Re: stator scams?
Personally, I find the frequency of their failing to be suspect. Especially when the failure comes just after a visit to the mechanic. A stator is a very simple piece of equipment, with no moving parts. It isn't that difficult to determine if it is good or bad. <br /><br />There is no excuse for the number of times we have heard about engines being serviced, then the switchbox goes out the next week, and then the trigger the next week, and then the rectifier the next week, and then the stator, etc. They just keep throwing parts at it(motivation obvious). Maybe they don't know any better, or maybe they see a cash cow.<br /><br />The general boating public doesn't know what a stator is. Often times they are told "these electrical problems are hard to pin down". So they go along with the either unknowledgable or scamming mechanic, and replace it. I've heard it myself, went home and put a new coil in, and the problem was fixed.<br /><br />Now don't all you outboard techs get worked up here. You all know there are some unscrupulous techs out there, and they are in the minority. You also know that when a service manager says "take care of this customer real good", that it can be taken two ways.<br /><br />Any of you ever have a master cylinder or proportioning valve go bad, just after having your brakes done. Not hard to figure out how this happened. All you have to do is push the pistons in and force the fluid sludge back into the proportioning valve. Now, maybe nothing will happen, but maybe it will clog, and then we can replace it, and maybe the calipers and rotors too if they warped. Ever have to have 3 front left brake rotors and calipers replaced, within a month of having the pads changed? I have.<br /><br />How many times have techs put new parts into a motor, and it didn't fix the problem?<br /><br />Now, how many times did they put your old parts back in and refund the money for the new part you didn't need? not many. <br /><br />The same goes for computers. If you take it in for service, they know you don't know much about them. A woman I work with just paid $184 to have a new (cheap) modem installed, and have the system "cleaned up".<br /><br />That being said, I would like to thank the honest and knowledgable techs out there, for their honesty, integrity, and hard work.