Sei vs Mercruiser, my experience so far

akindl

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Dec 8, 2014
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2
Thought I'd share my ongoing experience with Sterdrive Engineering Inc. so far: I bought a new SEI 116 model(alpha 1 Gen 2) complete drive to replace my 20 year old standard rotation Mercruiser unit. Since I now keep my 1992 Tiara 270 Sportboat in Rhode Island (3:20 hr drive away) I decided to have a local RI mechanic do the work. I had always done my own minor work in the past. After the break-in procedure was completed in may 2013, I was able to enjoy boating for a couple of months until the unit locked up. I used the same mechanic to do the work and return the drive under warranty. $1000.00 (obscene fee to transport the boat to their shop and labor, shipping, etc.) and three weeks later I'm back on the water. Toward the end of the season this year (2014) it developed a vibration and noise. This time I removed the drive myself, as I always have in the past before trusting this mechanic to do it. The upper drive seal and bearing appeared to be the issue to me because the upper gear assembly didn't want to turn over after separating the upper and lower halves, as well as the shaft bellows being full of lube, the lower turned over and shifted fine. I shipped the complete unit to SEI per their instructions under the warranty return procedure. They rebuilt both and sent a report to me with the unit. Their report stated that the lower unit had gear failure, the drive shaft was out of alignment because I "may have struck something" but nothing was wrong with the upper. This was completely opposite of what I had observed. I called to talk to the person that handled the warranty transaction at SEI. He informed me that there was no "failure" with the unit either time, just a clutch problem the first time and a gear problem the second time and that the warranty period for this drive will expire at the end of three years from the date of original purchase. I guess one person's "failure" is another's "problem". I'm sure there must be a legal reason that "failure" is not spoken of at SEI.

So I guess as experience seems to indicate, next year's "problem" will be the last one they cover under warranty. I replaced the other unit on the boat with a counter rotating Mercruiser last winter (2013) with no "problems" so far.
 

cdiamond

Petty Officer 3rd Class
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Aug 20, 2008
Messages
94
It Has Been My Oberservation That

A Good Many People Can't ( Or Won't ) Grasp The Concept

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR !!!

As A Mercruiser Certified Tech. For over 30 Years

I Have Posted My Opinions ( Based On Knowledge & Experience ) Regarding These Chinese Outdrives

So Here We Go Again - Pay Attention Now

PRICE IS WHAT YOU PAY --- VALUE IS WHAT YOU GET

Lesson Over
 

tpenfield

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Jul 18, 2011
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17,620
Does not sound like a glowing report for SEI . . . I am sure that there are good and bad stories to be told. Also, I have read similar reports on Mercruiser replacements. I think the local shop doing the work may have a lot to do with the end result, but you never know.
 

akindl

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Dec 8, 2014
Messages
2
My take on this situation is to be wary of glowing online reviews and only trust myself when it comes to repairs on my boat. Maybe I got a lemon. I wonder if Mercruiser would extend their warranty on a factory repaired warranty return to one year after repairs were made. Any one know the answer to that? My opinion of corporate America is that the consumer is not as respected as the stockholder, although a documented issue with a car is covered past the warranty period by law. Too bad it takes a law to create a conscience in today's corporate world. I'm a plumbing and heating contractor and tell my customers the same thing, that you get what you pay for! As far as the local shop goes, they came highly recommended by a good friend...still a good friend but I'll never use the shop again. I had them drop an engine in for me, one I brought them one from a salvaged boat I stripped with low hrs. I couldn't use the drive as it was Alpha 1 Gen 1. Treated myself to a new drive....Noticed a couple of shortcuts they took when I removed the drive, clamps broken, re-used the shift cable sheath after charging me for the kit. I'll go back to buying hull damaged freshwater trailer boats and removing the mercruiser engine and drive for spares. I've done this kind of thing for 30 yrs and never had issues with used mercruiser stuff.
 

agallant80

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Oct 25, 2010
Messages
2,328
It happens. My bran new Bravo 3 drive blew up after 20 hours. It was replaced by merc but everyone has defects.
 

H20Rat

Vice Admiral
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
5,199
It Has Been My Oberservation That

A Good Many People Can't ( Or Won't ) Grasp The Concept

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR !!!

As A Mercruiser Certified Tech. For over 30 Years

I Have Posted My Opinions ( Based On Knowledge & Experience ) Regarding These Chinese Outdrives

So Here We Go Again - Pay Attention Now

PRICE IS WHAT YOU PAY --- VALUE IS WHAT YOU GET


You might be somewhat biased... Although I do like your last statement, price and value are independent of each other! Price often has very little to do with quality. Prices are set to recover costs of R&D, make a profit, and if you are the sole provider of something with a market recognized name, as much profit as the market will bear. The actual cost in materials and production is pennies on the dollar. When a new guy comes in, they have substantially lower R&D costs, lower manufacturing costs, and because of competition, price has to go down. Quality in many cases goes up because of differences in technology that the new competitor can take advantage of.

Of course, OEM's also have a fair amount of planned obsolescence that the aftermarket tends to get in the way of. (ie, intentionally make parts with an 'expiration date' to keep a revenue stream coming in.)

There are lots of examples in the boating (and automotive) worlds where the aftermarket has a substantially better part for a fraction of the cost.
 
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alldodge

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Messages
40,581
I like Merc for the main reason it's made in the USA by the Machinist and Aero Space Works (Use to be part of working in the DoD). That said I also have no issue buying from the good folks in Canada. The warranty on SEI is better then Merc and while I have heard many glowing reviews on SEI there have been few like this one. If I needed an alpha drive I would look at SEI just as Merc. Sorry you have had trouble and I hope it does not happen again with either company
 

Tnstratofam

Commander
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Aug 18, 2013
Messages
2,679
Man made. Man installed. Man serviced. Man operated. Man is not perfect. Lots of variables to consider. Manufacturers put out the product expecting the technicians to install them properly, and the customer to operate them correctly. If the part is a bad design then you have a whole new set of variables yo consider. I wouldn't slam the manufacturer first thing. Unless you are the umpteenth millionth customer with the same problem. I do agree with you however I would not be impressed with their customer service for an ongoing issue. Just my 1 and 1/2 cents. Sorry your'e having problems. Sucks when you don't trust your drive to get you home.
 

cdiamond

Petty Officer 3rd Class
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Messages
94
A Couple Of Points:

1. "You Might Be Somewhat Biased"....... It's not bias - it's experience. I have NEVER seen a mercruiser drive whine like a NEW sei. I have worked on these sei

outdrives during my career. They are NOT the same quality of materials as merc.

2. " The Warranty On SEI Is Better Than Merc. ".......... I have dealt with sei warranty in the past. Perhaps you are not aware but ... Any sei upper or lower returned to

sei will need to be --- first - removed from the boat, second upper and lower will need to be separated for shipment, when the repaired or replaced upper or lower

is received , it will need to be reassembled and reinstalled on the boat. ABSOLUTELY NONE OF THIS LABOR IS COVERED BY SEI

If this were a mercruiser outdrive all labor is covered

Is that the BETTER WARRANTY you were referring to ?????

I had a client who had to return his sei outdrive 5 times. I doubt he thinks sei warranty is BETTER. He finally gave up and bought a merc
 

81 Checkmate

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1,360
No expert here...had to replace my upper 3 yrs ago and bought a SEI unit and have had no isues as of yet.......As a daily iboats reader, most of the time when i read somone posts that needs to replace their outdrive..... They have a 3 to 5 thousand dollar boat..So if i spend 3 grand on a Merc unit ive put alot of cash into my 3 thousand dollar boat. So my new outdrive is worth the same as my whole boat. Not saying that OEM is not the way to go....but most of the time people dont have alot of xtra money laying around to keep their boat running.

Just my thoughts.....Hope you have better luck with your new drives.
 

Tail_Gunner

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Jan 13, 2006
Messages
6,237
Put a SEI behind a 454 about 1.5 yrs ago and its the gift that keeps on giving, there is a break in procedure that must be followed after that its pushing a 22' boat with a 454 45/60 mph all day long with no issue's. The way I look at it....I can replace two drive's...maybe 3 for the cost of one Bravo.
 
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Bondo

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Staff member
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Apr 17, 2002
Messages
70,465
It Has Been My Oberservation That

A Good Many People Can't ( Or Won't ) Grasp The Concept

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR !!!

As A Mercruiser Certified Tech. For over 30 Years

I Have Posted My Opinions ( Based On Knowledge & Experience ) Regarding These Chinese Outdrives

So Here We Go Again - Pay Attention Now

PRICE IS WHAT YOU PAY --- VALUE IS WHAT YOU GET

Lesson Over

Ayuh,..... I ain't a Merc Tech in any way, shape, or form,....

I'm just a plain ole Mechanic, mainly Heavy Equipment, but with a keen interest in Boats, 'n Boatin',....
'n the ability to get 1 more lap outa tired ole iron,...

Other than the fleet of equipment, 'n dump trucks that I maintain, the Boss, 'n his family are "River Rats" from waayyy back,...
There's several houses on several islands involved, a Dead Boat is not an option when the river ain't frozen solid,...
They've got a pretty substantial fleet of barges, I/Os, inboards, outboards, 'n paddle,...

A few years ago, We needed a Merc Alpha 1 drive to get an ole refitted Hi-Liner back into the river,
It had started as a 4.3l, then to a 350, but the same drive,...
25" aluminum props are Hard to find, but the only way to tame the rpms,...
Anyways, when the poor ole drive, Finally Died, I ordered, 'n installed our 1st SEI,....
10 hour break-in, change the oil, 'n it's still runnin' just Fine today, all drained, winterized in a barn, ready for launch in the Spring,...

The 2nd SEI was an Alpha 1, Gen.II,... Different Hi-Liner 222, different 350, newer of course,...
It was installed, 'n durin' the 10 hour break-in, it started makin' a noise,...
I pulled it, boxed it, 'n shipped it,...
Less than 2 weeks later, another SEI Gen.II drive was at the back step,...
I installed it, 'n it's still runnin' now, no problems, so far,...

I know that these drives are assembled in Florida with off-shore sourced parts,...
What I've seen of 'em, the cases appear to be of a slightly stouter design, 'n the castin' quality seems to be "On-par" with any others,...

If I needed a drive, I wouldn't hesitate at All,.... I'd call iboats, 'n order another one, in a Heartbeat,...... ;)
 
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funk6294

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Apr 26, 2009
Messages
294
Sux to hear your having issues, just out of curiousity is this boat a single or twins? Also if I read your posts correctly you swapped engines, what engine was in it before and what did you swap in? Just trying to get an idea of what all was done to this boat. Nice Tiara BTW!
 

Fishermark

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Oct 19, 2003
Messages
5,617
I'm with Bond-o. I'm just a guy who likes to work on engines and mechanical things. Boat, car, whatever. I've had three of their units on various boats. Only had trouble with one. Being local, I took the outdrive off and straight to their shop. They fixed / rebuilt it with no problems or questions whatsoever in a timely fashion. Their customer service is second to none. The units are incredibly affordable. One of the best aftermarket companies around in my opinion.

Anything can break - including the alphas I took off to replace with SEI units.
 

cdiamond

Petty Officer 3rd Class
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Aug 20, 2008
Messages
94
I'd say -- for those who are willing to gamble ...

That they get a "good" one

Or if you live down the street and can take it off & put it on yourself

I guess it's an option
 

asm_

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Apr 11, 2010
Messages
245
So Here We Go Again - Pay Attention Now

PRICE IS WHAT YOU PAY --- VALUE IS WHAT YOU GET

Lesson Over

If the price is what I pay and value is what I get, how can I make sure I get all the value I paid in the price? Or should I always assume paying more will in turn return greater value?

So Here We Go Again - Pay Attention Now

YOU PAY WHAT YOU GET, BUT YOU'LL NEVER GET ALL THAT YOU PAID.

Lesson Over
 

Tail_Gunner

Admiral
Joined
Jan 13, 2006
Messages
6,237
I'd say -- for those who are willing to gamble ...

That they get a "good" one

Or if you live down the street and can take it off & put it on yourself

I guess it's an option


Are you serious...you do know that the internals are of a stronger alloy than merc's.....and fair play which drive has a superior coating? Fear mongering come'on
 

cdiamond

Petty Officer 3rd Class
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Aug 20, 2008
Messages
94
Am " I " Serious ???

does anybody actually believe that these chinese components are superior to Mercruiser OEM parts - says Who ??

where in the world did you get that misinformation

not engaging in fear mongering here

just stating what i've seen

take it for what it's worth to you

i'll report you decide
 

H20Rat

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Mar 8, 2009
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5,199
Am " I " Serious ???

does anybody actually believe that these chinese components are superior to Mercruiser OEM parts - says Who ??

where in the world did you get that misinformation

Belief's don't matter. Metallurgy tests do. There are lots of very happy people with SEI drives and heavier wallets. I long ago gave up on 'american' made quality. I can't post the rest of this without getting far too political for the forum
 

stonyloam

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Mar 13, 2009
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5,827
Well, if I had a 2 year old $40,000 boat that needed an outdrive, it would be a Mercruiser replacement. As I have a 27 year old boat worth about $1,500 if and when I need one it will be a SEI.
 
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