Transom Assembly Woo's

[wil7483]

Hey everybody. Need to know if anyone knows of a shop or individual in the Ft. Walton, Destin, Pensacola, Crestview area that will change the bellows (u-joint, shift cable, exhaust) and gimbal bearing in an Alpha One assembly for a reasonable price. I have the parts (all of the bellows and clamps minus the gimbal bearing) and just need to have them installed. The assembly is already off the boat and I can deliver it to them. I can see paying 70.00-80.00 and hour for the labor. Some of the estimates I have been getting are crazy, from $600.00 - $999.99. It has to be able to be done a lot less expensive than that.

Hope to hear from someone soon.

 

[180shabah]

Re: Transom Assembly Woo's

OUCH!

I don't know how many hours the book says to charge, but I did mine the first time in 6 hours and this included breaks and a couple of tantrums. :|

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Transom Assembly Woo's

Those estimates are unreal! what a rip-off!
I could see maybe 2 to 3 hours labor at most..

 

[180shabah]

Re: Transom Assembly Woo's

Ditto, for a GRAND it better come with a pizza and a happy ending

 

[tommays]

Re: Transom Assembly Woo's

assembly is already off the boat

What does that mean ?

Is it a basket case they have to fit back together and if your that far you should be able to DIY it ?

Its sounds saltwater which is allways and adventure


Tommays

 

[sabastianunf]

Re: Transom Assembly Woo's

Gimble bearing, u-joint, bellows, Throttle assymbly, cutout switch, carb rebuild, exhaust manifold and riser cost me @ $2k but included all parts and labor. They did however give me a used prop for free.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Transom Assembly Woo's

Can't do the shift cable with the transom assembly off of the boat.....
Anyway....
8 hours is a ballpark estimate.......
Most shops don't want to bother because they are not making any mark up on the parts........
$600 is reasonable, if they will give a labor warranty.......IMHO

 

[DHPMARINE]

Re: Transom Assembly Woo's

Either there is a whole lot more to be done,or they detest you taking it apart and then bring in your own parts.We are changing our labor rate this year,and will also have a seperate (higher) rate for those who bring in their own parts.Our rate (operating cost) considers the profit we make on parts.

Here in fresh water land,I'd think 4 to 5 hours enough time.Florida and salt maybe a different factor.

DHP

 

[wil7483]

Re: Transom Assembly Woo's

I am in the process of repowering the boat and changing from an OMC setup to an Alpha One so the assembly is off the boat for that reason. I decided not to install it once I received it because I could see that the u-joint bellows was torn. So since I am replacing that I figured I might as well do them all while I am at it.

I have practically rebuilt this boat from scratch and I consider myself very mechanically inclined but I just don't feel comfortable taking the assembly apart and then reassembling it. Would rather have a pro or at least someone who has done it before do it.

Here is a picture of the assembly as it is now.

So you see it isn't in peices or a pile of junk.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Transom Assembly Woo's

Will you charge even more if they help?........

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Transom Assembly Woo's

It ain't that hard.......
Just time consuming, if you are mechanically inclined, it is a DIY.........
In eight hours.......

 

[Bondo]

Re: Transom Assembly Woo's

If you Wait til it's mounted on the boat,......
You'll be able to Wrestle with it,......

The way it Is,.....
Somebody is going to spend Alot of time Chasing that thing around a Bench........

 

[DHPMARINE]

Re: Transom Assembly Woo's

Whole new story seeing the pics.So you give them the assembly and they don't touch the boat?

DHP

 

[180shabah]

Re: Transom Assembly Woo's

Yeah, I missed the "off the boat" part too.

Does that 1000 include mounting to the boat?

 

[wil7483]

Re: Transom Assembly Woo's

No, just to install the bellows and gimbal bearing. I still will be mounting it to the boat myself. I'm starting to think that I might as well invest in the bellows expander tool and at least attempt to do it myself. I have two manuals and mercstuff.com has good DIY instructions. Just afraid that I will mess it up!!!

 

[tommays]

Re: Transom Assembly Woo's

Well if the #10 screws on the trim switchs come out without breaking that will be a big plus

It will be a PITA to take out the hinge pins with nothing to hold it still (there 100 ft pd with no stuck involved

I have only done it 2 times and i gotta say it looks harder with it off the boat ?

Tommays

 

[wil7483]

Re: Transom Assembly Woo's

So IYHO should I go ahead and install it onto the boat and torque the transom back plate as suggested in the manual and then just go ahead and attempt this myself. I can do that and wait until I can get my hands on an expansion tool.

Using a scale of 1 (easy) to 10 (experts only) how would you rate the difficulty in doing it. What should I look for in the way of giving me the most trouble. Worst case scenario, what can I do to really mess this up and wind up having to spend way more fixing what I destroy?

 

[DHPMARINE]

Re: Transom Assembly Woo's

I'd bolt it to some wood,clamp it in a vise and have at it.

DHP

 

[180shabah]

Re: Transom Assembly Woo's

Worst case scenario, what can I do to really mess this up and wind up having to spend way more fixing what I destroy?

Follow the manual's hose clamp orientation on the bellows. If they are not installed as shown, they will rub through the bellows as the drive turns and tilts.

Go for it!

 

[wil7483]

Re: Transom Assembly Woo's

Thanks guys, I will try to do it this weekend. Wish me luck. :%