4 Powerheads!

[ratherbefishin]

I was out with my salmon guide-and the 200hp MERC blew-again.That's 4 powerheads for that motor-and the total time since new is 800 hours.This outboard was bought and regularly serviced by the dealer.This last one lasted 500 hours-the best yet.Basically the same problem-the main bearing go.Twice they fixed it under warrenty,the last time it was on him,and SOL this time.The dealer basically apologised for Mercury notcovering the last one.What sort of life could you expect out of these motors anyway-I'd sure like to have one of the ones they use in the ads-you know-50 miles out to sea and the motor starts every time.The motor is basically used to run out to the fishing grounds-30 minutes , then shut down and the trolling motor used for actual fishing-<br />What would you do?Just kiss it off to bad luck?

 

[Coolmaker]

Re: 4 Powerheads!

I ran a 200 carb for 5600 hours commercial crabbing (400 shifts a day/ stop and go). Never did anything except normal maint. and one (1) power pack. Sold it to the police dept and they are still using it (many hours later). I can only think that something is drastically wrong with the setup they are giving you....

 

[ratherbefishin]

Re: 4 Powerheads!

the strange thing about this situation is it's not as if the motor was abused or neglected.Regular service checks and maintenance was done by the dealer.The question is-what should he do now?I think Mercury has a moral obligation here, even if the warrenty has expired.This is hardly what they advertise....dependability,research,customer backup etc.

 

[ratherbefishin]

Re: 4 Powerheads!

so..has anyone else had this problem-main bearing going in a very short time?Something is terribly wrong here-powerheads only lasting a very short time

 

[Coolmaker]

Re: 4 Powerheads!

If it was me, I certainly would call a Mercury technical rep. and explain it to him. <br />You are correct a powerhead every 200 hours is awful and something is drastically wrong. Maybe there was a service bulletin out about this problem and the dealer did not see it. Just a thought.....

 

[ratherbefishin]

Re: 4 Powerheads!

the first powerhead went in 80 hours-the last one lasted 500 hours,the other two lasted in between.Service ,maintenance and repairs all done by a well established dealer

 

[gss036]

Re: 4 Powerheads!

Good luck w/Merc. I blew my 1st power head,(rod out the side of the block) (1989 carbed) at 13 months/140 hours and basically Merc told the dealer it was not their problem that it was out of warranty. Thank goodness I had bought an extended warranty (not Merc). They replaced the powerhead and I am still running it today, hopefully for several more years w/the price on new engines.

 

[ratherbefishin]

Re: 4 Powerheads!

I'd like to hear from other people to see if this is an isolated problem, or a widespread design problem.Mercury would be unlikely to admit it was a design problem,I suspect they would more likely blame it on lack of maintenance[which clearly in this case it wasn't-the regular checks were done by the dealer according to factory spec's]

 

[gss036]

Re: 4 Powerheads!

What motor are you talking about, rather than Merc in general? Other than the Opti-(POP)Max, there are no more 2 stroke Merc engines being made. What is in the supply chain at present is there is in the USA.

 

[ratherbefishin]

Re: 4 Powerheads!

it was a two stroke 200 hp ,probably about 5 years old, bought new, and installed and serviced by the dealer according to factory spec's