04 Tohatsu 25 HP Foot Failure

[eddy2419]

5 months old, worked well yesterday. Today it started to idle with noise and would not fully engage in reverse. Took out of water and noticed the "ring" in front of the prop was broken, pushed toward the rear. I took off the prop, then the "ring" assembly, which opened the foot up. There was some water contamination but no rust or metal filings so I assume this is a recent failure. No skeg or major prop dings.<br /><br />Absent an impact damage possibility, should this be covered under warranty? Has anyone else experienced this problem?<br /><br />FWIW, there is currently no dealer in my area. This was an internet buy.

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: 04 Tohatsu 25 HP Foot Failure

Is this a hand tiller or a remote control engine? Also what's your zip code?

 

[eddy2419]

Re: 04 Tohatsu 25 HP Foot Failure

Tiller. 35055.

 

[eddy2419]

Re: 04 Tohatsu 25 HP Foot Failure

I now realize the Nissan dealer here is still around, although repairs are farmed out. I will take it to his repair person.<br /><br />I would still like to know if anyone else has had this problem or what may have caused it. The prop shaft housing cracked in 2 places right beside each bolt hole where it bolts to the foot. Looking at it from the rear, the cracks are at 11:30 and 5:30. The housing was pushed rearward. Also what needs to be done for a complete repair.

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: 04 Tohatsu 25 HP Foot Failure

It really does sound like impact damage. The propshaft housing will have to be replaced, plus anything else that is wrong.

 

[eddy2419]

Re: 04 Tohatsu 25 HP Foot Failure

I will not file a warranty claim if this is impact damage, just not right. Is there anyway this could break without significant prop damage? The prop has minimal very tiny dings, almost new, the paint isn't even scratched up. <br /><br />Could it have had water in the gear case and it froze pushing the housing out till it broke?<br /><br />This is my 16 YO's motor. He is extremely mature about his boat and takes great pains to keep it in good shape. He does not know of any situation latley that would have caused it. I guess it could have been cracked some time and just got pushed out so where it caused problems.<br /><br />Ballpark price on the housing?

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: 04 Tohatsu 25 HP Foot Failure

The housing is around $125.00. If this engine is only five months old you really need to get it into an authorized dealer to determine if it is warranty or not.

 

[eddy2419]

Re: 04 Tohatsu 25 HP Foot Failure

Here's the problem-<br /><br />Per the local dealer's technician, with which I agree, the damage is the result of water in the gear case freezing and forcing the prop shaft assembly out until it cracked at the weakest point. The boat was out of the water the night before with freezing temps. The large O ring at the front of the prop shaft housing assembly (rear of the gear case) had a bad spot in it. Prop end seals were all intact with no fishing line ever being wrapped around it. My son had told me he was seeing oily water as soon as he got the motor. I attribted it to oily exhaust since it was a new motor. At this point I am fairly certain the initial problem was a factory defect.<br /><br />The O ring seems to have been damaged during assembly or was defective when installed. It looks like it was abraded when the assembly was installed, maybe a rough spot in the casting. The bad spot on the O ring is about i inch long.<br /><br />The motor is 6 months old (shows an August 2004 manufactor date though) but mantainance schedule called for a gear case check every 3 months.<br /><br />Is it resonable to expect the factory rep to cover the damage since it was a result of a factory error? Was I in error to not have checked it soooner per the mainteance schedule? A combination of both? I could see an argument both ways.<br /><br />Internetoutboards - Thanks for your input on this. I have enjoyed reading your many informative posts. Being in Tampa, you probably don't see this problem often.

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: 04 Tohatsu 25 HP Foot Failure

It all depends on how that dealer makes your case for you with Tohatsu. How a dealer describes the failure is the single most important facet of getting a problem covered under warranty. If the dealer is willing to state that all the damage was the result of that o-ring failure then warranty coverage is almost certain. But...There are other factors that come into play as well. <br /><br />1st) Was the damage really the result of an o-ring failure or was it the result of some other factor?<br /><br />2nd) Does the dealer have a credible reputation with Tohatsu or do they think of him as a crook/moron?<br /><br />3rd) What is reasonable under the known and provable circumstances?<br /><br /><br />We see zero cases of freeze damage here, but I've seen it on some old engines that made it down here from up north. Your explanation is plausable and is reasonable. I don't think you will have a problem getting it covered at all. Just make sure the dealer describes it the same way you did. If you run into a problem over this let me know and I will intervene, but Tohatsu is very user friendly and will probably bend over backwards to get this fixed for you as soon as possible.

 

[eddy2419]

Re: 04 Tohatsu 25 HP Foot Failure

End of the saga-<br /><br />Factory man said the only way it could happen was putting it in reverse at high RPM's. Freezing would crack the case on this motor. Saturday an adult friend and my younger son (not the one who owns it) used the boat. I was inside and heard the engine rev up extremely high when they were backing off the shore (we live on a lake). Historical weather conditions showed temps around 31 Sunday night, not low enough to freeze the crankcase. <br /><br />Not Tohatsu's fault. Seal was probably damaged as a result of the high rev bust. I own 2 Tohatsu's and a Nissan. This is the first major problem I've had and it had absolutley nothing to do with the product.They are well made motors and "almost" indestructable.<br /><br />Elvin, thanks for your input and offer. I guess I'll have a little talk with younger son to see who was driving when they backed off. He may have bust open his piggy bank soon....

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: 04 Tohatsu 25 HP Foot Failure

An honest man...Such a rarity today.