35 Lightening & 38 Lightening
#1
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35 Lightening & 38 Lightening
My wife and I are considering three possible boats to replace our 29' Fever. I have been onboard both the 35 and 38 Lightenings and like the additional room and headroom in the 38. My question is mainly about maintaining the 525s. Most of the 38 Lightenings I have seen for sale seem to have about 250+ hours on the motors. Is this the recommended time to have the heads pulled and freshened? How about the headers? I'm assuming 496 H.O. powered 35s would go at least 800 hours? I live and boat on salt water. Would there be a big performance difference between the two? I would love to hear from actual owners or shops that have worked on both the 496 and the 525.
#2
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Some say pull heads and refresh 525s at 2 - 300 hour mark. Get the rpm report stored in the computer, and go from there. Also the boats are Lightnings.
#3
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Many 525s need a top end service by 300 hrs, head gaskets seep, rockers are suspect, and valve springs are very weak, headers need tested, etc. A few owners have gone 500 hrs and never opened them up. They are the exception, not the norm. Roll the dice how you see fit, but its an expensive gamble to not be preventative. If you live and boat on salt water and are worried about the maintenance costs for a 525 EFI, then go the 496 route. 496 38 Lightnings are not very common, I have not seen one in person. Maybe the early 2000s 38 Lightnings and they would be a 502. Possibly consider a 35 with 496s HO if the 496 is what your after.
Last edited by VoodooRob; 08-16-2018 at 08:51 AM.
#4
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Many 525s need a top end service by 300 hrs, head gaskets seep, rockers are suspect, and valve springs are very weak, headers need tested, etc. A few owners have gone 500 hrs and never opened them up. They are the exception, not the norm. Roll the dice how you see fit, but its an expensive gamble to not be preventative.
#5
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If you boat in the salt I would recommend a boat with the 496’s. They are closed cooling so the salt never enters the engine. Also the 525’s have problematic CMI headers that will only be worse in salt water.
#6
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525EFI are also closed cooling, the issue is the saltwater in the CMI headers and tails, in particular a staggered boat.
#8
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Someone has to say it, I love my 35 with 496's!
The dealer that sold me mine built/sold three 35/496's and a couple of 35/525's in 2006/07. The 525 boats had header problems and one blown motor all in the first year. All three 496 boats are still going strong, as I know them all, one being mine.
The dealer that sold me mine built/sold three 35/496's and a couple of 35/525's in 2006/07. The 525 boats had header problems and one blown motor all in the first year. All three 496 boats are still going strong, as I know them all, one being mine.
#9
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Someone has to say it, I love my 35 with 496's!
The dealer that sold me mine built/sold three 35/496's and a couple of 35/525's in 2006/07. The 525 boats had header problems and one blown motor all in the first year. All three 496 boats are still going strong, as I know them all, one being mine.
The dealer that sold me mine built/sold three 35/496's and a couple of 35/525's in 2006/07. The 525 boats had header problems and one blown motor all in the first year. All three 496 boats are still going strong, as I know them all, one being mine.
Last edited by Marginmn; 08-16-2018 at 02:19 PM.
#10
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Copy that!
I guess it's up to the OP what he wants under the hatch. There's no shame in having black motors pushing around your Fountain.
As it has been said, it will be hard to find a 38 with 496's unless it is a retrofit. There were a couple of factory built 42's with 496's which would make me want to get out and push. Probably would have been better with diesels!
525's are great mills, but they are part of the racing catalog which involves a lot more care and maintenance over their lifetime. Just add it into the overall operating expense and you are good to go, salt or fresh water.
I guess it's up to the OP what he wants under the hatch. There's no shame in having black motors pushing around your Fountain.
As it has been said, it will be hard to find a 38 with 496's unless it is a retrofit. There were a couple of factory built 42's with 496's which would make me want to get out and push. Probably would have been better with diesels!
525's are great mills, but they are part of the racing catalog which involves a lot more care and maintenance over their lifetime. Just add it into the overall operating expense and you are good to go, salt or fresh water.