ready to purchase a 2002 2500 SCR

[captbc]

Hello
Looking at a 2002 2500 scr with 3 axle venture roller trailor bravo 3 5.7 eng with AC.
480 hrs freshwater boat bottom not painted and prety clean. Noticed new gimble / transom plate bolted to transom but the drive looks pretty pitted, guess it had electrolosis problems ?
Looking in the 18,000 range to buy it maybe a little cheaper.
any thoughts on it, what to look for ? is it a good price or am I just opening a new can of worms ?
Any help appreciated?

[cunuck]

I would have a survey done and have a compression test on the motor.I have a 2002 5.7 motor in fresh water but no pitting??.Now is the time to check it out and do a on water test.good luck

[shrew]

Hi CaptBC, Welcome Aboard!!

Interesting combination. New Transom Assembly and Gimbal and a heavily pitted outdrive on a freshwater boat. I love to be corrected, and I'm hoping someone here will do so.....I was under the impression electrolysis is a salt water phenomenon and typically one where boats are wet slipped in a marina and connected to shorepower for long period of time. Odd for a freshwater boat that has been trailered.

As always, the best money spent will be on a qualified marine surveyor. Have them do a full survey, which includes a mechanical survey. due to the cost of a survey, it's prohibitive to survey a number of boats. Narrow it down to the boat that you basically have decided you want, and then use the survey to negotiate a better price if problems are detected. I like to look at other things. Like the general condition of the boat. An owner will rarely keep the mechanical systems spotless and let the marine vinyl slide IMHO.

As far as price goes, it's still a buyers market and deals are out there to be had. I couldn't say whether this is a good price or not. It sounds reasonable.

[captbc]

Still on the fence aboit the 2500,but really like it. what should a survey cost me approx ? S NJ area.
Bottom not painted and clean as a whistle except for some trailor roller marks. no real vinyl damage.
Thought at that price even if it needs exh manif I would still be ahead of the game but maybe not ?
Love having a trailor to eliminate marina storage issues and highway gas is a buck lower or better.

[ss3964spd]

I think the price is just a little steep, and a 3 axle trailer is unnesessary for that boat (is the trailer actually set up for that boat or did the current owner just find a used trailer in order to sell the boat?).

As said above I'd be a little suspicious about the new transom assembly with a skanky looking drive hanging off of it but that isn't necessarily a problem - just something to look at closely to verify all is in order. Given the number of hours a full mechanical survey will be money wisely spent. The engine itself is probably ok but it's all the bits hanging off the engine - especially the exhaust system, that need to be inspected.

Dan

[captbc]

Thanks Dan I used to work on the alpha drives many years ago and am a heavy eqpt mech so the manifolds should be not a problem to DIY. Main concern is the price ? thought it was a bargain but may need to re negotiate.
The venture trailor came with it and I have seen others with the same trailor in the pocono mt area.
new coupler with surge master on it brgs/ 3 axle brakes recentlyserviced also.
Still going to look into getting a survey and negotiate that price.

[ss3964spd]

The price might not be too far off Cap, I based my opinion on what I paid about 4 years ago for a 2004 model year 2400 SC3, with a 350 MAG MPI and B3, in great condition, never painted, very clean, with just over 70 hours on it, with a 2007 dual axle roller trailer. 20K. The original paint on the drive was still shiny, with only a little bare aluminum on the bottom inch of the skeg.

While the 2500 SCR has more content than my SC3, it is older with significantly more hours. Not necessarily a bad thing, of course. You should be able to get an idea of it's market value by surfing the web.

Since you've already had experience with outdrives, and you're mechanically adept, you'll know what to look for on the mechanical side. If there's wires dangling all over the place, the engine and bilge isn't clean, rust tracks running down the manifolds, etc-etc - well, you know what to look for. If the under the hood bits look like they've been well maintained they probably have been. If all that stuff is a mess, well, a REAL close inspection is warrented.

Mine was so tidy I did not bother with any surveys, just did a sea trial.

Good luck, let us know what you discover.

Dan

[seapuppy]

WELCOME TO THE ZOO!!....2nd about the drive.....if they replaced the gimble mounts..then chances are it had some serious corrosion going on..most corrosion is indicative of 1) salt water ...2) the mercathod system failing or the failure of the owner to maintain the zinc's on the drive properly....if that's the case...then the pitting is definitely a cause that it was maintained poorly.....
now if it's just a little pitting...that's not a real issue as it can be sanded down, filled in and painted to look like new....if it's severe..then you will have other issues going on with that drive.....the b3 is noted for having corrosion problems in salt water due to the electrolosys effect of dissimilar metals....ie stainless steel props spinning around next to aluminum drive......so......the issue then is to determine how much is too much....having a survey done would cost between 400-600 dollars....money well spent in my opinion......as long as you can find a really good surveyor.....they can determine the extent of the damage and either recommend repair or replacement...a new drive unit can run as much as 10k for the complete unit....I damaged mine last summer and it cost me almost 14k due to them being newer drives called seacore system.....

my recommendation is to have the boat completely mechanically and hull surveyed.....including drive unit....if you have a new transom ring installed...chances are a new bellows and gimble bearing was installed also.......

hope this helps..

SP