I have a 28' Sports Sedan with twin 318's. Engines were most likely overhauled in mid-90's. The boat sat for many years, ran rough for a while and it was not until late this summer that I got the engines working well and could cruise at 2800-3000 rpm. (19 - 22 mph speedver land at that rpm). After a few hours of cruising the starboard engine started smoking when I returned from a fishing trip. The compression was 120psi+ for all cylinders except #4 which was low at 60 psi. I pulled the heads and found that the head gasket had failed. No water in the oil just oil in cylinder #4.
I was planning on replacing the exhaust manifolds/elbows and risers on both engines this winter which is not going to be cheap. Now I'm faced with the decision to repair/replace the stbd engine as well. My mechanic recommends repowering with new 350's and reusing the transmissions (approx $22k). To install a rebuilt 318 would cost $8k - $9k, including exhaust parts. Anyone with experience in this area? Will the 350's be more economical, provide more speed or be easier to maintain over the life of the boat. I'm trying to talk myself into spending the money to repower the boat and enjoy expensive but some hassle free fishing. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "UnifliteWorld" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/unifliteworld?hl=en.
