1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think?

Charlie Brown · May 29, 2003

I recently had an accident with a couple of stumps while fishing

. My hull was damaged ($3800.00), prop was damaged, the screens in the lower unit were knocked loose and the unit filled with sand, clogging the water pump and sounding my alarm. I killed engine immediately-waited about 30 min. then turned key on but did not start motor. Alarm was still sounding. Another 30 min. and it was not sounding so I started boat and went about 3 miles to ramp to load boat. When inspected at repair shop, block was spraying fuel on both sides. The mechanic cannot say for sure either way what caused that, and insurance man says it did not get hot enough to crack block.

Says it is mfg. defect. Does anyone have any info that would help us do more research on a posibbly defective motor? We sure do not expect that Evinrude will make good on a 10 yr old motor, but I think in 10 yrs. a lot can happen and "mfg. defect" is a broad term. I really think there are a lot of circumstances to be considered by the ins. co. and I have a lot proof that this collision could have possibly been a chain reaction to the motor damage. Any help? Thanks Charlie

Charlie Brown · May 29, 2003

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

I just talked to two different mechanics about my problem. One says because of porous casting, there has been water in #1 cyl. in some of these Evinrude motors 1991-1993, but says he has never seen fuel leaking from block because of casting. Another says he has not seen this from ANY type of motor. I do not know if this will be enough info for us to continue our battle with the ins. co., but I still welcome ANY information anyone can give. Thanks

JB · May 29, 2003

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Hello Charie Brown. Just an opinion, but your ins. adjuster is full of it.

A 10-year-old manufacturing defect that shows up in a crash?

A manufacturing defect is something that prevents a product from performing normally in normal use. They show up during warranty periods, not when whacked soundly after ten years of normal use. Dig in your heels. Get an attorney to explain to the ins. co. how much it would cost them to lose in court. That's my opinion.

Dhadley · May 29, 2003

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Exactly where is it spraying fuel from? Ditto JB.

Charlie Brown · May 29, 2003

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

I am sooo glad to hear that from you JB! I totally agree with you but cannot get my point across. The fuel is coming out at the seams at the sides - on the top sides. The other thing I didn't mention is that we KNOW this has not been going on for long, because I had it in the shop for a starter bendix 2 mos. ago and there was no sign of this leak then. Wouldn't you think the foam in the cowling would be eaten away by the fuel if for a very long period of time?

Charlie Brown · May 29, 2003

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

The leak is coming from the crankcase area right behind the middle cyl. on each side of the block. It is not coming out of the head or cyl. wall. JB, are you a master mechanic or is anyone else who is responding? Or how about any previous OMC dealers? I need some documentation in order to fight the ins. co. and am willing to pay any expenses for an official opinion. Right is right and I feel that I'm right on this one. Thanks again.

Dhadley · May 29, 2003

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

BTW - thw water in #1 is a "glue seam leak" and has nothing to do with fuel. Is the crank bent? Put a dial indicator (or any fixed object) next to the top of the crank and slowly rotate the crank. You may have to remove the flywheel, remove the spark plugs, put it in gear and rotate it via the prop. Dont kid yourself - you got your point across. Its the agents job to see if youll go away quietly. "Factory defect" is a term they like to throw around. Ask for a written definition. And dont settle for "anything we dont cover". Ive heard that too. Good luck!

Dhadley · May 29, 2003

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Never mind - I read that it was coming from the seam at the top.

clanton · May 29, 2003

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Sounds like you hit hard enough to bend the crank and/or knock the crankcase bolts loose. Should not be to hard to check for loose case bolts,bolts and block should be check for stripped thread/damage threads. Bolts could be check for strech.

seahorse5 · May 29, 2003

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

There are also fuel recirculation lines on both sides of the cylinder and crankcase, two are squeezed behind the starter, that can melt or be pinched that can make gas look like its leaking from the block. You may also just have a leak where the block is bolted together. It has to be "split apart", cleaned, and new GelSeal applied to re-seal it.

jrc27 · May 29, 2003

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

just wondering if the insurance guy is a mechanic? if not how does he even know what would be a factory defect. i can't understand how a factory defect could possibly cause an accident with a stump..

Charlie Brown · May 30, 2003

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

No, the ins. guy is not a mechanic and I think he thinks he got ahold of one dumb country boy! He has a "marine surveyor" who told him it was one of the defective porous castings built between 1991-1993. Wonder how he would know that without looking inside? From what my mechanic has seen, the leak is not at the seams - it is definitely cracked on each side. We still need two written opinions by people who are master mechanics or are previous OMC dealers. If anyone can help us, we'd appreciate it. I appreciate everyone who has responded, because I guess I needed other opinions and hoped they were the same as mine. You've helped fuel my fire! Thanks again. Charlie

rmpenton · May 30, 2003

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

check with jb and see if you can post a repost a message asking for joe reeves from what i gather he is a great mech. and knows his omc.but ask jb first,i dont want you to get in trouble for a repost

DJ · May 31, 2003

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Charlie, "Cracks" don't just happen unless something catastrophic happened such as: freezing or a good jolt to the internals of the engine. In your case we know what happened. Your engine took a serious blow to the L/U while running at speed. That type of shock can have very serious effects to the internals of your engine. I'm with DHadley on this one. Your crankshaft may be bent/broken or your block absorbed enough of the blow to break it. With that said, your problems may be MUCH deeper than what is apperant in a visual inspection. In the automotive world, that is known as "hidden damage". Adjusters deal with that all the time.

clanton · May 31, 2003

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

The exhaust housing should be checked for parallelism with a dial indicator, instruction in manual. If housing is bent will cause excessive wear of driveshaft and crankshaft splines. The tilt/trim kickup relief valve is set at about 1600 lbs, if the engine kicked up and busted the transom, there is enough pressure to bend the housing and push the crank out of position in the block.

Joe Reeves · May 31, 2003

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Charlie_Brown.... I've been following this thread but have avoided a reply due to the fact that I retired before that engine came into existence, coupled with the fact that it is (I believe) a 60° V/6 (Carbs on the side of the powerhead instead of in front) of which I have no working knowledge of. However, in my years of experience, nothing could really be determined one way or the other pertaining to whether a failure took place due to a engine component malfunctioned, operator neglect, or if it was caused by an accidental encounter with a foreign object. ********** There would need to be an agreement with the insurance company (in writing) which would stipulate their consent to have the engine torn down in order to determine the extent of the damage and the exact cause of it. You would want a very qualified technician/mechanic (yours, not theirs) to handle the dismantlement of the engine, and you would want percise notes of what is found along with photos of the engine in various states of being dismantled. ********** Leave nothing to chance in dealing with a insurance company. Had a house fall in a hole due to (unknown to us) being built on a small landfill. It didn't fall due to a sinkhole. Insurance company said Tough Beans... lost $80,000. Gives you a good idea as to what I think of insurance companies. Now, I understand that fuel is spraying out both sides of the block. Assuming that you've checked and have found that this fuel spray is not being sprayed out from the fuel lines or the carburetors. Frankly, I would find that scenario very unlikely due to the fact that the identical problem exists on both sides of the powerhead. Sooooo this fuel spray would either have to be coming from a cracked powerhead, or the GelSeal at that one particular area suddenly decided to fail for some unknown reason. Of course I'm not there to view it but I'm inclined to go with the cracked block (crankcase) scenario. Now, blocks (easier to type than crankcase) do not crack from the outside inwards unless they are hit with a hard object with a great amount of force, and this would need to be hit in that manner at least twice... not likely. This leaves the scenario that the block in those areas were hit from the inside. Unless a connecting rod was torn loose which could do that damage, I can think of only one other way that scenario could take place, and that would be that the crankshaft broke in that area which would let everything connected to it go off center. The flaw to that thought though is that the engine shouldn't run properly (fire on all six cylinders) after that. But, as far as I'm concerned, my thinking (at the moment) is that something hit the interior of the block in that area due to the shock the engine encountered. Clanton brought up a good point about the exhaust housing being out of line, bent. Unfortunately the only way to check that is to remove and dismantle it completely, then have it setting on a perfectly flat surface. Using a percentage dial indicator, the distance is then to be checked from that flat surface (close to the housing) to the top surface, all the way around that top surface. If it varies by more than 10°, it is not usable and must be replaced. Hopefully, at some portion of this rambling, there has been something worthwhile said. I wish you luck.

Charlie Brown · Jun 4, 2003

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Re: 1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think

Lots of thanks to everyone who answered me. I appreciate you all taking the time to help. I stumbled upeon this site the same day I wrote in and it has been a great find! Special thanks to Joe Reeves, OMC Guru for your input and opinion. Just received the official "you're not getting any money from us" from the insurance company today. I have spoken with an attorney and if none of you has any reservations, I would like to use your opinions when gathering information for my fight! Thank you so much, JB for allowing me to display my problem. Charlie

1993 Evinrude 175-Is there a Mfg. defect in block?What does Joe Reeves think?

Cadet

Cadet

Honorary Moderator Emeritus

Supreme Mariner

Cadet

Cadet

Supreme Mariner

Supreme Mariner

Rear Admiral

Rear Admiral

Seaman

Cadet

Seaman

DJ

Guest

Rear Admiral

Supreme Mariner

Cadet