Engine Crack- Disagreement between Mechanic and Warranty Company

A couple of thoughts:
1. You bought the boat in September and now have a cracked block. That sounds awfully like a pre-existing condition to me, and should be covered by the seller. I assume this was a Sea Ray dealer as you have a Sea Ray extended warranty.

2. You might be able to claim this on your regular boat insurance. My next door neighbor got a new Yanmar diesel on his Mainship Trawler two years ago when it sucked up a plastic bag and choked the impeller. I'd treat that as a last resort, because you would have to admit to something you might not have done.

3. You can get detailed temperature and degree heating / cooling day info from the weather service for a given zip code. Its the same data heating companies use to develop oil consumption profiles. That might show that for the time period in question there were limited/no freezing nights. I know up here in Boston we didn't get a frost until well into December. I know it was almost 60 degrees here on Dec 2!

Good luck

Henry
 
mjjacobs said:
Thanks for all the responses so far.

IAs to proving things, the engine will be replaced, whether its at my expense or the warranty company's. Below is a picture of the crack.

Joshua
Click to expand...

Joshua,

Could you upload the picture so we can see where it is?

Thanks,

John
 
mjjacobs said:
Thanks for all the responses so far.

I purchased the boat used in September, and the warranty was purchased new with the boat (from MarineMax, formerly Surfside3) and is transferrable to the new owner.

The engine block was the part that cracked. It is true that engine blocks don't spontaneously crack. However, sometimes they do crack for reasons other than freezing. I am not an expert on this, so I will let the diagnosis of my (very honest) mechanic speak for itself. He says he's seen these particular engines develop engine block cracks due to usage, and he's seen it a number of times. That is what I am basing it on.

Water intrusion from other sources is possible, but the risers, manifolds, and elbows were all replaced as part of its regular maintenance program (last year, I believe). For this reason my mechanic felt it unlikely. Even if the water did intrude for another reason, the likelihood of it freezing significantly enough to crack the engine block would seem to require sustained cold weather, which according to Weather.com's weather history, didn't occur here on the South Shore of Long Island.

As to proving things, the engine will be replaced, whether its at my expense or the warranty company's. Below is a picture of the crack.

I do appreciate all the help I'm getting here, but my initial question remains: What can I do (assuming that my mechanics theory is correct) to get Brunswick to change their mind?

Thanks,
Joshua
Click to expand...
If your mechanics is a mercruiser dealer, Then he should try calling mercruiser at your request to see if and when he can get a field service representative from mercruiser to come by and take a look at your engine so they can talk about what your tech has seen in the past, And see if they can come up with a solution for you.:smt100
 
I still say engine blocks don't develop cracks from "usage"- at least not to the extent that it would be a know problem/occurence.

"Marine" engines are nothing more than automotive blocks (that have been marinized).
How may 350 c.i., 454's, etc. engine blocks have you heard of cracking in the millions of vehicles they're used in?

It may have cracked from a defect of some sort (and you still haven't specified what your mechanic's theory is), but not from "usage".
 
Wow, I am overwhelmed by both the immediate help I have gotten here, and the level of expertise members of this forum clearly have!

I am a little bit out of my league here, as a relatively new boater, so I'll clarify in terms of maintenance - everything that was due to be replaced as part of a regular maintenance (risers, etc.), was changed. When I said that the other possible sources for the water entry are unlikely, I meant that the boat has a very consistent and proactive service history. The mechanic was the kind of guy that was referred to me by 10 different boaters, and he made sure it was taken care of. I apologize for any confusion.

I'm going to follow up with all of the tips here, and get back to the board as soon as I know more. In the meantime, here are the pictures I was sent by the mechanic.
engine1.jpg

engine2.jpg

engine3.jpg
 
Wow, it looks like it broke in the lifter valley on the top portion of the block? That's something you don't see everyday.

I too agree that blocks don't typically crack unless they were of poor casting quality. I do remember back in the 70's or 80's (I think) that Mexico had poor GM castings due to inferior materials and or casting processes. It is possible that somehow you obtained a bad casting, but as you're finding out, Merc will likely blame improper winterization instead.

Doug
 
Thanks for the pictures. For clarity, blocks crack at weak points. It would appear (but the picture is fuzzy) that the metal is pushed toward the lifter gallery. This is how you tell it was due to a freezing condition. What is a bit more unusual is that it is more than a crack....it is a hole. Did someone open it up with a screwdriver? If not it clearly was a weak spot on the block which is probably why your mechanic may feel the way he does .....especially if he has seen a few of these.

-John
 
Man, you guys are good. That looks like the old ink-blot test to me. I can't make out what I'm looking at.
 
Really hard to tell from the pics. Blurry! For me #2 gives the best view. Looks like corrosion. Do you have better pics? Or did the quality of these go down while posting them? ... Ron
 
They look like cell phone pix.
 
Indeed they appear to be cellphone pictures. I'm going to visit the boat tomorrow at the mechanic and get a better look at it myself, maybe take some pictures and post them, also.

Regarding the risers, etc. questions, water was only found in the cylinders, and lacking the obvious source for the water, my mechanic used air pressure to locate the source of the hole. That's how we know it wasn't caused by problems with risers and elbows and such.

The mechanic IS Merc Certified, as well. After speaking to him and taking the advice of many on the board, we are going to try and have somebody come down from Brunswick to take a look at it.

Here's another question I have- lets assume that the damage was because of freezing/improper winterization. Let's also assume the damage did not occur this winter (due to the lack of cold weather needed for it to freeze before it went in to be winterized). Is it possible this was caused last year, and the engines were able to run normally in spite of the hole?

Thanks again,
Joshua
 
mjjacobs said:
Is it possible this was caused last year, and the engines were able to run normally in spite of the hole?

Thanks again,
Joshua
Click to expand...

Nope. That hole opened up the lifter galley to water. The engine will not run for very long with water coming in through a hole that size. A clearer picture might help sort it out. Also it is a hole and not a crack....that needs some closer examination of the surrounding metal and whatever fragments can be found..

-John
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,210
Messages
1,428,658
Members
61,108
Latest member
rvlewis
Back
Top