Bravo III problem

I went to this movie last Fall on our 240 DA. If it is indeed the drive coupler, both the drive unit, and engine have to be pulled. We just acquired the boat last year and did not know the coupler on the BIII is on a 50 HR maintenance (lubrication) schedule according to the Merc Docs.
I feel for you, it's not a nice way to start the season out!

Cheers,

Jim
 
I just spoke to the mechanic who said that this job (if it is the couple, etc) will be mostly labor. Anyone that has had this done know approx. how many hours it takes to take the engine out and outdrive off in order to get this fixed?
 
I went to the extreme trouble (moving my desk chair 12" to the left) of finding my bill from last fall.

Complete Stern drive engine r&r 6 hours $570.00
Engine coupler $95.00 (that pisses you off doesn't it?)
Coupler assby $433.25
Shop supplies external $25.00
total $1123.25

Enjoy.
 
I went through this on my 260. I had to pay for a haul out. I also had them replace Spark Plugs and my outdrive reservoir was cracked when they pulled the motor - while the motor was out and shift cables were greased as well. My total bill was $2600. But that was some odds and ends. I believe it was 12 hours labor and I also went with the high performance coupler. The boat was good as new. Don't worry about issues - pulling a boat motor is not as painful as you think. Since you have a trailer just have the drive pulled annually and inspected. I went through it and it was not too bad - my new boat has v's - so I don't have to deal with this issue again.
 
OUCH! I feel your pain.

I've had it happen on my 330 as well. Fortunately I have a cavern of an engine compartment and my total bill was $1390 including new plugs and water shutters.

I remember backing into a slip on the Wolf River in Wisconsin when I heard a "thunk"! I shuld have pulled the boat then and had the drives aligned, instead I ran for about another 20-30 hours until my coupler went out. I attribute the problem to a malaligned outdrive. If I ever hit anything again I will have the boat pulled and outdrives aligned.

Good luck!
Stuart
 
Replacing the coupler on my old Crownline cost $1742 about four years ago. Mechanic said this original coupler was aluminum and he replaced it with a newer version of steel.

Dennis
 
How long should I give the shop before he 'gets to it'? It's been over 2 weeks since I brought the boat in to replace the coupler. But, it is a small 2 man shop that is very busy, and once he starts my job, he basically can not do any other jobs. Don't get me wrong....he has been very nice about it, and I'm sure he's trying to get to it.....but!!

How long is reasonable to wait????
 
He should be able to tell you about how long it will be. And he should have told you that when you brought it to him. If he does not have a good guess about the workload that is scheduled in front of you, then maybe you don't want him to do the work.

I would not assume that once he starts your, he will have to finish it. I had a Saab turbo in a small garage once. It was there for weeks, torn apart, pieces spread who know where; I'm sure mixed in with the parts of other cars he also had apart, but was not currently working on. I finally got tired of waiting, and asked if he would just give me the pieces back and I would take them elsewhere. That prompted him to mine back in the shop and put it back together.
 
THANKS THANKS THANKS THANKS

THANKS

1) Thanks for posting about your unfortunate problem, and 2) Thanks for all the great replies and information.

I really hope this repair goes easy for you.

I had no idea I could be damaging the u-joints or drive train by running in the trailer position. As a new boater, this kind of information is extremely valuable.

New rule: Keep the drive down when running the engine.
 
Time to wait...

charlg said:
How long should I give the shop before he 'gets to it'? It's been over 2 weeks since I brought the boat in to replace the coupler. But, it is a small 2 man shop that is very busy, and once he starts my job, he basically can not do any other jobs. Don't get me wrong....he has been very nice about it, and I'm sure he's trying to get to it.....but!!

How long is reasonable to wait????
Click to expand...

In my opinion this is a BIG job as the engine will most likely have to be pulled to replace the coupler. It is possible that the service shop is not really wanting to do the work and are dragging their feet to do the work. I would be up front and ask them if they want to do the job or have other smaller jobs at this time to do and can't get your done now. It is fast approaching Summer and you want to use your boat. Good luck!
 
It will be ready to pick up on Saturday morning. They replaced the coupler and yolk ($600), and the labor is 10 hours @$70 per. Not too bad I Guess. :smt089

Thanks for all the help, knowledge, and support. :thumbsup:

I've applied for membership to a yacht club to prevent further ramp, and shallow water, damage.
 
Charlie, sorry to hear about your problem. As you had learned sounds like this issue could have been prevented. you've mentioned about a GPS, so I'm not sure you have one. I think we can summurize this with the following:
1. Have warranty, at least for major items (power-train).
2. Have necessary equipment (GPS/Depth finder). Without it I would feel like riding with my eyes closed.
3. Service the drive periodically.
4. Take your time to get better handle on operating the trim.

I'm glad that the issue is over and you're back on water. I hope you made plans for investing in electronics to avoid future insidents ( make sure to get updated cards for the area you're cruising for the GPS/ChartPlotter).

Best of luck in the new season.

Alex.
 
Sorry to hear of your troubles Charlie and hope this keeps you on the water with no problems for some time now! It was nice of you to share your 'pain'.It has certainly enlightened me. I'm sure the admiral and I will have a conversation about the trim position as she is unloading and driving around waiting for me to get to the dock! ( ok.. and I as I go to beach 'My Oxyen' too :smt021 )

Good luck on the upcoming boating season!

( I've got a 3 week wait to get in to have my thermostat checked )
 
dr.j said:
High performance coupler? On page II Skolbe made mention of a high performance coupler. ??? $$$
Click to expand...


He mentioned this to me while talking with him last year. I believe he said the HP coupler is made of steel instead of aluminum. I don't know the cost of it though.
 
4. Take your time to get better handle on operating the trim.
Click to expand...
I will be using the SmartCraft feature that has the trim level pop up once it is used.

I'm glad that the issue is over and you're back on water. I hope you made plans for investing in electronics to avoid future insidents ( make sure to get updated cards for the area you're cruising for the GPS/ChartPlotter).
Click to expand...
I was toying with the idea of returning the GPS (Garmin 540) to help with repairs, but it may save me money in the long run.
 
Charlie,

Good decision on not returning the GPS unit. Take your time to learn how to use it. Don't get frustrated if it takes a little while, but ones you got it you'll look back and ask yourself how was it possible to ride without it? When I talk about my boating days with the 175BR I had with only depthfinder I always think that my cruising would be so much comfirting if I had the chartplatter. The only reason why I didn't run in to much trouble is, b/c anytime I was in the less than 10' zones I would slow down. I did hit the drive couple of times, but since I was going slow there were no damages. So, if you ask why I didn't buy one then, simply lack of knowledge. I had no one to give me the advise that I miss this vital equipment. But, when we decided to upgrade to 240 I made sure I pick one that has all that I need.

As for operating the tabs there're few basics. When you going slow or at any spead that don't keep the boat on the plane you should keep the drive all the way down. This will also help to get on the plane faster. Ones one the boat is on the plane, then you ccan start adjusting the drive (trim it up) and listen how it sounds. You'll notice how the boat will bick up the speed and you can pull the throttle back a little to maintain desired speed and not to burn more feul than necessary. As a rule of thumb, don't raise the drive up more than a 1/4. If you raise it too much you should hear that the engine sounds much louder like the drive is out of the water, simply lower it a little. Also, make sure to remember to lower the drive all the way down each time you slow down and the boat is no longer on plane.

Hope this helps a little.

Alex.
 
I'm back in the water for the first time since the breakdown. She runs sweet. However, the fuel and temp guages do not work. Any quick fixes here? I don't want her back in the shop for another few weeks.

Also, I can't seem to get the Smartcraft to give me a trim level. I've calibrated it twice, but it displays 00 (full trim down) no matter how high I trim.

BTW, the first trip with the Garmin 540s was great. I recommend highly.
 
charlg said:
I'm back in the water for the first time since the breakdown. She runs sweet. However, the fuel and temp guages do not work. Any quick fixes here? I don't want her back in the shop for another few weeks.

Also, I can't seem to get the Smartcraft to give me a trim level. I've calibrated it twice, but it displays 00 (full trim down) no matter how high I trim.

BTW, the first trip with the Garmin 540s was great. I recommend highly.
Click to expand...
Charlie,
Just caught this thread. I'm gald you're wet again. I'd metion the items not working to the dealer now and ask them when they can get to it. This way they know it's relative to your service but if you're not to eager to get it back in, at least they are aware it may be coincidental :huh:
Best of luck!
 
Since they probably had to pull the motor to replace the coupler, I would look at all the cable connections in the engine compartment. It's possible something didn't get reconnected properly.

Barring that, if you can't find anything, I would call the dealer and ask what you can look for on your own. Hopefully you won't have to bring it back to them. :thumbsup:
 
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