Fix Me

[buymysupra]

I used to own an '89 Salt when it first came out, now the kids want a boat, so here we are.

I just bought an '88 Supra comp at auction.

351 ford 240 horse

Had 7 days for a certified marine mechanic to determine if there was a drivetrain or engine problem. If so, I could return it as all boats are supposed to be in running condition

Boat was advertised as 'working'.

Upon startup noticed the Holley carb leaking gas from the (stripped) fuel inlet nut. Dumping is more the word

Marine Mechanic replaced front bowls.

2 Weeks went by, they called said to pick up boat. (I now own the boat inspection or not as 7 days have passed although I would argue it was because it was not working).

The marina was supposed to water test it as part of the survey.

The marina said no issues other then needs a tune up and the gas is orange.

Got it home on Saturday, no time to look at it
Sunday morning flipped the cover, found it was not attached to the floor. Screws laying on the carpeting

Then noticed the throttle cable was not hooked up and the spark arrestor pipe also not attached. Kind of hard to water test with no throttle

Hooked those back up

Went to the lake, started it at the ramp. Kind of hard to start/stay running, warmed up for a couple min and then it stayed running at idle.

Took it out, let it warm up at just above idle for about 5 min then slowly accelerated.

Could not get past 15 MPH, just bogged down.

Flipped up the cover and noticed the line from the fuel separator to pump is kinked.

No mention from the marina

Boat stalled out at idle going through a no wake section, could restart, but would not stay running at no wake speed , so got towed to the ramps.

They could not have water tested this boat.

Tonight (Monday) pulled a spark plug, looks nice and rusty.... ?

No mention from the marina.


So....

2 questions.

1) What should I do about the 285 dollars i paid to the marina for their 'survey'

2) Where do I begin to get this water ready:

1 Replace plugs (sticker says Ford ASF32m)
2 Replace fuel line with A1 (what size?) Aqua Power SMI 24950 on canister (is a short 6 inch white plastic pipe that is kinked, will try to load photos, I will have to loop around the canister and then go up to the pump to avoid kink
3 Replace fuel/water separator cartridge??
4 drain and replace the oil and filter
5 I can not find a fuel filter, none in carb, does the fuel/water separator act as a filter?
6 What do I do about the leaded gas thing.. run unleaded?



- Auction ad stated fresh rebuild on carb
- had new starter solenoid and flywheel (??!!)

Thanks!!

Frank

Michigan

[buymysupra]

2 pics uploaded

1) rusty Ac Delco spark plug just hasthe number 1 on it. What is this, is it supposed to be in this engine?

2) Kinked fuel line, the marina missed this? Not if they did the water test!!

[rludtke]

I used to own an '89 Salt when it first came out, now the kids want a boat, so here we are.

I just bought an '88 Supra comp at auction.

351 ford 240 horse

Had 7 days for a certified marine mechanic to determine if there was a drivetrain or engine problem. If so, I could return it as all boats are supposed to be in running condition

Boat was advertised as 'working'.

Upon startup noticed the Holley carb leaking gas from the (stripped) fuel inlet nut. Dumping is more the word

Marine Mechanic replaced front bowls.

2 Weeks went by, they called said to pick up boat. (I now own the boat inspection or not as 7 days have passed although I would argue it was because it was not working).

The marina was supposed to water test it as part of the survey.

The marina said no issues other then needs a tune up and the gas is orange.

Got it home on Saturday, no time to look at it
Sunday morning flipped the cover, found it was not attached to the floor. Screws laying on the carpeting

Then noticed the throttle cable was not hooked up and the spark arrestor pipe also not attached. Kind of hard to water test with no throttle

Hooked those back up

Went to the lake, started it at the ramp. Kind of hard to start/stay running, warmed up for a couple min and then it stayed running at idle.

Took it out, let it warm up at just above idle for about 5 min then slowly accelerated.

Could not get past 15 MPH, just bogged down.

Flipped up the cover and noticed the line from the fuel separator to pump is kinked.

No mention from the marina

Boat stalled out at idle going through a no wake section, could restart, but would not stay running at no wake speed , so got towed to the ramps.

They could not have water tested this boat.

Tonight (Monday) pulled a spark plug, looks nice and rusty.... ?

No mention from the marina.


So....

2 questions.

1) What should I do about the 285 dollars i paid to the marina for their 'survey'

2) Where do I begin to get this water ready:

1 Replace plugs (sticker says Ford ASF32m)
2 Replace fuel line with A1 (what size?) Aqua Power SMI 24950 on canister (is a short 6 inch white plastic pipe that is kinked, will try to load photos, I will have to loop around the canister and then go up to the pump to avoid kink
3 Replace fuel/water separator cartridge??
4 drain and replace the oil and filter
5 I can not find a fuel filter, none in carb, does the fuel/water separator act as a filter?
6 What do I do about the leaded gas thing.. run unleaded?



- Auction ad stated fresh rebuild on carb
- had new starter solenoid and flywheel (??!!)

Thanks!!

Frank

Michigan

Sorry Frank, this sounds fraught with bulloney! I think the marina owes you the money back for the survey, they clearly didn't even look out the office window at this boat.

Perhaps the boat will turn out ok, as the issues described don't sound really major.

Because this boat does not fill me with confidence that it has been maintained well for some time, I guess I would start out by replacing the transmission oil, and engine oil and filter. I would also flush the trans oil cooler. Then I would do a complete engine ignition tune up, and replace the fuel/water separator (this is the only fuel filter, I would consider adding another in-line fuel filter). I recomend, if it hasn't been done already, that you convert the ignition to electronic now as well. There are several conversion kits out their (see skidim). This will prevent you from having to chase down the dwell settings and other pesky things related to ignition points.

Replace all belts and hoses.

A carb overhaul is also probably a good idea, and I would definately replace the raw water impellor and the thermostat (they can go bad from sitting).

Also, be sure to clean inspect (and replace if needed) and grease the trailer wheel bearings. Inspect the trailer brakes if it has them.

My thinking is to zero time as many of the potential culprits as possible, so that you can have a fresh start.

[michael hunter]

What about the orange gas? If its old drain it and put in fresh. Don't worry about the lead unleaded will be fine. Replace the water separator element it is the fuel filter. Change the oil and kinked line check the points and see how she runs.I wouldn't add any new upgrades [electronic ignition] untill you get it running otherwise you will not know if you have a old problem or a new one caused by the upgrade. You still may have other problems that need to be addressed but this is where I would start.

[firstdogriver]

Call the marina back and describe your findings and get an explanation. If they admit to not performing the work they were hired/paid to do your next step would be to indicated that you can no longer return the boat due to the expiration of the 7 days. They may be responsible for some of the repair cost that you will be facing since they should have informed you of the faulty items in a timely manner. Just my two cents.

P.S. a device to record your conversation might not be a bad idea.

P.S.S Supras are great boats so don't let this situation turn you away from the make.

[buymysupra]

Thanks for the replies.

I sent an email to the marina today detailing my complaints and asking for the money back. I did forget to add that they did not do a hot compression test (they did cold compression check before they repaired the carb, which appears to have been done right), and after I launched the boat I discovered that the hull had been repaired where it had been sitting on the front pad (was sitting on the pad incorrectly basically hiding the repair, not noticeable until it was put back on the trailer correctly.) Not a good repair (bumpy) and not even remotely close in color.. ) I would guess a visual hull exam should be part of a paid marine survey....

As for the fixes, I am making my shopping list tomorrow and will do what I can this weekend.

I have been surfing, and see the fake-a-lake, and have decided to build a bucket attachment for the intake. I will then do each repair and run the boat to make sure I do not mess something else up.

Also from surfing, looks like red spark plugs are not rusty, but probably from cheap additives in the fuel...

Thanks for the help, will continue to update

[87SunSportMikeyD]

Buymy - I am sorry but you seem to have gotten a pretty raw deal. If the price you got was low enough, I would say keep pluggin away. If not, I would send that boat back. You should have noticed already but your Saltare was much more suited to surfing with the high freeboard.

The Comp is very tough to weight or make a big wave. It is suited to slalom or barefooting only. Personally I would take it back based on that alone if you have that option. Saltares or SunSports are what we want. With that said, it certainly is possible to surf a comp and they are still lovely boats.

I would be very concerned about the patch on the hull. Make sure it's good. The marina needs to give you your money back, they did not do anything as advertised. Get that baby compression tested ASAP!

[buymysupra]

short note,
No reply from marina
Changed the fuel hose and the gas is NOT orange, but did have a lot of particles flow out the bottom of the fuel pump into my container.

[buymysupra]

I spoke with the marina, they were very nice and agreed to refund the money for the survey, the boat was left in a torn apart condition when I picked it up as they assumed I wanted them to fix some items. The mechanic did not tell the clerk, who assumed it was ready. They did not water test the boat either, and never did a hot compression test. Cold compression numbers ranged from 125-140.

So...

Now for the fun parts.

1 Changed the oil (was sludge), fuel/water separator (pretty clean), and changed out the plugs to autolite 24's gapped at .035. Engine starts nice, idles at about 600-700 when warmed up and revs to 2000 (on a hose) in neutral with no problems (watched the hose, no collapsing).

Just got back from the lake, warmed it at the dock, got out about 1200 yards (idle) and had to tow a jet boat to shore (rope in impeller). No problems, sounded and acted fine went back out and slowly tried to accel, could not get past 10 mph, did not notice rpm, backed off and idled for 2 min, then tried to power it up, this time a small backfire, the engine kept running, but i decided to idle it back to the dock. (8 year boy is crushed).

So, I seem to remember a link somewhere about good rpm in neutral, and nothing in gear...

[mapleleaf]

I'm almost 100% that the screen on the fuel intake at the carb is clogged.. Might be something else, but that's like a 10 min fix. And if the boats been sitting the tanks bound to have some varnish in it. Unbolt the fuel line fitting and then the coupling and inside will be a brass screen...I'd give that a shot. My boat ran great on teh hose, then would sputter or die over 20mph and then start right back up.........

[buymysupra]

I will pull the fuel line tomorrow, but it should be clear-- while it was at the marina for a survey the fuel inlet nut was discovered to be stripped, the marina replaced the front bowl assemblies. But... I did run 2 hours after that (same bog problem), then changed the fuel/water separator.

More info:

The fuel is pumpkin orange!, I know I need to change it but it is full, 25 gallons, what do i do with it (and it runs at 2000 rpm in neutral just fine.) my best guess is previous owner use an octane additive.

Brand new fuel line from filer to pump.

Boat listing stated fresh rebuild on carb.

Has a Pertronix Ignitor 04ac-v4 with an accel super stock 8140 coil (42,000v).

Maybe the marina did something to the carb when the bowl was replaced?

Maybe the gas is a problem, ignites ok with no load, but can't under load?

I did replace the battery neg cable connector, was very corroded.

[buymysupra]

Well, had about 10 min of time to look at the boat today...

Took off the fuel line and the fuel inlet nut (with the screen), no issues there, blew through the screen in both directions, was clean.

Had my 8 year move the throttle (not under power), looks like trans engages as I would expect it to (trans lever moves forward a little before the throttle gives more gas to the carb).

Took off spark arrestor, is clean.

Looked in to the carb, looks brand new... (does not mean it works right..)

at the top of the carb the are 2 tubes shaped like a J, the front one is cracked where it meets the carb body (like a couple of wiggles down and back up would break it off).


had a suspect purple wire to coil, but ohm meter shows good even with a lot of wiggles.

Got a timing light from ebay, just like the boat, it does not work either... sellers swears it worked fine.

Next step: drain the gas into cans and replace with new... I have a ground hornets nest, guess 25 gallons should do something!

[buymysupra]

One step at a time

Drained 18 gallons from the fuel tank, this gas was not orange.

Last weekend changed the fuel water separator, the gas in that was bright orange and cloudy.

Ran the boat on a bucket, no change from before the good fuel, ran just fine in neutral up to about 2300 rpm.

Noticed that the temp never seems to go over 120 with the engine cover open and on a hose feeding into a bucket with a line dropped into the bucket to the boat (let the engine suck the water rather then force it), at the lake i was 160-170.

2 questions:

1) Why orange and cloudy gas in the fuel separator
2) Can i put the boat into gear on land just for a second to see if the engine bogs down?

[saltare inverts]

You can put it in grear on land. You will want to spray wd40 onto the shaft were it goes through the shaft arm. Ther are seals in there that will fail if ran dry. This is below the boat just before the prop.