High Hour GT-40

[TTKammer]

I'm thinking about picking up another SN 196, but I'm a little concerned because it has 1,400 hours on it. What do you guys think? How many hours are too many for a '99 with the 5.8 GT-40?

[charlesml3]

Ha! ha! 1400 is now "high hour." I've seen boats come in from ski schools with 5000 hours on them and they still run strong.

Hours are not nearly as important as regular maintenance. If the boat has a good maintenance record and has obviously been well looked after, then ignore the hours.

[Blamey]

I'm thinking about picking up another SN 196, but I'm a little concerned because it has 1,400 hours on it. What do you guys think? How many hours are too many for a '99 with the 5.8 GT-40?

1400 is high but considering the age of the engine, it doesn't mean too much. How the boat and engine was cared for will mean more.

That said factor in the cost of a new block or rebuild and try get a few thousand off the price. A new interior or trailer will cost as much as a new engine.

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[DW SD]

Ha! ha! 1400 is now "high hour." I've seen boats come in from ski schools with 5000 hours on them and they still run strong.

Hours are not nearly as important as regular maintenance. If the boat has a good maintenance record and has obviously been well looked after, then ignore the hours.

+1
Not high in reality. Think about a car engine which might average 30 mph. @ 1400 hours this is 42k Miles. Granted boat engines might spend more time at Wide open throttle and higher loads. But that isn’t necessarily bad.
Do you know the term Italian tune up???

To me that means it was used rather than sitting.

I’d have no issue with a well maintained 5k hour Engine. Assuming prices accordingly.

I also bought a 5.7L tundra with 150k miles on it to tow my boat. It runs like new doesn’t leak oil or other fluids.

My wife’s Land Cruiser has 270k Miles on it and it runs like new also. She loves the car so I just maintain it.

We need to paradigm shift the stigma about hours on boat engines around here.

Still, take in to account the overall condition. If the interior is mildew stained and the gel coat not polished and waxed it’d be fair to assume somehow the drivetrain didn’t receive all of the maintainence attention.

My 2001 SAN looks new. And runs like new with about 1000 hours. I expect it to last a very very long time.

Doug


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[charlesml3]

We need to paradigm shift the stigma about hours on boat engines around here.

We sure do. Boat engines run in an EXTREMELY clean environment. So clean that they don't even bother with air filters.

If I was buying used, I'd be WAY more interested in a 1400 hour engine with detailed maintenance records than one with 250 hours and no records. Owners that keep detailed records are the kinds of owners I like. They take care of their boats. They fix small things before they become big things. They do preventive maintenance and keep the boat clean and dry. That's what's important.

-Charles