and upgrade performance. the alternative is probably not a whole lot cheaper but will take a bit more time. pull all of it out and completely rebuild. it will also fix all of the problems. depends on who much energy you want to expend yourself vs hiring it out.
 
I would advise against a preventitive repower. Unlike car engines which wear out around 150-200k+ when there is blowby in the cylinders due to worn rings, or leaking valve seals - marine engines typically break - water gets into a cylinder, something critical corrodes, gas gets watered down due to a leak and detonation is the result, things of that nature. In my experience, engines with 100 hours are at about the same risk of failure as engines at 1100 hours, so pulling a working motor isn't wise, unless you know for a fact that you have low compression in one or more cylinders, or some other issue that indicates a worn engine.

In my opinion there are some parts that MUST be replaced, specifically the exhaust components. What you need to replace depends on your particular setup, and whether or not you are in salt water. Worst case is salt water, with sea water pumped through the exhaust manifolds. In that case, if you made it to 1000 hours with the originals, consider yourself lucky and replace the manifolds and risers. If you have 'closed' cooling, and pump antifreeze through the manifolds, or if you boat in fresh water, then you only need to replace the risers.
 
if the engine is raw sea water cooled then my opinion will change somewhat.
 
What brand engine is it? What regular maintenance has been performed?

What, if any, specific problems are you having?

Have the manifolds and risers ever been changed? If not, you are WAY overdue.

How about water pump/impeller?

How is compression in each cylinder?

Have you ever had oil analysis done? If so, what are results?
 
quote:
Originally posted by rnbenton

1000 hours on an engine isn't very much. they should last far longer than that. Are you sure your problems aren't something else?

Bob

Click to expand...


Agreed, we need to know what the maintenance history is on the engine, and what current compression figures are.

Heck, I put 920 hours on last year alone (average for me is 800-1,000 a season) - not sure why some think 1,000 is a lot.
 
We have a pair of 30 year old Marine Power engines, raw water cooled, with less than 2000 hours.
They run great, but not very good on fuel. We just change spark plugs, oil, filter and belts each year.
First 18 years it was in fresh water. Rest was in saltwater.
We did get the carbs rebuilt 2 years ago due to a flooding issue with one. So I decided to get both done.
 
Given the engines are fresh water cooled, compression is still acceptable, valve train/cam still OK, then my only other concern would be the crank and main bearings as the lower end works the hardest on a boat. I think if the engines have been properly treated over the 1000 hr cycle the crank "should" be OK though.
The only way I know of to check the lower end would be to pull it, but again I think if all else is in place you are still good at 1000 hrs.
 
The boat is new to me. Only had it for a 2 or 3 seasons now. I have no idea what the maintenance records are like from the prvious 2 owners. It has a closed loop cooling system on it. its a mercruiser and the problems are intermitant power issues that I have asked and talked about in other posts. (sometimes won't have the power to come up on plane reguardless of weight or load in the boat, rpm fluctuate when it does come on plan, and most recently popping noises when at cruising speeds.) everyone seems to have a different story as to what it might or could be (including the mechanics that have looked at it). the oil has been checked and replaced.
 
When was it last tuned up? Check distributor for cracks/wear. Get compression #'s on all cylinders.

Check prop for spun hub.

You need to check the easy stuff before you go spending a ton of money.
 
then its not the base engines but the fuel and electrical stuff hung on them that are causing your question.
I don’t remember all the details of your past posts but random ideas are unlikely to find the problem or produce good advice for you.
IMO you need to find a good mechanic well familiar with your model engines and spend the time and $ to find to cause of the problem. I know it can be exasperating, when someone says it is the knuten valve and another seays it is the framus but it isn’t all that complicated for someone familiar with doing thorough work.
 
My guess is that your engine is in better shape at 10 years old because it has been used. Marine engines fail from lack of use much of the time.

I also have a pair of 30+ year old, high-hours V-8s. They aren't speed demons but with many of the wear-out parts (alternators, circulating pumps, etc.) replaced and with regular fluid changes, they run OK. Certainly OK enough to take us all the places we go during the summer months here in New England.

If I were you, I'd drill down hard on finding out what's wrong with the engine you have. As someone said above, it's not the engine but a fuel or ignition problem and that can always be fixed. Besides that, it makes no economic sense at all to re-power an older boat unless you intend to keep it for decades to come.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Bill
 
If you have a fresh water boat 1000 hours is nothing. You do a tune up and check the risers.

Did you know that 1000 hours is only 40000 miles in a car.

Modern engines DON'T fail in the bottom end and haven't for 40 years.

Your getting advice from a lot of people that don't have any first hand knowledge or experence. They are parroting something they have heard form their 4th cousin twice removed.

Not knowing the particulars on the engine makes it hard to make recommendations. Need brand, size, Carbed/injection etc.

Worst case if the engine had even minimal maintenance and no water injestion would be a bad valve.
 
A 1000 hours on a boat engine is nothing like 20,000 miles on a car. It is total engine revolutions that count when comparing plus engine load. That said, used in freshwater, it will last a long time. In saltwater, the water passages will usually corrode internally before the rotating components fail. I say do the usual preventative maintenance and run it till it dies.
 
The first thing to do is get a compression check and post the numbers That will tell you if the valves and rings are good. Then, as long as you have good oil pressure, basically, the bearings are good. That is, in fact, the total of the condition of the engine with only a few rare exceptions. The rest is electrical or fuel related.
 
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