Starter bolt fallen into bilge

[mjgates]

My mechanic just called and said the starter bolt has fallen out into the bilge pump. They said if they can get it out without removing the motor, it will take 2 hours. If they have to remove the motor, 8-9 hours. I am selling this boat for $3000 and definitely not willing to put 8-9 hours into it. Anyone here of this happening, or know if this should in fact take 2 hours to remove. Seems rather expensive to remove bolt from bilge, but then again, I haven't looked at it as it is in the shop.

This is on a 3.0 mercruiser.

 

[Don S]

Re: Starter bolt fallen into bilge

If the bolt fell out because it was loose, just put it back in and tighten it up. If it broke, then it's a whole new ball game, and you/they have to do what is necessary to get the broken portion of the bolt out. And yes, it may requier an engine pull.

 

[mjgates]

Re: Starter bolt fallen into bilge

If the bolt fell out because it was loose, just put it back in and tighten it up. If it broke, then it's a whole new ball game, and you/they have to do what is necessary to get the broken portion of the bolt out. And yes, it may requier an engine pull.

It is broke. My question is 8-9 hours to remove the engine and the bolt? I have seen others say they could remove the engine in 30 minutes, so where is the 8-9 hours of labor coming from? These are the questions I had, so I called another local mechanic who said $300 worst case scenario. That is if he had to remove the engine. He laughed at the 8-9 hours, and confirmed it takes about 30 minutes to remove. So I learned that my once small time honest mechanic, has changed as his business has grown in the last several years and its time to change to another small business mechanic. I also like knowing who is doing the work I can't handle myself.

 

[bigdaddypt]

Re: Starter bolt fallen into bilge

my question is who broke the bolt? If the mechanic broke it, why are you paying for his inability to properly take out a bolt?

 

[Utahboatnut]

Re: Starter bolt fallen into bilge

It seems that broken starter bolts on the 3.0 is somewhat common, the mechanic may have just noticed it not actually broken it.

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: Starter bolt fallen into bilge

confirmed it takes about 30 minutes to remove.

sometimes its not how long it takes, but how long you spend doing it right

8-9 hours is milking it.

30 minutes is butchering it.

 

[SSSuper83]

Re: Starter bolt fallen into bilge

8-9 hours is milking it.

30 minutes is butchering it.

Agreed. Also depends on the configuration of your boat. My engine swap took three hours...but then again my boat is a cinch to work on.