454 cu in life expectancy

[lost]

I have owned a 1997 400 Sea Ray Sundancer since new. I presently have 1100 hrs. on her 454 fuel injected engines. Oil is changed a minimum of twice a year and I never cruise above 32 to 34 hundred rpm.
Does any one have experience enough to give me an idea as to when I am going to have to repower. I have been told 1200 hrs is normal, but they show no signs. ( knock on wood)

 

[kevin27]

I would think twice that with proper maintenance and fresh water cooling.

 

[Quint4]

Your going to get answers all over the place. The main killer of marine engines is water intrusion. I have 800hrs on my 454 and the compression is good and it runs strong (needs a new carb at the moment). You are in fresh water so that is a big plus. Pull the risers every 3-4 years and replace the gaskets and check the passages for excessive wear and you should get many more years out of them. Neglect of these gaskets is the downfall of the majority of marine engines.

 

[rondds]

I've heard 1500-2000.

 

[magster65]

A buddy of mine has a 1981 31' Silverton with twin 318's on shafts. It had the heads done at 1600 hours and it was still running strong when he sold (gave) it away with 2400 hours on the clock.
He was diligent about his maintenance with riser / manifold replacements and obviously oils and such... and he reaped the rewards.
My old Tolly had 1500 or so hours on it and the fella' I sold it to used it for 4 more years before he did anything to it... then he replaced the '79 5.7 with a new 5.7 horizon mpi... what a difference!!

 

[LMBoat]

I have 1,980 hrs on mine. Compression, oil consumption <none>, power, etc are all as good as the day we got it 9 years ago with 670 hrs. It is currently for sale as we are buying a bigger boat, but I don't see any reason not to get 3,000 hours, if not more, out of these. As noted, use and proper maintenance are the key. They don't ware out.

 

[northern]

Have a look at this posting and you will get a lotof information.
http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39445&highlight=454+heads

 

[lost]

Thanks for your replies. I will look into the gaskets and manifolds. I think that if water intrusion would be a problem that I would have had to top off the glycol.

 

[RollerCoastr]

I think that if water intrusion would be a problem that I would have had to top off the glycol.

Not really. Raw water still passes through the exhaust system in in a closed-cooling setup.

I would think you'd have Bluewaters in a 1997? You, or your mechanic should have regular opportunities to inspect the risers and elbows because removing the elbow is the best way to clean the flame arrestor on the Bluewater engines.

As far as the 1,200 hour comment you heard, I recommend listening to nothing else that person says about boats! :grin: