www.iFourWinns.com

Had the boat pulled for the annual maintenance and got bad news from the mechanic today. A little background, I bought my Vista 268 about 1.5 years ago. I keep it in a slip in salt water. I had a survey completed of the engine and overall boat done when I purchased. The out drive had been rebuilt about 3 years ago due to a leaky bellows. I knew I was going to have to replace my riser and manifold this service and was prepared for that. However, I was not prepared for bad compression on 3 cylinders and water in my out drive. Long story short looks like I am going to have to get a valve job and a new u joint and gimbal bearing plus the riser and manifold. Looks like it will be around 1800-2200 for the valve job, around 1200 for the risers and waiting to hear on the out drive. Does this sound about right and does anyone have any similar experience? I am thinking of fixing the thing and selling it now, just to quite putting money in it. Seems like everything was fine when I bought it and I take really good care of it, but man what lousy luck. Anyone want a fixed up Vista, ha ha!

Pac Winn

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Pac Winn

First Boat:
2000 Vista 268

How does it run Pac Winn? If it had poor compression on 3 cylinders, it should run like a bag of hammers. It sounds like your boat has been looked after and probably ran fine. Also ask your tech if he did a wet and dry compression test and what the readings were. If he didn't do both wet and dry, you most certainly need a new tech.

John

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07 Azure AZ200,
Previous boat,
95 278 Vista,
And a lot of others.

Ontario, Canada

That point is important, if you don't do a compression test right, the results are not meaningful. The engine has to be warmed up and the throttle wide open. Batt should be fully charged too.
When he said it was low, how low is he talking, 100 vs 140-160 or below 100? The comp test readings on my old 88 4.3 ranged from 165-185. If they are really low I agree the engine would not run right, if you had sticky/leaky valves you'd have a pronounced miss at idle and poor performance. If your manifolds/risers were leaking either internally or at the gasket you well could have rusted exhaust valve stems/seats that would cause low compression and sticky valves. Prices for this work vary because of labor rate differences. Get a breakdown of parts and hrs of labor.
Is is worth it? well if the rest of the boat is structurally good, it might be, what would you replace it with if you sold it. I think its tough to get a decent late model boat (to avoid problems) for less than 15K or so, and that's a 20 ft bowrider not a boat the size of a Vista. Not easy to sell a boat with mechanical problems, short of letting it go for a very low price.

I'd get more information, have the rest of the boat checked out, and report back.

Keep in mind that this is a 12 year old boat. If the prior maintenance was not done regularly these things happen. In salt water replacing the manifolds/risers is a regular maintenance item. Five to seven years. The drive should be pulled each year and the gear oil checked for water. The input shaft seal should be checked for leaks and the bellows for water. The gimble and ujoints also have to be checked each year, in my opinion.
An I/O power package has some advantages but low maintenance is not one of them. Outboards take a lot less maintenance in salt water especially. But they are very high tech and repairs require dealer knowledge. Old school I/Os can be repaired by backyard mechanics like me....

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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

Thanks for the input! It seemed like it ran ok to me, and I misspoke it was two bad cylinders all were around 130 except for #6 at 80 and #3 at 100. When I started it it would take a moment before it sounded like it was firing on all 8 but reminded me of my old Chevy pickup. I didn't notice it running too poorly when I was out at higher throttle. I will ask about the compression testing though. The nice thing about the mechanic I found is he sends photos of everything to me, so I'll keep an eye out for rust on things.

Not sure what I would replace with now. If I sold I might hold off picking another boat up until next year, as I am getting married this year. I made it clear to my fiancé though that this wouldn't be a permanent exodus from boating ha ha. I will have to fix it either way I don't want to pass the problems onto someone else.

Just waiting on the cost estimate for the outdrive and then I will have to think about fixing. I really appreciate all the input and your help.

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Pac Winn

First Boat:
2000 Vista 268

Sorry to hear of the problems, but you have to remember the age of the boat. You say you were expecting to have to change the manifolds and risers this year anyway, so looking on the positive side you can discount that cost from the problem provided you have budgeted for this, the other problems might not be as bad as you think especially as you haven't noticed anything obviously wrong and are just going off what one mechanic as reported. Its normal to feel down in the dumps when told bad news, but maybe its not that bad, however as you are calling your boat "the thing" I feel you may need some convincing.
Good luck.

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Regards
Beyond the Blue

"If we improve with age I'm now excellent"


Ex 1998 238 Vista 5.0Gi SX DP
Lexus RX300

Well if you decide to fix it you will know where you stand with it if you decide to keep it. The first FW I owned it seemed to have issues every year. I sold that boat and took a significant loss on. Small price to pay for piece of mind. I did not like going out in it wondering what was next on the list to fix, We had it for 2 full seasons. I disclosed everything when I sold it, unlike the person I bought it from

Good Luck

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2001 328 Vista "Nauta Dream 2"
AB Inflatable 10AL "Little Dreamer"
2000 248 Vista
1997 225 Sundowner


Mike

Pac Winn, I just had a similar situation. except worse! Long story short, i had my heads redone only to find out i have a cracked block. Time for new motor. Glad i found out before i bolted it all together. Make sure your mechanic checks all the cylinders after he pulls the heads. Thats where i made my mistake( i didnt check until i started to clean everything up to put my new heads on) Also since the top of the engine is off pull both heads and get them done, yea it might cost a little more but atleast youll know they are both new.

good luck!

Oh and if your interested im sitting on my newly redone heads, ill sell em to you.

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JPEloian
2000 268 Vista

I just recently went through some engine issues myself. Very frustrating. I did end up finding an exhaust kit that includes the 2 Manifolds, 2 risers, and the gaskets through Doug Russell Marine for a fraction of the cost of OEM. They are aftermarket made by HGE, and look and feel like very good quality when compared to other after market stuff out there. I'm very satisfied with it, and my mechanic was also. Worth checking out...Good luck

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2002 Vista 248
"Sunny Dayz"