Dealer left impeller in t-housing - Photo

[swcolorado]

Attached is a photo of the thermostat housing in my 2000 VP 4.3L.

The nozzle directly in the center of the photo is the inlet to the thermostat housing that comes from the impeller housing on the crankshaft. The inlet was completely plugged with pieces of the old impeller. It's amazing it was cooling at all.

I had previously taken the boat in to my local dealer since I was new to boating and the engine was overheating (high temp alarm went off).

The dealer told me it was likely the impeller. I asked if he flushes the cooling system when he replaces them and he told me, "we flush it enough to make sure we have all of the pieces out".

When I picked up the boat, they assured me they had flushed the system.

Let's say I am happy that I checked it instead of letting them charge me an additional several hundred dollars to find their mistake and not telling me about it which I'm sure would have been what would have happened.

So, how would you approach the dealer? I also took off the impeller housing and have a photo of the new impeller they put on that is still 100% intact.

 

[jtybt]

Re: Dealer left impeller in t-housing - Photo

Keep the pix, run it til it dies and get a new engine. Take an after pix with the date stamp, too.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Dealer left impeller in t-housing - Photo

Keep the pix, run it til it dies and get a new engine. Take an after pix with the date stamp, too.

Thats just a wrong way to go about it...
Why ruin an engine?

Clean it out,back flush the system then if you have an over heat problem then talk to the shop.

 

[KurtG]

Re: Dealer left impeller in t-housing - Photo

So, how would you approach the dealer?

I'd call the service manager and tell them what you found and leave it at that and then I'd search for references for a different shop to have on hand for the future. It is unlikely that you will recoup anything from the current shop for the last repair, and frankly, I doubt it is worth the hassle. That said, I doubt I'd trust them too.

 

[Maclin]

Re: Dealer left impeller in t-housing - Photo

Their definition of backflush...."we flush it enough to make sure we have all of the pieces out" would almost certainly differ with what a boat owner would think that meant.

If all they did was (back)flush then they did not do a visual and remove the housing or at least the hoses going to it. If they saw water with any kind of flow they probably figured it was clear. My gut feeling is that they would have mentioned all that "extra" work required for the visual to gain creds.

It also could be that the shop owner or supervisor expected the mechanic to do more and it did not happen. In that case a reputable owner/operator/supervisor would want to know about it.

 

[jaxnjil]

Re: Dealer left impeller in t-housing - Photo

Thats just a wrong way to go about it...
Why ruin an engine?

Clean it out,back flush the system then if you have an over heat problem then talk to the shop.

right on gary!!!!!!!

be happy you found it and get out on the lake and enjoy the rest of the summer. if you found this you should be clever enough to do your maintenance with out the dealer ship any way.

best of luck from N W Co

 

[swcolorado]

Re: Dealer left impeller in t-housing - Photo

I am clever enough to do my own maintenance now that I have a service manual.

The original overheat issue happened on Day 2 of my having the boat on the water. It is my first boat (bought on July 4th) although I have driven (never owned) a boat previously.

I'll pretty much be doing my own maintenance and repairs from here on out.

I just wanted it fixed correctly and had never dealt with a boat cooling system before so I took it to the dealer.

I ended up e-mailing the dealer with the photo. Haven't heard back yet........

 

[cr2k]

Re: Dealer left impeller in t-housing - Photo

Flushing only get out the loose pieces. When you encounter an impeller missing pieces you MUST find all the pieces. We do this by jig-saw piecing the old impeller back together. If you are missing a piece you must go looking.

And now you know one place to look!

 

[RoyR]

Re: Dealer left impeller in t-housing - Photo

I have not been impressed with service either...feels like I'm getting ripped off everytime.

Replacing the impeller on my boat is next, and I think I may just do it myself!

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Dealer left impeller in t-housing - Photo

So, how would you approach the dealer? I also took off the impeller housing and have a photo of the new impeller they put on that is still 100% intact.

It depends on how you paid them....


If you used a credit card, you should ask for a refund of part of the repair price since they didn't do what they said they did....

If they refuse, Then tell them you're planning to do a charge-back with your credit card company because they did not deliver on their part of the deal....... then contact your bank and inform them of the problem, your suggested remedy and ask for a charge back.


I had a similar problem with the engine I bought from craigslist. the previous owner told me that he replaced the sea-water pump the previous year. It was probably true but I removed the discharge hose from the the pump that went to the power steering cooler and oil cooler to change some things and discovered that the oil cooler was literally CRAMMED with impeller fragments from a previous failure.

They appeared to have been there for quite some time. It did flow *some* water.....maybe enough to not over heat but I didn't try it to see....Good thing I had the oil cooler on it because the pieces would have went into the engine eventually if it hadn't been there.....



Cheers,

Rick