57hrs, Corrosion Issues, Transom Plate Replaced

[Morpheus]

So yea I know it's sad I have only been able to put 57hrs on my 2006 boat :smt009

So during the 2yr service (after I failed DIY see other thread) the Service Manager has said there were corrosion issues and the transom plate had to be replaced. :wow:

Ok I thought I was doing everything correct, boat is kept on trailer, get's flushed and washed after each trip out with Saltaway. Has never been in the water longer then 7 days.

So what happened what did I do wrong? :huh:

Service Manager is suppose to call me with the bill tomorrow morning and explain but I thought I'd get some of you experts to chim in and see what you think.

EDIT: Timeline might be confusing if you say 2yr service on a 2006 boat. Was bought at end of Oct 2006, 1yr Service in Nov 2007, 2yr service now (boat has not been used for 8 months so put it off 2yr till now)

 

[JediJD]

Uhhhh...that's more than a little scary. I thought a transom plate was part of the hull that carried a lifetime warranty or something crazy like that? No?

 

[Morpheus]

Uhhhh...that's more than a little scary. I thought a transom plate was part of the hull that carried a lifetime warranty or something crazy like that? No?

Oh yea scare me even more now good

 

[SeaRide]

Before I volunteered to pay the bill, I would first have a look at the MerCruiser corrosion warranty section of the owner's manual and see what may or may not be covered. In the past the warranty was 3 years.

 

[Woody]

Oh yea scare me even more now good

On the other thread you said this corrosion issue was being covered under warranty, has something changed?

 

[Morpheus]

Well I've not seen anything in writing yet. I tried to talk to them today but was told he would call me tomorrow morning.

Whether it's covered under warranty or not is not really what I'm asking here.

What I really want to know is how does a boat with 57hrs have corrosion issues. Seems like there is something more to it but he's not said yet.

 

[Morpheus]

So spoke to the Service Manager this morning.

The issue is covered under the 3yr Mercruiser Corrosion warranty and would not be covered by my exteneded warraty cause that doesn't cover corrosion. Without the warranty I would of been lookin at $3500 to $4000

The issue was that where the water pickup tube goes through the transome plate salt builds up around it and crushs the tube and the the salt corrodes the plate.

He said there is really no way to flush that out as there is not a way to get a hose in there, but said if I used the boat more offten there is a less chance of it happening because it would stay wet and not let the salt build up.

So I asked him to let me boss know I need more time off to use my boat more :grin:

 

[ChuckW]

Well, with all the troubles for you lately, sounds like you came out on the plus side on this one. Glad it is working out. Just tell your boss you have doctor ordered aquatherapy every weekend. Heck, take him out for a weekend of wakeboarding, maybe you'll get him/her hooked and write it into your job description :thumbsup:

 

[Morpheus]

Yea but what worries in is that in 1-2 years I'm gonna need the same repair again since it sounds like there is no way to avoid it but that doesn't make sense because I'm not the only one with a BIII in Saltwater.

 

[chuck1]

...
The issue was that where the water pickup tube goes through the transome plate salt builds up around it and crushs the tube and the the salt corrodes the plate.
...

Not sure I understand. When you run it on the muffs after having it in salt water doesn't this clean the tube out????

ps: You need to be boating more. Not enough hours on her. (Grin)

 

[ChuckW]

Yea but what worries in is that in 1-2 years I'm gonna need the same repair again since it sounds like there is no way to avoid it but that doesn't make sense because I'm not the only one with a BIII in Saltwater.

Definately a problem of concern. Don't know the answer, but can you add corrosion coverage to your extended warranty? May be worth the cost.

This situation reminds me of an article I read on engines. How people seek out boats with low engine hours thinking they are a gem. When in reallity the more consistent use an engine gets the less prone to wear and tear. Sitting for extended periods of time is never a good thing.

To quote:
"Myth #4: An engine with low engine hours as registered on an hour meter is better than one with high hours. Remember that hour meters turn on and off with the ignition key while the cosmic time clock never stops ticking. Why is this important? Because corrosion and internal degradation continues at a more accelerated rate when the engine is not running than when it is. A six year old boat with only a few hundred hours on the meter is telling you that it hasn't been used much. That means that it is much more likely to have wear and corrosion related internal damage than one that has had much more use. A recent example is a 5 year old 36 boat with 195 hours on the meter that required major cylinder head and turbo charger repairs, about $6,000 worth."

 

[Morpheus]

Not sure I understand. When you run it on the muffs after having it in salt water doesn't this clean the tube out????

ps: You need to be boating more. Not enough hours on her. (Grin)

They are saying not the inside of the tube as you are correct the tube gets flushed, he's saying OUTSIDE of the tube where it enters the transome through the outterplate, (there are 2 plates and the transome is between them). The salt collects around the tube and crushes the tube and then corrodes the plate is how he explained it. So flushing doesn't clean out this area and he says you can't reach it with a hose and his only suggestion was to use the boat more.

Definately a problem of concern. Don't know the answer, but can you add corrosion coverage to your extended warranty? May be worth the cost.

This situation reminds me of an article I read on engines. How people seek out boats with low engine hours thinking they are a gem. When in reallity the more consistent use an engine gets the less prone to wear and tear. Sitting for extended periods of time is never a good thing.

I'll have to check into about adding corrosion coverage and how much that will cost.

 

[chuck1]

They are saying not the inside of the tube as you are correct the tube gets flushed, he's saying OUTSIDE of the tube where it enters the transome through the outterplate, (there are 2 plates and the transome is between them). The salt collects around the tube and crushes the tube and then corrodes the plate is how he explained it. So flushing doesn't clean out this area and he says you can't reach it with a hose and his only suggestion was to use the boat more.

Not sure I'm buying what they are saying. The tube has to be sealed where it is going through the transom or your transom would get waterlogged. If water can get to it when you flush and rinse the boat/drive it would get cleaned. Didn't you say you used saltaway on the boat after each use?

 

[Morpheus]

Yes I use saltaway. From my understanding this area can not be reached by spraying the transom you only can get to it removing the drive. When I go Friday to pick it up I'll see if I can get some more details or have him show me.

 

[avguy]

After we bought our boat in '05 we had stress fractures develop all over the deck/top of the boat. Searay classified them as cosmetic & covered them under warranty for the first year. Six or seven trips to the dealer to get them repaired only to have them reappear in a different location a month later. Finally got Searay customer service involved and after many many many phone calls they re-classified the problem from cosmetic to structural & replaced everything from the hull up including the deck under warranty.

My point is I know how frustrating it can be to have for all practical purposes a brand new boat & then have an issue like this. I'm glad they are going to cover you under warranty just make sure you document everything in the event you have an issue down the road again. Just because it's "corporate policy" does not mean they won't take care of the issue. You just have to be persistent & talk to the right person.

 

[comsnark]

Hmmm. Sounds to me more like a play for warrenty money.

I bet you would not have gotten this diagnosis if you had been personally footing the bill. (Because. . then you would have been mad, taken the boat to another mechanic, and found out that not only was there nothing wrong, but that the dealer was overcharging you severely for all service).

 

[Morpheus]

Ok here is what the invoice says about my corrosion:

MERC WARRANTY - CORROSION WARRANT WATER RESTRICTION FOUND. NO WATER PRESSURE, DETERMINDED THAT THE TRANSOM PLATE WATER PASSAGE IS CORRODED AND PLUGGED. CAUSE: Found transom corroded, had to remove engine and drive to replace transom CORENCTION: Removed and replaced transom assembly. Reinstalled engine and drive, sea trialed and no problems found.

For the 2yr service the labor on that is $763.00 if you want a list of what all that includes let me know it's alot of typing. Also under my extended warranty they had to replace the Fresh Water pump.

 

[comsnark]

Oh. . .so you had a raw water pump, which was causing water flow problems. So they replaced the pump ($500) AND the transom ($4000). You aren't complaining. .because you didn't pay.

200 hour sevice. Labor $753. Plus parts? Sounds like typical dealer pricing to me. No need to break it out. . .we have seen others post lists in the recent past.

- - - - -

I once had a car overheat. Mechanic replaced the $250 water pump. At the end, the $30 thermostat was also bad. Uh huh.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Well, this still sounds like an odd issue to me. However, it is what it is. I do have a suggestion, although maybe not the most feasible. You said you can access this trouble spot with the drive removed? Maybe what you need to do is just put 'removing the drive' into your regular, year-end maintenance? The Bravo is a heavy SOB, but you make a contraption out of a floor jack to help slide it out. This would be a good incentive to revisit doing some DIY stuff! :grin: It's good practice to remove the drive every few years, anyways. I would absolutely recommend paying someone to teach you how to do it.

When you remove it, you can clean it out real good and use some touch-up paint.

Personally, I think this was probably a fluke. But certainly doing this maintenance can't be a bad thing, you know?

 

[Morpheus]

Oh. . .so you had a raw water pump, which was causing water flow problems. So they replaced the pump ($500) AND the transom ($4000). You aren't complaining. .because you didn't pay.

200 hour sevice. Labor $753. Plus parts? Sounds like typical dealer pricing to me. No need to break it out. . .we have seen others post lists in the recent past.

- - - - -

I once had a car overheat. Mechanic replaced the $250 water pump. At the end, the $30 thermostat was also bad. Uh huh.

No not complaining about this at all, I'm just concered how this happened and from what the Service Manager says there isn't anything I could of done different to prevent it.

Well, this still sounds like an odd issue to me. However, it is what it is. I do have a suggestion, although maybe not the most feasible. You said you can access this trouble spot with the drive removed? Maybe what you need to do is just put 'removing the drive' into your regular, year-end maintenance? The Bravo is a heavy SOB, but you make a contraption out of a floor jack to help slide it out. This would be a good incentive to revisit doing some DIY stuff! :grin: It's good practice to remove the drive every few years, anyways. I would absolutely recommend paying someone to teach you how to do it.

When you remove it, you can clean it out real good and use some touch-up paint.

Personally, I think this was probably a fluke. But certainly doing this maintenance can't be a bad thing, you know?

Well from my understanding they drive should removed every year to check the alignment, and at the 100hr/1yr service taht MM did a year ago that was done so what he's saying this corrosion happened between then and now.

I sure do hope it was a fluke cause having to replace the transome plate every 1-2 years at 4000 a shot is not going to be fun for the boating budget.