hello, we've recently put our virtually rebuilt 42" north sea on the market (www.untamed.be/boat) and had an engine survey done this morning on our ford lehman 120 (5500 hours), and it ended with rather bad news. I've never heard of this w/ ford lehmans and I'm not a mechanic (and do not have the survey results in front of me so am not quoting this with any detail)... but apparently, the taiwan factory exhaust system install on the ford lehman was laid out in such a way that the angle of the lines/pipes allows for a wee bit of water from the exhaust system to blow-back into the engine... condensation occurs and then the condensation drips into the valves, which eventually makes its way into the heads. the surveyor has seen it before in ford lehmans, and essentially said that things are at a point where there has been enough water in the engine over time that a total rebuild is needed. he can hear problems with at least one cylinder, and while we could open her up and see how extensive the water damage is, his gut is still rebuild. this is rather devastating news for us... and any input would be appreciated. questions: 1. the surveyor vaguely mentioned $8,000... but after ballparking, the price reached $12,000 - $15,000 to *either* rebuild or replace. what cost estimates should we expect in a complete rebuild? 2. better to replace? I've seen a few posts on the westerbeke... but costs on replacement? 2. we could drop the price of the boat an additional 10K and disclose the need for a rebuild. but my guess is this would seriously discourage any prospective owner. the boat has had so many repairs done (new systems, paint, teak decks etc...) that whoever gets her would be into a virtually new boat, but buying a boat needed a rebuild is not a good way to start a relationship. - sean