First major repair?

R

rbryn

Member
May 27, 2009
254
Wilmington, NC
Boat Info
2003 260DA
Engines
350Mag MPI Bravo® III (re-powered 2013)
We were out tonight putting around the bay at about 800rpm and all of a sudden a whine like rubber on rubber comes from the engine. I quickly disengage and put in nuetral and set the anchor.

The prop isn't spinning when we put it in gear and there is the sound when in gear like a stripped belt (you know that noise when the belt slips on a car). No movement forward or backwards and nothing stuck in the prop on visual inspection.

Oil pressure is fine, temp is fine, only 200hrs on the engine. Called SeaTow and pulled into the MarineMax dealership just a bit a way. I'm feeling my wallet shrink already as I think about what could possibly be wrong.:huh:
 
Yeah after just reading some posts in the forums.. I'm loosing hope quickly. Nothing I read seems to indicate otherwise. There was no warning, no indication of a problem and no way I hit something. I knew I shoulda bought that warranty... :)
 
When was the last time the drive was pulled, greased and aligned? You have to pull the engine. The coupler in my 260 was wearing, so I had them replace it with the high performance coupler. Not much more money, the labor is a killer, they have to pull the engine. No boating for 3 weeks when they did mine. Budget about $2000 and it most likely would not have been covered under warranty.
 
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I agree with most of the above. I would take a flash light and inspect around the bilge side of the transom where the engine meets it. If you have spun the coupler it will have thrown rubber bushing material in a circle pattern around the engine.
 
I'm assuming it was pulled, greased and aligned about 60hrs ago. The block was replaced shortly before we purchased the boat (something about a common salt water intrusion problem - Mercruiser covered it) so I'm assuming all that was done when it was replaced.

It's at the local MarineMax docks now, just waiting for them to open the service dept this morning before giving them a call to let them know its sitting there.
 
rbryn said:
I'm assuming it was pulled, greased and aligned about 60hrs ago. The block was replaced shortly before we purchased the boat (something about a common salt water intrusion problem - Mercruiser covered it) so I'm assuming all that was done when it was replaced.

It's at the local MarineMax docks now, just waiting for them to open the service dept this morning before giving them a call to let them know its sitting there.
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Bryn - I am crossing my fingers for you buddy. Hope the bill stay's low.

Guys - this is kinda scary for an engine with 200hrs on it. How can one "prevent" a coupler from going bad? Is it just frequent removing/greasing/aligning of the drives?
 
It's been a bad month, first the failure of the coupler(that was the final diagnosis), then some health issues with the family, and on top of all that a rough financial month with my business.... it was rough... but there is some light in this tunnel.

The official diagnosis of our problem was a "Spun Coupler", having just purchased the boat from Marine Max at Wrightsville beach they took care of us and warrantied the work and parts. It turns out that the bushings the engine sits on apparently collapsed and threw off the alignment of the coupler (they didn't find that out until after they reparied the coupler and went back to re-align it and it wouldn't line up).

I talked to them Friday and they are pulling the engine again to replace the bushings and we expect to be back in the water before labor day (Horaaay!).

With that repair out of the way - it's time to start my next project on the boat (installing an inverter).
 
Glad to hear that MM stood up and took responsibility. Hope the family health issues work out oaky, and that your business regains traction.
 
ditto the above.
especially the family health issue.
 
tmhudson2 said:
Glad to hear that MM stood up and took responsibility. Hope the family health issues work out oaky, and that your business regains traction.
Click to expand...

I've bought used cars in the past, and when you drive off the lot they become "your problem". Even though we bought the boat and signed a "as is" agreement. Marine Max has been *very* good to us. I have been more than pleased with thier level of service and commitment. Even after the sale our salesrep called every week for 4 weeks just to check on us and make sure everything was ok.

This repair that they warrantied was the cherry on top of our sunday. I'll honestly say that I'll never buy a boat from anyone else as long as I live. I just wish they sold cars too :thumbsup:
 
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