Corrosion on engine

[89conbrio]

I'm looking at purchasing a 98 Legacy that I found about 500 miles from where I live. I haven't seen this boat in person, but may make the drive this weekend to look at the boat. The boat looks super clean in all the pics that the person selling the boat sent me, but this picture of the engine concerns me a little. It looks like there is quite a bit of rust throughout the entire engine and mounts. And my biggest concern is the amount of corrosion on the distributor (pic attached). Could this be caused from saltwater? The guy selling the boat claims it's never been in salt water.... How would I know for sure? Oh, the engines showing 383 hours.

Any input would be very helpful.

Thanks.

[Okie Boarder]

It does seem like a lot of corrosion. My exhaust looks somewhat similar to yours as far as rust. My pulleys are similar too. The thing that concerns me in your pics is the "white rust" on the alternator and the rust on the engine mounts.

If it hasn't been in saltwater, maybe it has been exposed to temperature swings and humidity.

Where has this boat spent it's life and/ or where is it now?

[michael hunter]

What state is the boat stored? As Okie said there must have been a lot of moisture in the engine compartment and poor storage procedures. My 89 doesn't have anyway near that much corrosion.

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn127/suprahunter/supracarb010.jpg

[89conbrio]

Wow! That engine looks as good as the day it came out of the factory. I have an 89 Conbrio that doesn't have this amount of corrosion either.

The Legacy is in Dallas now and was purchased from a Bank of America Repo auction, so the story of it's life is unknown. Would this corrosion steer you away for purchasing the boat? The "white rust" is what I'm most concerned about. I just don't think something would do that unless it was exposed to a "salty" climate or been in salt water.

[87SunSportMikeyD]

My 87 has rusted and pitted pulleys which makes it eat belts once or twice a summer.
It has a little more rust but not much.
Here is a link to a couple pics of my engines condition if you want a comparison.
http://photos.wakeboarder.com/showgallery.php/cat/3478
http://photos.wakeboarder.com/data/3478/medium/engine4edit.jpg

[jet]

Just looks like usual (bad) boat owner rust. When i pull mine from the water I open the motor and let the heat out and moister out..this is very important..other wise the moister sets in there for hours and rusts the motor. Jet

[89conbrio]

Thanks everyone for your replies! I guess my biggest question is how can you tell if a boat has been run in saltwater? A little surface rust doesn't concern me too much, I could detail the engine and get rid of most of that I imagine. My biggest concern is if it's been in salt water, what problems could I encounter down the road?

And yes I agree about "airing" out the engine when putting your boat away. I leave my engine cover cracked about an inch to get rid of moisture and heat and run the bilge one last time before I put it away.

[docdrs]

here is a 99 moomba motor

[jzelt]

If it hasn't been flushed since being ran, you could crack open a hose clamp and taste the water...If it tastes salty, ....

I don't recommend that....

Check some metals (electronic connections) in hidden areas. If they are corroded because of the salty air, that could be a tip off. (or pitted/corroded windshield trim, cleats, etc).

I would guess from the pictures the water from the shaft packing/etc isn't dried out after use and it just humidifies and rusts the area.