Bravo III steering shaft seal problems need help please.

[skennelly]

Back story. January of 2016 I had a gimbal ring, upper shaft / steering arm and steering seal replaced. During the 2016 season I noticed there was still water in the bilge...but honestly didn't think to say it was because of the steering seal. At the beginning of this season May 2017 I noticed that there was water in the bilge and that the seal was in fact leaking. I told my boat shop about it that did the work and they said they would look at it in the Fall when I brought it in for storage.

Well Fall has come and they just looked at it and got back to me. Said that the new steering pin and arm they installed has severe pitting and rust on it and that they contacted mercruiser and mercruiser said that only thing that would cause this is electrolysis.

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I've attached 2 pictures. The pin is what my shop just sent me. The steering arm is a picture I took in the Spring May of 2017 a year after the initial was made.

To me those 2 parts looks way worse than something that is a year old.

My shop is still investigating to see if indeed there is an e[/FONT]lectrolysis[FONT=Arial, sans-serif] issue [/FONT]but how do I refute what my shop is saying if they come back and say they won't warranty the pin ect...

I feel like something wasn't done or something wasn't done right.

Also keep in mind...I'm in Chicago so my boat season is about 6 months and I do have the boat in a slip during that time.

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Thanks.[/FONT]

 

[alldodge]

That's not electrolysis, that's an old pin, probably your original pin. I would also guess that they did not call Merc. If it was electrolysis your anodes would be getting eaten up big time.

Does the boat satay in the water during season and plugged into shore power?

With knowing no more then what you have said I would guess, they pulled it apart and thought they could get it to stop leaking with a new seal only at the most.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Install a new pin or speedi-sleeve it and also install the missing grease fitting to help prevent the rusting issue.

 

[skennelly]

AllDodge Yes the boat is in the water in a slip for the season and hooked up to shore power.

Is there a way I can contact Mercruiser myself and give them my pictures and story? Would they talk directly to me?

They charged me $400 + in parts for a new pin model 98230A1 - Shaft Upper is the description.

BTW - Thanks for replying.

 

[alldodge]

Yes, just give them a call
(920) 929-5200

 

[skennelly]

AllDodge - Thank you. I'm going to call them and tell my story. I'm not trusting my boat shop. I store my boat there so that's the only reason I had them work on it. They supposedly have a good reputation.

I'm just feeling sick about it.

 

[Bt Doctur]

 

[skennelly]

Thanks Bt Doctur that grease point seems like a good idea.

 

[scoflaw]

That's the zinc coated pin #. You want the stainless one #866718a01.

 

[Bt Doctur]

easy to install too, get a 1/4 x 28 drill and tap, SS grease fitting ,cutting oil. Drill the 1/4 x 28 bit about 3/8ths deep, switch to a 1 /16 bit and drill thru the housing and brass sleeve.Tap and install grease fitting. This procedure can also be done with no dis-assembly too. for location you can use a 5 /16 hex nut

 

[skennelly]

I have pretty good access to the pin area from inside the engine compartment...I suppose I could pump in some grease from that side as well?

In any case...I'm still waiting for my shop to get back to me.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Not really ,the grease need to be between the pin shaft and the seal let me locate the cutaway pic and youll see.

 

[skennelly]

Interesting...thanks for the pics. Make's sense.

 

[skennelly]

Yes, just give them a call
(920) 929-5200

I surprised to hear it's $20 per call...LOL guess not that surprised.

 

[skennelly]

Following up on this. Everything has been replaced and the boat repair is finished under warranty. They couldn't find any electrical issue's that would cause electrolysis...so the entire scenario is just strange.

We'll see how next season goes.

 

[Bt Doctur]

without grease you`ll be back in the same boat.