Need help with buying adice

[beamons]

Hi all, I am looking for some advice. I have found a 98 Ski Nautique but I think it has major engine and trans trouble. It runs really rough and even when you throw down the throttle is so lacking in power that I am worried the engine is done. I have a few questions:
Could it be really old gas? 8 years old
How would you tell if the engine needs to be rebuilt?
How about the trans?
What would you expect it to cost for the engine work? How about the transmission?
Thanks in advance.
Brian



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[charlesml3]

Brian,

The first thing you need to do is figure out what the problem is. There are MANY, MANY things that can cause the symptoms you're describing and most of them are not major engine/transmission problems.

First thing you need to do is get all of that old gas out. Next, do a good inspection of the engine. Distributor cap, rotor, plug wires, fuel filter, spark plugs, etc. Do a compression test. Change the oil and filter. It may need new belts.

Figure out what problem your chasing before you jump into the possible solutions.

-Charles

[beamons]

Thanks! Trouble with a lot of additional trouble shooting is that I am looking at buying it.
Your insight is great, if I can plan for the worst I know I won’t be upside down in the value of the boat.


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[charlesml3]

Troubleshooting is a methodical process. Fix one thing at a time. Unless the engine has been really abused or neglected, it's probably fine. It just needs some work. The transmission is almost for sure just fine. They're pretty hard to kill. There's really no way to "plan for the worst" unless you just want to yank the current engine and transmission out and replace them. That really wouldn't make sense until you know if they're unsalvageable.

-Charles