[Capslock]

Hi,

I have a 19' open bow sea ray with a 1990 135hp mercury outboard 2-stroke.

My experience in auto/marine mechanics is null.

Situation: I bought this boat used recently. I took it out for the first time and while on the water the engine started to overheat. This was due to the water pump failing for not being replaced by the previous owner in two years.

Since I was effectively stranded, I tried to push the boat a little further to try to get to dock, this caused a bit of white smoke, this i knew was bad - but the next day i turned on the engine to make sure it ran and it did.

I took the boat in to get diagnosed - i knew the water pump had to be fixed but they found some other issues:

-In the lower unit, they found water in the gear case, they said this was due to the propshaft being bent from presumably an old accident. He spun it for me so I can see that the shaft was indeed bent. So this has to be fixed, then the water pump will be replaced, and then the lower unit would have to be resealed.

-Hub spun in the lower unit - i dont know what this means, im guessing it means its worn out?

-They said the 'swivel pin / "knuckle" also needs to be replaced, they shown me how rusted out the thing is and said it was dangerous - i dont know the extent of this but I understand that in order to fix this the entire unit would have to be dismantled in order to replace it.

-You can see melted tubes on the power head due to its overheating. Also, the little sticker on the powerhead which, if melted, indicates that the power head should be replaced is in fact melted off. However, the engine does indeed run. They indicated that while it does run, there is no garuntee here that water wont break into the thing while running in the future and thus ruining the engine.


Ok, all this said - I would say that, if i did extensive research, i probably could fix the lower unit.

The powerhead, my father gave me a bit of confidence that this could be done DIY, however I am skeptical as this is a crucial part of the engine - well..to me..it IS the engine, so idk.

The swivel pin......I dont know, I cant even find information on this. Also, I do not have the ability to take this engine off the boat myself and then also have it sit in my basement where it is warm in the winter - its a distance from the driveway.

They quoted me $2700 for parts and labor - $1500 of that is parts, with 12 hours for labor 8 for the swivel pin and 4 for the lower unit- this does not include the powerhead.



Does that estimate sound reasonable, particularly the labor hours?

They did list all parts required but alas, no serial or part numbers to them.

I am willing to learn and it sounds like a fun project, but i am low on confidence, would you say any of this is DIY?

Any tips, comments?