Cost to Complete reseal on Alpha 1 gen 2

[Deanrw3]

Exactly what the title says:

What is the cost to do a complete seal on the out drive (alpha 1 gen 2)?

Had my unit pressure and vac tested. Held pressure but had a vac leak. The mechanic couldn't find the leak and suggested a complete reseal to be sure. IS this reasonable?

What do most people pay for a complete reseal?
The mechanic quoted $750..


What do you think?


Thanks,
Dean

Ps I searched google and iboats for about an hour and couldn't find a resonable answer, sorry if it is a repost.

 

[Don S]

Re: Cost to Complete reseal on Alpha 1 gen 2

Flat rate, (which is all that Mercruiser will pay to there dealers for warranty repair) is 7.5 hours to reseal a drive. That does not include R&Ring the drive from the boat. it also doesn't include parts.

 

[Deanrw3]

Re: Cost to Complete reseal on Alpha 1 gen 2

Thanks Don. I didn't realize that it took that long to do the job. Seems like it would take less time, but that is why i am asking and you are telling. I see where the price is coming from now...




dean

 

[BAYLINER185]

Re: Cost to Complete reseal on Alpha 1 gen 2

You have to pretty much strip the drive down and replace all the seals. Thats what takes so long.

 

[slia67]

Re: Cost to Complete reseal on Alpha 1 gen 2

Early this spring I had a quote that was very similar.

Doug

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Cost to Complete reseal on Alpha 1 gen 2

Thanks Don. I didn't realize that it took that long to do the job. Seems like it would take less time, but that is why i am asking and you are telling. I see where the price is coming from now...




dean

It does take less time if you do alot of them, but 7.5 is reasonable....

 

[JustJason]

Re: Cost to Complete reseal on Alpha 1 gen 2

It can take anywhere from 5 hours to 12 hours depending on how motivated you are and how well things come apart. Going together is easy, its the coming apart thats a PITA.
The thing with resealing is that you have to catch a leaking drive realitvely quickly. Saltwater has this funny thing with rust. If your bearings show a hint of rust your really looking at a full rebuild, not a reseal. And if it comes to that point, you may be better off looking at the SEI drives if you have in inexpensive boat.

 

[Deanrw3]

Re: Cost to Complete reseal on Alpha 1 gen 2

thanks for the replys guys. It is hard to take a $700 hit when i paid just over double that for the whole boat! But it is a project boat and this happens. I guess the way I look at it, resealing should be good for a couple years...


thanks,
Dean

 

[Don S]

Re: Cost to Complete reseal on Alpha 1 gen 2

It is hard to take a $700 hit when i paid just over double that for the whole boat!

Repair costs are not based on how much you paid for the boat.
One question I would have is WHERE was this vacuum leak. One around the ujoint yoke is normal, and it seldom holds over 6 to 8 inches of vacuum.

 

[Deanrw3]

Re: Cost to Complete reseal on Alpha 1 gen 2

Don, This is a good point. Long story short, I replaced some seals while checking my bellows and changine the impeller. I wanted to double check that I did everything correct, so i stoped by the dealer and had them do a pressure and vacuum check.

They called me last night and said it hold pressure, but there is a vacuume leak.

I asked where it was, and they told me it was not identified (or they didnt try to find it). At that point he told me it would be $700 to do a new reseal and that is what needed to be done.

I havent told him to do any work yet. I am not sure what I am going to do yet. I just tryed calling him back, but he was at lunch.

Should I ask them to find the leak first? Is that reasonable?

Thanks,
Dean

 

[Don S]

Re: Cost to Complete reseal on Alpha 1 gen 2

When I suspect a vacuum leak the first thing I do is tip the drive sideways and poor some gear lube around the input shaft seal. If it holds then, the drive is fine.

 

[Deanrw3]

Re: Cost to Complete reseal on Alpha 1 gen 2

I just talked to the dealer. They said that It could not get a vacuum to hold any amount. They said they vacuumed it up and it fell right away. They do not know where it is comming from either (which i understand is hard to find).


I am going to pick up the boat tonight. If i have the drive resealed i am going to have another dealer do it.

Don, I think i am going to try your suggestion above. Wouldn't a dealer do this though?

How else would you fix a vacuum leak besides resealing it all, since you can't really identify where the problem is?

I am not sure if the complete reseal is something i want to do myself, I am just worried i wont do something perfect and then have to have a mechanic do it over and it will cost even more....


Thanks,
Dean

 

[Don S]

Re: Cost to Complete reseal on Alpha 1 gen 2

Did you have water in the gear lube? If not, I would bet money the input shaft seal is where the vacuum leak is. Since there isn't any water in the bellows, then it doesn't really matter as long as the pressure holds. Since it's also a Gen II drive the quick disconnect fitting is also a place that can suck air and not hurt anything.

 

[Deanrw3]

Re: Cost to Complete reseal on Alpha 1 gen 2

Don, I did have water in the oil. However it only seemed to be at the end of the draining ie the top of the drive. What i also found, was when i removed my resivour (sp) a bunch of white oil came out. So I am thinking some how water got into the res. and was draining into the drive. I don't think it would go the other way around. Now i am wondering if that was the only problem. Remember the boat sat for 2 years and i have no idea the conditions, so i don't know how water would have got in the res but just a thought. I might just try it and see if it leaks water.

Also wouldn't the dealer know to check those locations after the vacuum leak was found? Although i guess it is possible that they saw it fail and just said reseal...


Again, Thanks a lot

Dean

 

[Don S]

Re: Cost to Complete reseal on Alpha 1 gen 2

Trust me, I know why the dealer said reseal the whole thing. Too many times I have had to fix one leak only to find another, then another, then another, only to find it would have been faster (and cheaper) to do the whole thing at one time and be done with it. But now that you know of a couple of possibilities, do you want to fix them and hope for the best? You would just be rolling the dice. Now, if you were doing the job yourself. That would be a different story. All you would have to loose is the summer spending each weekend fixing a different leak.