Happy ending, or beginning of a nightmare?

[Ob1415]

I recently purchased a 2011 Glastron GT 205. After 3 trips to the lake my serpentine belt frayed and came off. The dealership gave me a loaner boat while they have it in the shop.

I received a call today advising that the alignment is off, which is what caused the belt to shred. Said that it is either a defective or improperly installed harmonic balancer, or, an internal issue with the crank shaft. They said that it is easier for them, and better for me that they just install a new motor, rather than tear down the existing motor. I agreed because I would not be satisfied with a brand new boat that has had the motor torn apart.

Of course, it is all covered under warranty, and they are letting me keep the loaner until the motor swap is complete.

Is this a happy ending, or the beginning of a long nightmare?

PS - I don't really consider this an engine thread, as I am trying to get opinions on the the state of my boat, overall.

 

[Lyle29464]

Re: Happy ending, or beginning of a nightmare?

That was rare. sounds like a good dealer. forget it. means nothing as far as reliably. Have a good summer.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Happy ending, or beginning of a nightmare?

uh no, I would be wondering what exactly they feel internally could cause an alignment problem for the serpentine belt, I am pretty proud of what I can do to a motor, inside and out but this would be something on the WTF!!! list

Find the problem then find the solution, speculating like assuming is the mother of all mess ups. It could be this or this but we think it would be smarter to drop in a new $5000 motor? how does this make sense?

How can anything internal on the motor missalign the harmonic damper? If you have ever seen the bottom end of a motor I think everyone would be questioning this decision.

I have to be honest here the more I think about what the dealer has told you I think they have no clue as to why your boat is shredding serpentine belts, I think they are trying to Baffle you with B.S.

 

[Ob1415]

Re: Happy ending, or beginning of a nightmare?

They called in a Master Tech from Mercruiser, who suggested the swap. He did not feel that it would be fair to tear up my new motor, on my time, when they can easily swap in a new one and recondition the old one later. The guys and gals at North Texas Marine in Ft. Worth really take care of their customers and have treated us like family since day one.

If they were "baffling me with BS", I'm glad that are having a new motor put in instead of tearing through the existing motor to determine the issue through trial and error. THAT would be a display if baffling me with BS. I feel like they are just trying to do what's right by me, and what is easier for their service team.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Happy ending, or beginning of a nightmare?

ok, but did he give you any explanation as to what is shredding the belt? or is this merely a customer service solution from Mercruiser?

Mercruiser bringing in a master tech is no surprise, their customer service is legendary, Maybe I am just to nosey, but if it were my boat I would want to know what the cause is before they swap motors, whats to say it doesn't happen again.....unlikely as its a mercruiser though

 

[Silverbullet555]

Re: Happy ending, or beginning of a nightmare?

Maybe they have no idea where the problem is but there is not harm in a new motor. I would rather have that over a rebuilt new motor. There is nothing outside the motor that I could think of that would cause it to shred belts. Be happy you're getting a new motor. Break it in and run it good to make sure there are no other issues.

 

[444]

Re: Happy ending, or beginning of a nightmare?

uh no, I would be wondering what exactly they feel internally could cause an alignment problem for the serpentine belt, I am pretty proud of what I can do to a motor, inside and out but this would be something on the WTF!!! list

Find the problem then find the solution, speculating like assuming is the mother of all mess ups. It could be this or this but we think it would be smarter to drop in a new $5000 motor? how does this make sense?

How can anything internal on the motor missalign the harmonic damper? If you have ever seen the bottom end of a motor I think everyone would be questioning this decision.

I have to be honest here the more I think about what the dealer has told you I think they have no clue as to why your boat is shredding serpentine belts, I think they are trying to Baffle you with B.S.

Have you ever dealt with an engine with a bent crank? I have, after hoping it was just a shot harmonic damper and after pulling the old one and running the engine without the damper I was clearly able to see the crank snout itself was bent. Don't know how it happened but it was like that when my friend bought it. His choices were to either pull the engine, buy and install a reconditioned crank or swap engines.

In the OP's case the motor has to come out either way. I'm sure the mechanics know it's not just a bent damper. So either they pull the engine and pay their mechanics to tear into the engine and fix it or have them swap in a replacement engine and send the old engine back to whoever they get their engines from.

 

[Ob1415]

Re: Happy ending, or beginning of a nightmare?

He said the pulleys appear to line up right, but when the motor is running, it is evident that they are not. He put one on and ran it in front if me and within minute you could see the belt edge fraying near the alternator pulley.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Happy ending, or beginning of a nightmare?

What motor are we talking about anyway? Your right there is certainly no issue with a new motor, but being unable to determine the cause of the issue, doesn't that cause you to question the quality of the service or the knowledge of the techs?

I understand your a loyal customer of the dealer I am loyal to my guys too, but if one of my guys came up and told me he was unsure about what was shredding my serpentine and it could be internal of the motor would get the look ??? look from me you know?

 

[roscoe]

Re: Happy ending, or beginning of a nightmare?

This sure sounds...... ?

Just make sure you check the engine serial numbers to make sure you are getting a new engine.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Happy ending, or beginning of a nightmare?

Have you ever dealt with an engine with a bent crank?

yeah I have, problem is how many times have you seen a bent crank in a running motor though? lets go one step further how about a bent crank from a motor with three trips on it since the break in dyno test? Cranks don't just bend were talking a near catastrophic problem which will result in a catastrophic failure of the motor. Why not just replace the harmonic on it and check it? The chances of the harmonic are 99% over the crank being bent in a brand new motor fresh off the dyno.

Of course thats my opinion not a scientific research study

 

[444]

Re: Happy ending, or beginning of a nightmare?

yeah I have, problem is how many times have you seen a bent crank in a running motor though? lets go one step further how about a bent crank from a motor with three trips on it since the break in dyno test? Cranks don't just bend were talking a near catastrophic problem which will result in a catastrophic failure of the motor. Why not just replace the harmonic on it and check it? The chances of the harmonic are 99% over the crank being bent in a brand new motor fresh off the dyno.

Of course thats my opinion not a scientific research study

Well the one my friend bought was bent and still running just fine. He ran it that way for months and it was like that for god knows how long before he bought it. I would be very surprised if they didn't do the same thing we did, which was to pull the damper, run the engine for a short amount of time - long enough to look at it and clearly see a bent crank snout.

Who knows how his got bent? Could have been dropped at some point before it was installed, could be a manufacturing defect. I would be very surprised if they didn't at least verify it to be a bent crank snout before authorizing a engine pull and replace.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Happy ending, or beginning of a nightmare?

I know what you mean 444, the other thing to think about though is was your friend using the great old fashioned V belt that I still like better then serpentines they could be an inch off alignment and still be fine for years? I am still suspect, I bet someone gets a great deal on a slightly used motor with a brand new damper. These motors go from the Dyno straight into a motor crate and shipped to the boat manufacturer so if it did get bent it was either on its way to the crate or into the boat and dropped, knowing mercruiser I bet it happened at Glastron's parent company which probably buys them by the hundreds

 

[sschefer]

Re: Happy ending, or beginning of a nightmare?

The dealer and Merc Marine are correct. Some GM Marine Engines that are being made in Mexico are showing up with crank shaft end play problems. The serial number on the engine is used to identify the bad production run. There was no guessing or B.S. ing by anyone, you've got a good dealer, stick with him and enjoy your new motor.

FYI, crankshaft endplay can only be corrected with a crankshaft replacement. You could back yard it and do a partial teardown to replace the crank but you would have no guarantee that there wasn't stress cracks in the block without a full tear down and testing. Your shop made the right choice.

Happy Ending in my opinion.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Happy ending, or beginning of a nightmare?

so were talking a bad production run of crankshafts then, ok I can by that, dyno wouldn't see it either

444 we were both wrong!!

 

[jopes]

Re: Happy ending, or beginning of a nightmare?

Merc probably wants the complete power plant so they can look it over in thier factory to find out what caused the belt to fail so fast.

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: Happy ending, or beginning of a nightmare?

They even gave you a loaner... Awesome.. I vote happy ending

Go boating

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Happy ending, or beginning of a nightmare?

Not to hyjack the thread - but do we know that they dyno every motor? I'd be surprised if they do - and even if they do, I'd bet they aren't putting an indicator on the crankshaft to look at endplay/run out. Of course, I'm just guessing. I once worked at a Cummins engine facitilty - and they did dyno every motor, but that was much, much lower production volumes. Just curious if anyone knows for sure. Thanks.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Happy ending, or beginning of a nightmare?

when wondering why the dealer would just slap a new motor in, rather than try to correct--they get paid well for warranty work, so they will often choose a path that might not make sense if they had to charge the customer. Not saying it's the case here, but just speaking generally.
Good idea, though, to confirm they actually switch them. Some dealers charge the manufacturer for warranty work and never do the work. Manufacturers sometimes "audit" this by looking to see if the factory paint has been cracked on a bolt, etc., to determine if they did on fact replace that timing chain or oil pump. Trust everyone, but cut the cards.

 

[jmarty10]

Re: Happy ending, or beginning of a nightmare?

You got a defective motor and the dealer and mercury stepped up to the plate and fixed the problem. Nice to hear. Please make sure the new engine serial number is updated with the dealer and mercury for future warranty issues.