Took boat to get winterized now have a cracked lower unit

[billder62]

Re: Took boat to get winterized now have a cracked lower unit

If there was water in the drive when the customer brought the boat in, how can that be the maintenance shop owners fault?

Water in the drive IS DUE TO A PROBLEM IN THE DRIVE (leaky seal, etc) NOT because the shop didn't change the oil "fast enough" or immediately.



Now if the boat was brought in to be winterized, the boat sat outside (at the dealer) and the shop didn't drain the water out of the block and the block cracked while the dealer had the boat, that would a different situation!!


But it's not normal for a drive to have water in it. IT"S NOT THE SHOPS FAULT that the drive has a crack in it whether the drive had water in it or not......(unless you can prove the drive WAS NOT cracked, AND you knew it had water in it, AND TOLD THEM to drain the water out of the drive.........)

Id be checking the block too !! drives get water in them , bad seal , or whatever , all Im saying is if the drive was oil was changed at the time of the rest of the winterization , the void would have been found before damage occured !!!

 

[Don S]

Re: Took boat to get winterized now have a cracked lower unit

all Im saying is if the drive was oil was changed at the time of the rest of the winterization ,

Many shops do not automatically check the drive oil, or change it or anything else during winterization. Sad, but true. Many consider winterization as drain the block and fog the engine. It's the boat owners responsibility to know what he is paying for ahead of time, and not something that others (forum participants) that don't know what the agreement between owner and shop should make determinations on. That's what I am trying to say.

 

[billder62]

Re: Took boat to get winterized now have a cracked lower unit

point taken ..

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Took boat to get winterized now have a cracked lower unit

Id be checking the block too !! drives get water in them , bad seal , or whatever , all Im saying is if the drive was oil was changed at the time of the rest of the winterization , the void would have been found before damage occured !!!

That's true....... that's what we'd all do maybe..................BUT a shop doesn't automatically do anything that is not SPELLED out or specified in advance....., if the customer didn't SPECIFY to check or service the drive, it might not normally be done.....


Since drive oil is changed on a specified schedule, (100hrs/1 year, which ever occurs first for Mercury's) a dealer doing winterization might ONLY do items that are "customary"

 

[fat fanny]

Re: Took boat to get winterized now have a cracked lower unit

Well most definatley if it were me I sure would know exactly what they were going to do especially if I 'm paying for it and have it in writting (work order) and be very specific on just what I want done and nothing else unless I OK it.

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: Took boat to get winterized now have a cracked lower unit

Bust out the $1900.. At least in the end you won't have a leak..

 

[Lodgepole]

Re: Took boat to get winterized now have a cracked lower unit

If the shop did in fact change the drive oil, the you should have been billed for the oil. That ought to tell who is at fault.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Took boat to get winterized now have a cracked lower unit

If the shop did in fact change the drive oil, the you should have been billed for the oil. That ought to tell who is at fault.

I don't know how that would determine "fault"



If the OP lives in an area where there's freezing temps, the damage quite easily could have been done before the shop ever saw the boat.

In either case, the shops timing of the drive oil change is not the reason for freeze damage in a drive (unless they KNOW there's water in the drive due to a leak)

The water freezing in the drive could be the cause .....but it was there before the shop was handed the job.

 

[GLENN M]

Re: Took boat to get winterized now have a cracked lower unit

i will conciede to being wrong then,i guess just like anything else if you dont know what you want,or need you aint gonna get it.so you have to be a marine mechanic in order to know what you need and instruct shop when and how to do it.mise well do it yourself then you no its done right.

 

[artificialreef]

Re: Took boat to get winterized now have a cracked lower unit

Wow Don, this is prophetic. I asked you about a month ago why i need to change my perfectly good drive oil for a not so frequent freeze in central florida. You said oil doesnt freeze but water in the oil does. Just curios. Do you still work in a shop or retired?

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Took boat to get winterized now have a cracked lower unit

why i need to change my perfectly good drive oil

You don't necessarily have change "perfectly good oil", but how will you know if you don't drain some of it at the end of the season? .........Like before a "winter layup"?

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Took boat to get winterized now have a cracked lower unit

Wow Don, this is prophetic. I asked you about a month ago why i need to change my perfectly good drive oil for a not so frequent freeze in central florida. You said oil doesnt freeze but water in the oil does. Just curios. Do you still work in a shop or retired?

And the question/statement is...

 

[Jet Wrench]

Re: Took boat to get winterized now have a cracked lower unit

If the mechanic did not drain the outdrive oil as part of the winterization, and the boat was in his possesion. He should be liable. It was his responsibility to make sure "worst case scenario" would not happen. Assuming that there was no water intrusion in the customers lower unit while being stored in freezing weather was a bad decision. He should step up to the plate and replace/repair as necessary. At least pay for half the parts and provide installation.

JW

 

[Don S]

Re: Took boat to get winterized now have a cracked lower unit

If the mechanic did not drain the outdrive oil as part of the winterization, and the boat was in his possesion. He should be liable.

Bull S***

Why don't you read the previous replies before you post.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Took boat to get winterized now have a cracked lower unit

Bull S***

Why don't you read the previous replies before you post.

Agree!

All of the winterizations i have done i ask the owner if they want the drive serviced and explain why.Some shops may not ask.
Half of them still say no,don't change any oils just drain the cooling system.

Being cheap can come back and bite them.
I have them sign the invoice that they did not want the drive serviced.

I had a few that waited until after we had nights in the teens to get winterized.
They signed the invoice also that i would not be held liable for any freeze damage come Spring.

I get sick of hearing its ALWAYS the shops or mechanics fault!

 

[Don S]

Re: Took boat to get winterized now have a cracked lower unit

I get sick of hearing its ALWAYS the shops or mechanics fault!

Me too, Especially when coming from the ones that have no clue about a particular situation.

Besides, in this thread, we don't even know where the crack is. it may not even be in the oil section, could be in the exhaust, or even the water pickup side. So, obviously, if you don't know for sure, blame the shop.........

Of course, it only takes a keyboard to post here, knowledge of the subject matter is optional.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Took boat to get winterized now have a cracked lower unit

Of course, it only takes a keyboard to post here, knowledge of the subject matter is optional.

You could not have said it any better Don.....
Most people have no clue.

I had one boat with the 5.8 King Cobra.The guy waited until after we had several nights in the teens and then brought it to me.
It took all day to warm it up enough to drain the block.The hoses were all full of ice and slush.
I called him and told him and he acted like i was stupid.
He said a few cold nights were not long enough to freeze anything....Geeze! NO CLUE!

He has put probably 20k in this boat for new paint,graphics,new floor,stringers and transom,new upholstery and a huge sound system.
Now he wants to convert it to fuel injection...

Money sure does not buy common sense!

I bet this boat will be back in the Spring with something leaking.
I ran it on the muffs and no water in the oil but under load will tell the story...

 

[GLENN M]

Re: Took boat to get winterized now have a cracked lower unit

your absoleutly right probly dont know the whole story.can only comment on what is posted,and originaly it was said he payed to have gear lube changed and mechanic decided to wait till spring.and the reason for changing lube at end of season is to prevent this problem waiting was a mistake.is this the real story no idea,but if the shop is in the right i do not for one minute belive they would cut any deals.i work in a dealership and no way are they cutting deals i mean everyone has a hard luck story.if they started feeling sorry for peoples misfortunes would be out of bussines,peoples misfourtunes is how they make money.on something like this its only peoples opinion not gonna change the outcome,so right or wrong thats my opinion.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Took boat to get winterized now have a cracked lower unit

He should step up to the plate and replace/repair as necessary. At least pay for half the parts and provide installation.

Um, DOUBLE BULL SH***T!

The shop should NEVER be responsible for someone elses screw-up. It's not the mechanics fault that the drive is leaking water. It's his job to fix it (for a price) when it's discovered.

The problem was there before the shop was handed the boat......that doesn't make the shop responsible.

It's like taking a car in for a tune up and blaming the shop because the air conditioner quit working (but the refrigerant leaked out weeks ago) ........

 

[thesledhead]

Re: Took boat to get winterized now have a cracked lower unit

me too, especially when coming from the ones that have no clue about a particular situation.

Besides, in this thread, we don't even know where the crack is. It may not even be in the oil section, could be in the exhaust, or even the water pickup side. So, obviously, if you don't know for sure, blame the shop.........

of course, it only takes a keyboard to post here, knowledge of the subject matter is optional.

lmao :d