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draven620

Regular Contributor
I bought a 1978 omc 400 4 yrs

I bought a 1978 omc 400 4 yrs ago and i have been able to get it in the water about 4 times in those 3 years.Had to get the lower unit seals replaced well they are leaking again and the intermidiate housing is also getting water in the oil and the people that had the boat before me ran it for years on unleaded fuel when it was suppossed to have a led additive and now the engine is nocking and i cant keep the boat running is it worth fixing or cut losses and by a newer boat
 
"No lead additives are require

"No lead additives are required. All OMC GM based marine engines have have hardened valve seats since 1970.
That knock has been misdiagnosed.

The real issue you are having is in finding an affordable, trustworthy, skilled technician.

Any boat more than 3 years old can have any of the same problems as a 1978. A piece of fishing line can take out drive seals on a new 2009 boat on it's maiden voyage. You can buy brand new, but I always figure for the $30,000 replacement cost of my boat, I can buy a lot of spare parts.

The biggest fear for me about buying a new boat is when it inevitably has it's first breakdown and they refuse warranty, telling me it's my fault (the party line), and the same unskilled tech is working on it and can't fix it and I would still have to make the payments while it sits in the shop with a bunch of dudes with less technical knowledge than I telling me "that's the way it's supposed to be" and there's nothing wrong with it....

Boating is for 3 kinds of people:
1. Those who boat at the mercy of their dealership, and don't care what the cost is
2. Those that are mechanics and/or like to wrench and learn,
3. Those lucky enough to find the "needle in a haystack" technician who is genuinely "into" what he is doing for a living and fixes everything right the first time for the honest invoice

#3 exists, but it's not easy to find"
 
I had a buddy help me change m

I had a buddy help me change my seals and i was just going to buy a used boat that was in the later 1980's i just have had one problem after another i just thought i would start over.My problems started when it would run for 25 minutes full throttle no problem and then it would bog out and die and not start again till it cooled off.So i changed the coil and the condeser i got them at napa.And then i switched to a external gas tank because there was all kinds of junk in my gas tank.And after i did all of this the boat would idle but the minute i put it in drive it would die and in the process of trying to start it i did somethin to the starter when i turned it over it woul just click so i dont know im at wits end.I live in a little town in wisconsin on the missisippi river.And the only person that will touch a omc in town said he wouldnt be able to touch it till next year and ideas.The coil they had for my boat didint have the right connections so they gave me a high performance one.The carb and fuel filter have also been changed only thing left i can think of is the carb needs cleaned or rebuilt and i have no clue how to do that i have a service manual but i am not mechanically inclined.I have also changed the fuel pump. Wondering if it would just be easier to by a boat with a mercruiser.
 
"Hi Michael
I agree with Hy S

"Hi Michael
I agree with Hy Stat's #3 100 percent. It took us two failed trips to a large marine shop before we relized that they didnt know, or care about what was wrong with our 89 OMC. How far away are you from the twin cities? We found a place in Roseville MN. that so far seems to be reliable and fair. I.E. We took this boat in thinking we needed new shift cables, and he, instead of just replacing them, said all we needed was a adjustment. So if your not too far away and want his address let me know."
 
"Michael, If I'm following

"Michael, If I'm following this correctly you may have the same issues I have. I think you are going down the right road in what you have done so far to help diagnose your problem. Your engine starts and runs fine initially but when the engine runs awhile and gets to normal operating temp the rings don't open up like they are suppose to because they are seized (ie rusted) in the piston (s). Ideally the rings should open and close to a certain degree normally. The lack of opening and closing is causing lower than normal compression and it won't start or even run anymore. I'm not saying that this is for sure what your problem is but its certainly a possibility. It has nothing to do with it being an OMC as the same could happen to any other make out there. The problem as stated is with your engine rather than your drive. If you have the time (like this winter) find a good product to soak each cylinder and try letting that work to unseize things. I also should suggest doing a compression test on each cylinder and that should help you narrow it down to how many or which cylinders are the problem here. I'm by no means an expert so if someone sees a flaw in my advice please post but based on the issues with my own boat right now this is how I see it.

John, if you could post up the name of the marine shop in Roseville you've had good luck with that would be great or pm me with it."
 
"Hi Robert
The place is calle

"Hi Robert
The place is called Roseville Auto And Marine at 1900 Oakcrest Ave. Northwest of the Rosedale. They have repalced the seals in the upper and lower unit, rebuilt the carb, this time the correct way, and adjusted the cables. This is a buddy's boat that I have worked on, but I know my limits. They have been good so far."
 
If you dont mind me asking how

If you dont mind me asking how much did it cost to get those three things done maybe ill have to make the drive anyway if its resonable.
 
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