Connector Rod am I getting ripped off?Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

jtracc

Seaman
Joined
Sep 5, 2012
Messages
62
Re: Connector Rod am I getting ripped off?****UPDATE****

Re: Connector Rod am I getting ripped off?****UPDATE****

All these horror stories of these engines blowing up is bothering me. Are these simply happening due to age or neglect because I don't understand if a properly maintained engine with no corrosion would just suddenly crap the bed. Is this common or is due to neglect most of the time.
 

bcnul8tr

Seaman
Joined
Aug 11, 2011
Messages
73
Re: Connector Rod am I getting ripped off?****UPDATE****

Re: Connector Rod am I getting ripped off?****UPDATE****

Don't forget to get a second opinion. Ive seen lots of so called spun rods turn out to be something else.

Good luck!

I have talked to a 2nd marine shop as well, and they said because it was 1991 engine in the boat, I would be better off replacing the entire engine with a remanufactured one, or CPO, as opposed to just rebuilding. I had taped the sound the noise was making and asked them what they thought of it, and both of the mechanics said it sounded like the Connector Rod based on increasing engine output, the fact it didn't make the noise in neutral, and only when it was under load.
 

bcnul8tr

Seaman
Joined
Aug 11, 2011
Messages
73
Re: Connector Rod am I getting ripped off?****UPDATE****

Re: Connector Rod am I getting ripped off?****UPDATE****

All these horror stories of these engines blowing up is bothering me. Are these simply happening due to age or neglect because I don't understand if a properly maintained engine with no corrosion would just suddenly crap the bed. Is this common or is due to neglect most of the time.

Well in my case, I had the boat since last August, did all the maintenance, oil changes, fluid changes, winterized etc.. I put about 60 hours on it since I had it, I don't drive it wot very often mostly cruised along doing 30-40, the only time we drove it hard was waterskiing, or tubing which was maybe 4 times since we had it. I had had it out for about 1 hour, when we stopped for a swim, started it back up got to 13 km/h and could hear this noise. So in this case it was just like a lightswitch turning on.
 

500dollar744ti

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 23, 2012
Messages
691
Re: Connector Rod am I getting ripped off?****UPDATE****

Re: Connector Rod am I getting ripped off?****UPDATE****

All these horror stories of these engines blowing up is bothering me. Are these simply happening due to age or neglect because I don't understand if a properly maintained engine with no corrosion would just suddenly crap the bed. Is this common or is due to neglect most of the time.

this is very unlikely to happen with a properly maintained engine. it can happen very quickly though if you make a small misstep like running too low on oil or running with water in the crankcase.

change your oil, check you oil, watch your oil pressure guage, you'll be good.

unfortunately, the very likely scenario leading to the OP's problem is the previous owner's lack of maintenance. the person he bought it from may have run the engine out of oil, locked it up and was able to get it free or fixed a problem that was allowing water to get in the oil but only after the damage was done. once the previous owner got fresh oil in and got enough pressure for the engine to hide any signs of damage he/she sold the boat.

happens all the time in the car industry, i see it often and if you don't know what to look for, you really can get screwed like what appears to have happened to the OP.

once the damage is done by the previous owner, no amount of meticulous maintenance by the next owner is going to save it.
 

bcnul8tr

Seaman
Joined
Aug 11, 2011
Messages
73
Re: Connector Rod am I getting ripped off?****UPDATE****

Re: Connector Rod am I getting ripped off?****UPDATE****

for me it's a no-brainer. get the two items like i posted from ebay, save that $2700 for other things that may go wrong in the future. if you spend $7000 for that used engine and it takes a dump after the 1 year warranty is up, you are royally screwed.


That was my concern, I was wondering if anyone had bought a CPO, and if they had problems. There is an option of buying an additional 2 years Parts and Labour warranty as well, there was a 3rd option which was to buy a brand new Crate engine for $9800.00 + install (Even then they only come with a 1 year warranty as well) I mentioned this place to the marina as well: http://www.michiganmotorz.com/alpha-complete-mercruiser-engine-package-p-1099.html or this http://www.michiganmotorz.com/complete-mercruiser-engine-package-p-323.html and they had said they delt with them in the past but had a couple of warranty issues with them, living up in Nova Scotia Canada there are not a lot of options, and sometimes getting Warranty work from companies outside of your own country gets tricky, and that was why they recommended going with MercuryMarine.
 

NHGuy

Captain
Joined
May 21, 2009
Messages
3,631
Re: Connector Rod am I getting ripped off?****UPDATE****

Re: Connector Rod am I getting ripped off?****UPDATE****

That is still so much money. Shop it around your area, and give them til April to complete to work. Only pay part til it's done and demonstrated. Give them 1/3 up front 1/3 later and the last 3rd upon satisfaction. If you can...
 

ajgraz

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Mar 1, 2010
Messages
1,858
Re: Connector Rod am I getting ripped off?****UPDATE****

Re: Connector Rod am I getting ripped off?****UPDATE****

Here's what rod knock sounds like, on a GM 3800 anyway:

 
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