I need help on motor value
 

last year I bought a 32' outlaw on ebay the ad said it had 502's with the motors only having 30 hours since the boat was repowered. well after much searching I found out they were 454's I need to have a value on the difference on engines. I don't know how to find out how many hours are on the motors. I also wonder without tearing the motors down to know if it is a high output 454 with rollers

Re: I need help on motor value
 

do you have any pics of teh engines? does it say anything onthe air filter like"454 magnum"?

Re: I need help on motor value
 

I have some pics of the engines but the top covers are gone before I got the boat it is a 1997 boat. that's why it was so hard to find out they are 454's we got the numbers stamped on the block just below the head and called Mercury Marine and they told us they were 454's. we will have to figure how th send you the pics we click on manage attachments but it doesn't do anything maybe we can e-mail them to you

Re: I need help on motor value
 

oh yea I do have pics of the original motors and they were carborated and the engines that are in the boat now are EFI's

Re: I need help on motor value
 

an easy way to tell if you have mag engines is how the boat is propped (you would have to asume that its propped correctly)..if the boat red lines at 4600rpms then it is not the mag engine. if it red lines much higher than, either the guy who propped the boat is an idiot :drool: or you have a mag motor :eureka:

Re: I need help on motor value
 

well I am running 21 3 blade props and at WOT I am running 60 mph at 4400 rpm's I tried 3blade 23's and gained 200 rpm and 2 miles an hour but the hole shot was much worse. as for the previous owner I guess he isn't gifted thats why I am trying to get a value difference for my lawsuit against him

Re: I need help on motor value
 

Sounds like an adventure for sure. What a bummer. a 97 motor should have been EFI if I am not mistaken??? I think that the heads are different from the small HP motors to the Mags. Pull a valve cover and get casting numbers that way.
Now to answer your question. First you need to identify what motors are in there. Sounds like you are on your way to that. I would go to the NADA guide for boats and value your boat with the small motors vs. the big motors and there is your difference.The value you are looking at is probably a small claims court case. I would have a reputable surveyor look at the boat and give a determination. One with 502's & one with small 454's just for ammunition.
Bottom line is you need a lawyer who knows his/her stuff in this field. But probably you will spend more $$ on legal fees than what it would cost you to buy a set of 502's.

Re: I need help on motor value
 

i thought of bringing up the nada, but then i thought about it. i have used the (lack of difference) of value to beat people up on price.....but we all know here the real difference in value is huge between twin 454's (probally not mags) compared to twin 502's-----think about it, having 502's is a huge selling point in that size boat! :eek: :blaster:

Re: I need help on motor value
 

Just rember that the only book that ever bought anything is the check book.
I get new books every week from Black Book for cars & they offer them regionally. Go figure.
A good rule of thumb is to take whatever value you think it should be and then cut it in half, then double it. That method will get you close. :D

Re: I need help on motor value
 

I would say the difference in 502's to 454's (non mags) would be 10k. just a guess. The older the boat, the less the difference, but it sure does hurt resale.

Re: I need help on motor value
 

my 454 from 1998 is a carb motor. so i think, carb or mpi, isnt determined by year! with the rpms and props, it sounds like a 330hp 454.
does the intake manifold look REAL flat below the carb? can you find the serial number, mine was on the tstat housing. maybe you can identify from that????

Re: I need help on motor value
 

I have had a real problem finding the serial numbers. I have looked all over the motors, the top cover of the engines that the serial numbers were stamped in were gone before I got the boat . I finally got mercury marine on the phone and we referenced the numbers just below the head on the left side of the block to them and they told us the engines ( or the blocks)were 454's .

Re: I need help on motor value
 

There were some carbed 454s made in 98 as well as mpi.
If it is an mpi, see where the intake air filter is located. If it points to the front of the boat, it is a 310 hp. If it is on the starboard front corner and ponting to starboard, it is a mag 385 hp.

Re: I need help on motor value
 

Casting numbers on the heads will be under the valve covers. The ones on the block are at the rear on the back.....if I rember right. The "litre" value is on the side of the block at the rear. 7.4L for 454 & 8.2L for 502's.
Borders book store has books on BBC'c that will give casting #'s & where to find them & what they mean.
I also have one. Find some numbers & post them. You will probably have to pull the engines out & take them apart to really figure out what they are. :eek:

Re: I need help on motor value
 

the motors are efi but I don't think they are mpi's I beleive they are the 310 hp 454's but friends say they have to be the HO454 because the boat at WOT does 60 mph. they say if they were the 310 hp it wouldn't do 60

Re: I need help on motor value
 

My main concern is what the value of the boat would be with "fresh repowered 502's with 30 hours on them" <quote from his ebay ad, compared to 454's with efi and more than "30 hours on them" I think the guy was lying through his teeth he needed the money and he was big into ebay buying and selling cars through e-bay.

Re: I need help on motor value
 

Do your motors look like this? If they do they are the MAGS (385) if they have a plastic cover they are the 330 Hp motors.

Re: I need help on motor value
 

is not a mag for sure---you said it redlines at 4400-4600rpm. its not a mag for sure
60 with that power set up is about right on that size boat

Re: I need help on motor value
 

Dude, that is not true. If the boat is overpropped it physically can't turn the propellers past that RPM. There are so many unknowns in this deal you simply can't determine the HP by the RPM levels obtained with the current setup. What is the gear ratio in the drives? Let's say it has 1.36's in the drives. The propeller pitch would have to be in the 21" range. If it was propped thinking the drives had 1.50's in them the wheels should be 23-25's (assuming the wheels are 3 blades). The boat would be a dog with big wheels on it. Low RPM, poor planing, poor top end.
If we know for certian that the gear sets are 1.50's then look at propeller pitch. Is it right???
I still say take the boat to a professional shop and have them do what they do best.

Re: I need help on motor value
 

your right jason---i was just saying there would have to be alot of thing out of alignment for twin mags to only push that boat to 60 ( you would think upper 60's at least) i've had non mag 454's in the past , but anyway its still hard to imagine geeting screwed like that....that is such a GRIZZLEY situation good luck :(

lets us know how it works out!

Re: I need help on motor value
 

This is a mag efi, with the air filter located at top right of engine, pointing to the starboard side.

Re: I need help on motor value
 

I can tell you if they are 310 454's the difference is about 10 grand. Last summer My buddie sold his 2000 29 outlaw w/310 454's for 55,500 and it was clean w/low hours. Identical 2000 29 outlaws w/502 mags at the time were selling between 65-67K,hence the 10 g difference,Smitty