Lord have mercy!! I was almost ripped off!!

[dragracer]

Hey ya'll......this is not a "need help" post...just a "what the heck!" post. Sorry if it doesn't really belong here. Just wanted to share this experience....<br /><br />Been needing to have my gimbal bearing replaced(Merc Alpha) so I finally stopped at a repair shop while we were at the lake last weekend. I explained to him the growling noise it was making. All it's doing is making noise....no other problem. The mechanic quoted me a price range of $750-$1250 to fix it...."depending on what all it needed". <br /><br />Well I thought that sounded a little high so I got a phone number of another guy here locally that had worked on my bro-in-law's boat. He swore up and down that this guy would be cheaper. I just now got off the phone with the guy. I told him what I needed and he said it would be about $50 for the bearing and about $75 for the labor. Said it could be slighty more if the u-joints needed to be replaced. <br /><br />I just could not believe the difference in price. I guess since the other guy is located right up by the lake, he can just charge an arm and a leg...... and people will pay it. My advice....get a second opinion!!

 

[Manipulator]

Re: Lord have mercy!! I was almost ripped off!!

DragRacer, where do you boat at?

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Lord have mercy!! I was almost ripped off!!

Sometimes it's difficult to tell over the phone just exactly what is causing the growling. Could be a bad gimbal bearing, could be sloppy upper gears. My guess is that the first shop assumed it was the gears and gave you a worst case scenario. I have also seen those gimble bearings blow apart and destroy the bracket that bolts into the transom, resulting in a repair bill around there ... another worst case scenario.<br /><br />There's something else to consider. What made that bearing go bad? Bad engine alignment can do it. Not usually a huge deal to correct. But if it's water getting in thru rotton bellows, then all the rubber parts back there are rotton. If you replace one, you replace them all. That would also result in a bill in that ballpark. So there are three ways for a bad gimbal bearing to turn into a really expensive repair. Just replacing it may not solve your real problem. In fact, I rarely find that the gimbal bearings just up go bad for no reason. It's usually one of the above.

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: Lord have mercy!! I was almost ripped off!!

DR,I am sure there is more to the story than what you just posted... Yes a g.bearing costs about $50 and the labor to put it in is about $75.But that is if you bring the boat to him with the outdrive already off.He is giving you a price for exactly what you asked for and not a thing more.The higher estimate is probably including hauling and blocking and removing and reinstalling the outdrive etc.It would be extremely rare to ONLY need the bearing and I hope that IS all you need replaced.But.....If water intrusion was the cause, you will also need to replace bellows and while you are doing that you may as well replace the shift cable and so on.....My guess is that there is more to the high estimate than you have told us but I certainly agree that a second opinion is never a bad idea.Charlie

 

[dragracer]

Re: Lord have mercy!! I was almost ripped off!!

Nope, that's all there is to it charlie. Nothin' else to tell. I told the first guy the exact same thing I told the second. They both said "gimbal bearing and possibly u-joints". Yes I know that the bellows must be replaced while it's apart...especially if it's leaking. That's a given and would raise the repair price slightly. And yes I realize the shaft could be bad and other assorted things. But I have not run it very much since it started making the noise so I'm hoping everything is ok except the GB. The $75 labor price quote was for me dropping off the boat at his shop and him doing everything. <br /><br />Gonna take it over tonight to drop it off. My brother-in-law swears by this guy.... so we will see. <br /><br />Manipulator...We boat (mostly) at Stockton lake and Tablerock lake in southwest Missouri.

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: Lord have mercy!! I was almost ripped off!!

Sounds too good to be true.Please post back and give us some details when its all done.You may want to keep a 12 pack of bud in your car to give this guy when he is done.Sounds like the mechanic we have all been looking for.Charlie

 

[dragracer]

Re: Lord have mercy!! I was almost ripped off!!

I will definately let ya know how it turns out. He||, I'll buy him a whole case if he saves me a thousand dollars. <br /><br />I guess I should have said "I THINK I was almost ripped off"....since I won't know exactly what it will take to fix it for a couple of days. $1250 still seems a bit steep to me.

 

[Don S]

Re: Lord have mercy!! I was almost ripped off!!

My guess is the first shop assumed the worst. The gimbal bearings usually don't just make noise for no reason. Water in the bellows is usually the culpret on about 90% of the noisy bearings, then the bellows needs replaced, along with the ujoints, along with the inputs shaft seal in the drive as the yoke gets rusty and eats up the seal a new yoke also plus the labor to do all the work. <br />If that is what happened then 750 to 1250 is going to be the outcome.<br />Of course, the dealer should have told you why the high price instead of assuming you knew why.

 

[Packers4ever]

Re: Lord have mercy!! I was almost ripped off!!

DragRacer,<br /><br />I have a 1997 Bombardier Celebrity 180BR with a 3.0 Merc is yours made by Bombardier also?

 

[tystick]

Re: Lord have mercy!! I was almost ripped off!!

Isn't another common reason for gimball bearing failure is lack of lubrication? If it is never gressed up then it could dry up .

 

[dragracer]

Re: Lord have mercy!! I was almost ripped off!!

Originally posted by TheSkipper:<br /> DragRacer,<br /><br />I have a 1997 Bombardier Celebrity 180BR with a 3.0 Merc is yours made by Bombardier also?

Actually mine is one that was built before Celebrity sold to Bombardier. It is probably fairly similar but the newer ones I have seen have sort of an arch shaped windshield frame(on the sides) where mine just sorta slopes back. Just a little different looking.

 

[dragracer]

Re: Lord have mercy!! I was almost ripped off!!

Originally posted by tystick:<br /> Isn't another common reason for gimball bearing failure is lack of lubrication? If it is never gressed up then it could dry up .

Yeah I'm wondering now if that's what did it. When I took the boat over last night the guy showed me the grease zerk on the side of the gimbal housing. I had no idea it was there, so obviously I never greased it. I'll know better next time. Duh. Live and learn. <br /><br />I BS'd with the guy for probably 20 or 30 minutes while I was over there and I actually told him what the first guy had quoted me. He just about came unglued when he heard the price he(the first guy) quoted me. He thought that even the low end of the other guy's quote($750) was definately in the rip-off range. He said he felt bad about it costing me even $200. He told me it would probably take him less than an hour to do. Said it should be finished today so I'll let ya'll know exactly what the damage is after he calls.

 

[dragracer]

Re: Lord have mercy!! I was almost ripped off!!

Well it ain't as cheap as I was hoping, but I can live with it. Mechanic said that the GB was definately bad, and the bellows did have a hole in it so it has to be replaced too. Also, when he took it apart, the crimped on brass end on the shift cable pulled off the cable. So I gotta replace that. Said he'd never seen it happen before. One of those freak deals I guess. Anyhow, the total is $366.96 and I'm all set. I sure am glad I didn't leave it with the first guy!!

 

[kdgncop]

Re: Lord have mercy!! I was almost ripped off!!

where abouts are in in "SW Missouri"?? I'm in branson and looking for a good shop around here as I just moved down this summer. Wondering how far you would be from me. also have a couple other questions for ya, i'll see shoot those at ya later- thanks in advance

 

[Packers4ever]

Re: Lord have mercy!! I was almost ripped off!!

Yeah, Drag Racer Mine has the arched shaped side windshields like you say<br /><br />I love it..a little under powered but a solid boat...Good luck with yours<br /><br />Skipper

 

[Capt Ken]

Re: Lord have mercy!! I was almost ripped off!!

You can always find a local shadetree that can do the job for a bunch less than someone that's in the business. The shadetree doesn't have to pay for insurance, roof over the business, taxes, employee's, workman's comp and two ex-wives. Problem usually is those shadetrees usually don't stick around very long expecially when jobs come back for warranty. How would you feel if six months from now that gimbal starts growling again and you go back for warranty only to find the guy is now sheetrocking.

 

[dragracer]

Re: Lord have mercy!! I was almost ripped off!!

Originally posted by Capt Ken:<br /> You can always find a local shadetree that can do the job for a bunch less than someone that's in the business. The shadetree doesn't have to pay for insurance, roof over the business, taxes, employee's, workman's comp and two ex-wives. Problem usually is those shadetrees usually don't stick around very long expecially when jobs come back for warranty. How would you feel if six months from now that gimbal starts growling again and you go back for warranty only to find the guy is now sheetrocking.

The guy I took my boat to is NOT a "Shadetree"!! He has been in the business for approx. 15 years....told me the exact number but I don't remember. I don't think he's going anywhere. <br /><br />kdgncop.....we are located near Joplin. It's probably about 60-70 miles west of Spingfield. It's not REAL close to you, but then again it's not all that far. The shop I took my boat to is in Carl Junction(MO) and it's called McCaslin Marine. My brother-in-law was very pleased with the service and cost, and I am very pleased and would highly reccomend him. I can get his phone number for you if you would like it. <br /><br />Hit me with an email if you'd like to get a faster response from me since I don't check this board very often. dragracer7383 at yahoo dot com