www.iFourWinns.com

1. No such thing as overly cautious.

2. That actually seems very reasonable for all that work. It's a lot of money, but a few of those are things that you would normally only do ever few years.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

With I/Os especially, you really can't be overly cautious. And that boat's a 1994, that's going on 17 years old. Who knows how much of the maintenance was done in the past. In my opinion, the best thing you do with a new-to-you older boat is find a good mechanic and have them go through it for you. Yes it can be expensive but that's the nature of the beast. We don't go out and buy 17 year old cars and expect them to be perfectly reliable either. When I got my '88 it was 14 years old. It had two problems basically, one was the typical Cobra shifting problem (did not want to get into neutral with the engine running in the water) and a lack of power above idle speeds. I tried a few things myself but realized that my lack of I/O mechanical experience at that time was going to result in wasted time and less that good results. Took it to the best OMC shop around and they fixed the shifting (still shifts fine 7 years later) and the power issue was just a rusted anti-siphon valve, and carb rebuild. Since then I've taught myself how to do all the maintenance, but if I had a seal leak in the drive, for seals that require special tools to replace I'd still take it to them.

The things to watch out for in I/Os are the bellows, gimble, and u-joints, this is why I advocate pulling the drive each year. On OMC Cobras and Volvo SXs, there is no way to grease the driveshaft splines without pulling the drive and after one season, the grease you put on the splines is mostly gone, I know that from experience. Then you will start wearing the aluminum coupler splines. So many people never do this and then you hear them talking about growling noises (gimble) rusted driveshafts (bellows) etc.

The other things are impellers (replace every other year) and the exhaust system (check riser gaskets every 3-4 years). Neglecting these two will cause an overheated engine, and get water in the engine and rusted exhaust valves.

For those who do not want to do this work or don't want to pay to get it done, outboards while the initial cost is high, need far less maintenance. But modern OBs are not so backyard mechanic friendly as an old school Chevy small block.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Great tips and suggestions !! I really appreciate the info. Will see about getting some spare parts on items that are hard to find. Better to have them laying around, than not being able to get them 5 years from now.

I called the service tech where I took the boat, and he said he planned on going over things with a fine toothed comb as long as he had it. That way he could establish a baseline for maintenance since he will be taking care of it for the foreseable future. I told him I really did not want to get stranded out in Lake Michigan, its a little bigger than your average inland lake ( LOL ). He did say it fires right up, runs strong, shifts well, so he said the previous owner did seem to keep up on things pretty well.

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1994 235 Sundowner w/351 Ford

The price isn't unreasonable knowing the work was done correctly. I am DIY all the way and use automotive oil/filters, however my boat is about to hit 5 yrs old. This spring I plan on getting EVERYTHING checked... gimble....alignment.....bellows.. all by the dealer. I believe its smart to be DIY if you are comfortable with it, but never hurts to spend some dough on a second opinion.

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Walt B
"Debt-Charged"
Black '07 H210SS
6.2L Bravo One turning a 21P HIFive
Wakeboard Tower with Perfect Pass Stargazer version
Missouri River; Kansas City, Mo.

Just picked up boat from being serviced, ( 5 inches of snow on ground here ), and thanks to all of you for your suggestions, even though I am a newbie, service tech enjoyed answering my questions from this post. Gave me a nice walk thru on things I can do, they even painted the pulley's since the rest of the engine looked so nice. Will take pic and post it for all the motor guys.

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1994 235 Sundowner w/351 Ford

Was wondering what it cost to have the gimbles , bellows and the alignment checked at a marina, I know prices will be different depending on marina but just a rough estimate is good, Thanks

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1997 Horizon RS 180
5.7 GL Volvo Penta /SX drive. (1.60)
2018 Ford F-150 super crew 4x4

Pressure bypass on the oil filter on my 220SS it has a drop in filter like the mercedes benz engine not much I can change there. I use a pump to suck out the oil through the filler tube and it hooks up like my garden hose it takes about 4 minutes to suck up all the oil very easy to do. The filter is easy to change also it's right on top and unscrews you pull out old filter element and replace with new filter and gaskets. I purchased the repair manual off of amazon and that has definitely helped greatly! Don't get in over your head and you will be fine, I am considering changing the spark plugs but not sure since my engine only has 189 hours on it and it's a 2008 5.7Gxi. You made a wise choice in getting the boat checked out for the first time I would've done exactly the same thing. Enjoy her and be safe




Who says you can't lobster off a Four Winns cooler on the swim platform and your good