454xli Repower

Well, it seems my boat is due for a repower.
She has 1510hrs on both motors and port motor has a serious miss.
Shop says #4 cylinder is not holding compression.
Blue smoke and gas smell is strong.
Oil pressure good on both motors at the lower rpms, but after coming down from plane, oil pressure drops extremely low, like in 5lb area until oil cools, then it’s back to 40lb

Anyone have experienced insight you could offer?
I don’t have time to do it, I’ll be asking a shop to do it…

Sounds like a reasonable conclusion....

I'd suggest you take a realistic assessment of what you have and where you want to be. If you rebuild what you have, the bolt-ons will be 20+ years old so they don't have much time remaining.....same for an already done short or long block. The other two options are factory rebuilt complete engines or totally new engines. Your budget and desired use of the boat are the unkowns that will be the biggest factors in selecting your "best option"....

After a professional looked and tested, the oil pressure does drop, but only to 10 - 12lbs.
Its the Port side #3 that is at 130, still within spec.
A couple have mentioned the 20yr old components on rebuilt 454's kinda not make sense.
Right now, leaning to new repower...we were looking to go bigger, but anything more will make that jump into bigger bucks.
So why not spend some of the bigger boat money on replacing the engines on something we already like.....

If you really like the boat and plan to keep & use it, there's no reason not to repower.....you can go new or rebuild what you have. My earlier point is that the bolt ons have almost gone thru a lifespan so they are likely to need attention....if you get them rebuilt, you'll likely be ok - if you use as is, they will become problem children.

Your existing engines may just be in need of new top ends (head jobs) if they have been well maintained and not abused. I've gotten 3000+ hours out of BBCs, so they may still have life. given the oil pressure dynamics, I'd say this isn't likely.....

You may also find factory remanufactured units with a warranty. I haven't looked in the past two years but they may still be available. This will let you keep the 'older' technology if you want but give you the benefits of new with a discount....

And if you go brand new, make sure you get the price for the full job up front and in writing......depending on the package selected, they may have 'trim' the shafts and repitch the props.....