I have a 1996 21' fourwinns with a 1996 Johnson outboard. The boat was given to me 2 years ago, and it has been a money pit. Lots of little things, bildge pump, fuel filter/tank/hoses, cockpit lights, radios, anteneas, on and on. Apparentley the the latest thing to fail was the low oil light. Yeah, that's right, I had the oil on board but didn't know it was low/empty. I blew apart one of the pistons (pics to follow), surprizingly there's little damage to the cylinder wall and the engine is not siezed. My dilemma is, do I try to fix it, or do I sell it as is. I believe it's worth about $2k now and about $4k if the engine is running. I could replace the piston myself for about $100 but I really don't know what if anything else might be wrong with it. What would you do?
You know what BOAT stands for. I would repair it over the winter and come this spring it will find a new home.
What can I say, when your right, your right. I can't sell it in this condition and like a buddy of mine said; what else am I going to do this winter? I appreciate everyone's comments and will post pics as I tear it down and rebuild it. Thanks.
unless you have a bore gauge you cant really tell what damage was done to the cylinder, you could replace it and sell it but honestly unless you told the next owner of said boat I wouldnt mess with fixing it and just sell it as is.
I know that I can't just replace the piston and call it done. I plan on honing the cylinders and replacing the rings as well as additional pistons and or other parts as needed. I really can't tell how much damage there is until I dig in to it more.
When I get a boat, Ill start it off with just a shell, and add a 350 into it. new everything. good power, and reliabilty thats better than most. otherwise... any pictures of the boat itself? depending on its condition... could fix the piston and sell it.
I helped my friend tear out his interior and replace it all last winter Should have seen the price tag for that
