Boat in shop

[1960vw]

My hard luck story began last Saturday the 16th. Out on the lake with my 92 Starcraft Elite 171 with 3.0 MercI/O. Cruising along at 3500rpms and CLUNK !! Motor died and will not crank. Bass boat pulled me and family to marina. Took it home, no water in oil or plug holes. Now it's up to boat shop to give me the news. Will keep you posted with problem and costs. Wish me luck !!

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Boat in shop

Wish you had waited so we could tell you how to pull the drive and isolate the problem

 

[1960vw]

Re: Boat in shop

Bt, my confidence level is not too high since Im somewhast new to I/O. Just had OBs in past. Shop is pretty reliable and fair according to reviews. I would feel better if an experienced mechanic fixed it, since if it was me, I would have that bit of doubt if all is well once I'm out in the waters:redface:

 

[Commissionpoint]

Re: Boat in shop

92 Starcraft Elite 171 with 3.0 MercI/O. Cruising and CLUNK !! Wish me luck !!

3.0 Merc setup you have is pretty solid. I do wish you luck and hope its nothing too major.

 

[1960vw]

Re: Boat in shop

Well, here's the latest as of Friday May 22. Upper drive is shot, no lube to gears/bearings. Lube was VERY low. No evidence of leakage. Lower unit still good and will be cleaned out. Option given on new,rebuilt or good used upper. I went with a good used with 6 month warranty for $800. Estimate for upper, impeller, seals and odds and ends plus labor $1400. I gave him the ok since , again, I researched his business and came up with positive reviews. Very easy to talk to and explained everything clearly to me. Lessoned learned? CHECK EVERYTHING ONCE THEN AGAIN !!!! :redface:

 

[ziggy]

Re: Boat in shop

this might be hindsight. but there is another option too. though i doubt a mercruiser dealer would suggest it... i know last time i talked to my dealer about these, they had nothing good to say about them... my guess was because they ain't a mercruiser...

http://www.sterndrive.cc/Merchant2/...&Category_Code=MercruiserAlphaGenIISterndrive

 

[1960vw]

Re: Boat in shop

Thanks Ziggy, I had mentioned about an offbrand but shop did not feel comfortable installing one. He implied that they are not as good as original which when it comes to marine parts, could have some grain of truth to it.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Boat in shop

but shop did not feel comfortable installing one.

of course not, they're a mercruiser dealer.

He implied that they are not as good as original which when it comes to marine parts, could have some grain of truth to it.

i don't know, i don't have one, but there's quite a few folks on this forum that do. i've really not read much that is to bad about them. not to mention that 3 year warranty they got... use the search function and search for sei drives and see what you get, i'd guess quite a bit of info on them from end users... seems like one of the owners of sei even chimed in on one about the chineeze parts question. can't remember what he said... search..
R&Ring the drive is not as hard as it sounds. and any troubles you run into. well, there's lots better minds on here than mine and they offer help all the time to folks...

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Boat in shop

I`ve installed quite a few SEI drives with no reported issues, considering the drive is a sealed unit ,WHERE did the oil go.? Either it leaked out or was never put in properly.You could have had a complete new drive with a 3 year warranty for that much.