New engine old sterndrive

I want to buy a 18.5ft bowrider (1999 - 11 years old) who used to have a 220hp volvo penta engine (1.97 ratio). The guy who owns it burned the engine last summer and replaced only the engine with a 3.0 Volvo gxi (150hp, 1.97 ratio) and kept the old leg (he did not change Stern-drive Leg).

I went to ask the mechanic if the boat is good to buy because he will be my mechanic and he said:

The boat is in great condition as you can see.
The engine is new (he did the replacement last year) and that because the water coming from the leg was not enough he had to do a modification (add a water pump to take more water to the engine). In addition he says that the only error the computer gives is that the engine can not understand if the leg is up or down because some sensor is missing in the old leg and is not needed at all (this sensor is a part of the new sx driver and since it is not installed in the old sx drive the new engine gives this error that does not matter)


Is there any problem in this scenario? I dont understand anything about this things so please explain.

THANKS

 

I can't say whether the boat is a good buy or not.

I can suggest that, having been re-powered with a smaller engine than it originally had, it may not perform as well as you expect. Have you taken it for a sea trial yet? Was it fully loaded at the time?

I can also point out that while Volvo drives and Volvo-marinized engines tend to be long-lived and of fairly good quality, spare parts- if it should break- are somewhat less friendly to your credit card than their Mercury counterparts.

 

I can understand about the costs but the engine is allready installed and I can not change it.

The minimum boat that can be installed on this boat is 135hp and the max 220hp (according to the manufacturer of the boat)

 

I certainly wouldn't suggest changing out the engine again. I do prefer the Volvo over the Merc, in any case. Just be aware that if it does break down, it might not be as cheap to fix as you'd expect.

Whenever you're considering buying a boat, you pretty much have to sea-trial it with your intended load and in your intended operating conditions. It's the only way to tell if that boat, as it's set up, will be suitable for what you plan to do with it.

 

I mean is there any high risk that may be caused due to the fact that the leg was not changed (only the engine) and because this water pump was installed to the engine for extra water?

Is this common to do or is it a stupid workaround that was performed just to prepare the boat for sale...

Is the engine at risk or just the leg and at what risk. I can understand that if the leg was changed too then there will be no risk at all but the leg may cost extra 3000-4000 usd I think and thats why they did not replace it (since the last one was still working)

 

The stern drive supplies more than enough water for any engine.
It may have a damaged impeller and/or pump housing causing the previous engine to overheat. That can easily be repaired: installing an extra pump is a weird solution.

I would only do that if for some reason a normal repair is impossible (no parts, damaged drive shaft, cracked housing etc.).

 

There may be some confusion here, the VP leg on the boat is probably not the SX version but one of the AQ models, since you mention 22o hp. The AQ models are far stronger than the SX, but they do not have a built-in sea-water pump. This is why your 3l engine has become a separate s-w pump, just as all the AQ engine varieties, so there is nothing weird about that.

But if the previous engine burned, take a thorough check of the water-intake and channels in the rig; these areas are wonderful settling places for marine organisms. Also check that the cooling water hose from the leg into the transom structure is tight and leak-free.

 

Previously there was a 220hp installed like I said. The leg says SX-M type 1.97 ratio on its plate.

I do not know if they removed the leg of the 220hp and they installed a used SX one...

However I decided not to go for this boat because "its too complicated" and I am afraid to take the risk.

 

Thanks all for the help!