1999 Mastercraft engine choices.

I'm looking for a new boat. I was very happy with the Maristar 210 I drove today. I was wondering what engine it had. What were the options? Can anyone post picture so I can tell. What I'm getting? Thanks

I give up.......what engine did it have? Did you look under the hood and see?

I'll go out on a limb here, but I dont think Master craft is making any 1999 model boats any more.

I don't know what engine it has. Maybe I need to rephrase my question.

How can I find out what engine is in the boat? How do you tell the different engines apart.

try asking the owner? Try looking under cover at breather!

It was EFI, maybe an LT1. Weren't all Maristars LT1s back then?

It's easy enough to lift the hood and see. It was EFI, likely MPI. It's pretty easy to tell the dif between the two.

Telling me it is easy does not help me identify what engine is in the boat, the owner does not know. I opened the cover, I looked at the engine, there is nothing on there that says "Hey, I'm an LT1"

if you can't figure out what engine is in the boat, either by actually looking at it or through a manual/previous owner/Google/etc... then you may not be ready to own a boat. I'm not trying to be rude, I am just saying, down the road, that boat is gonna throw a few questions at you that will likely be a little more difficult to figure out, and you need to be ready. Also, if you were selling your boat, don't you think it would help potential buyers if you knew what engine was in it? If the current owner doesn't know what engine is in it, he prob. doesn't know anything about service/maintenance/etc.. walk away from this one...just trying to help!

Look on the boat registration, it usually will tell you there.

I believe the options were, Carburetor, Throttle Body Injection, and Multi-port Injection. All built from the 350 GM engine. Post a picture with the cover removed from the top of the engine and someone can tell you what it is. Otherwise you or the owner will have to read the paperwork from the original sale.

Finally, someone that looks like they might want to help. Thanks George!

I know it is MPI. Does that narrow it down? I'm hopping it is the 330 HP LT1

it will be harder to tell the horsepower rating if its not on the motor somewhere, you could get the serial number off it and go to one of the mercury parts sites which might help figure it out, since it is mpi then its probably a 315, 320 or 330 horse, however in a 99 it may not even be the original engine. Nobody can be much help since you've got so limited info...we're just guessing really.

Could be the Caddy Northstar engine or MPI - multi port injected.

http://web.archive.org/web/20010717182221/www.mastercraft.com/showroom/1999/maristar/maristar_power.htm

and it should be pretty obvious what it is from under the hatch. Either option is more than enough power...

So are you looking for boats with that engine?? 330 hp engines are fairly common these days, so don't narrow your search. Maristars are the luxury line MCs, so they're typically well equipped with plenty of torque.

take a cell phone pic next time...

Yeah, I took pictures of everything but the engine for some reason. I do remember the valve covers were bolted on by a row of bolts down the center if that helps any.

You can download the owners manual at the following website: http://www.mastercraft.com/knowledge/owners_manuals/ This shows the options being the Corvette LT-1, The MX Max LTR 330 hp, or the Northstar 4.6 320hp. The intake on the LT-1 would have Corvette on it. The boat probably has the MX.

I personally would not buy a boat with the Northstar. The Northstar engine cannot be rebuilt, it is considered throwaway by Cadillac.

What is the lifespan of the Northstar engine? Is it not as good, or just not repairable?

Here is the engine. I'm guessing it is the 4.6L Northstar.

that is the 330Hp LTR Motor. I have it in my boat.

100% sure?

99.9% sure

That is the 330HP LTR motor. I think it is the best choice for marine applications.

Jon, I don't have any experience with the Northstar in a marine application but some in automotive. Two acquaintences (sp?) engines lost oil pressure around 100,000 miles. Dealer called that "high mileage" and said the only option is to replace the engine at a cost of approximately $8,000. I started searching for repair facilities. None of the rebuilders work on the engine. Based on this I would be afraid the hours in a boat would be much less due to the high RPM, load, and stress of wakeboarding. That is just my opinion. If someone has experience I hope they will speak-up.

I guess that is good news. The boat has about 640 hours on it and runs strong. Or at least it seems to compared to my 115HP outboard.

Not sure what prop is on it, but it would go ~50MPH @ 3000 RPM, I'm sure it could stand a prop change.

^^^^^
No way...either the tach or the speedo is off....50 may be possible, but not at 3K rpms.

I'm surprised it will go 50mph at 3000rpm. Most of that generation boats were ~50mph at WOT. Newer heavier boats go 40-45 at WOT. Generally a loaded boat requires 3000 rpm to go 22-24mph. If you are going to load the boat you will want to re-prop for better holeshot and sacrifice topend speed.

The ltr is a great engine. I have had it in my 2000 xstar and 2002 never have had and kind of problems in either one of the boats and that is with 650 hours on the 2000 with 3000 pounds of ballest everytime to the lake and my 2002 currently has 400 hours on it.