My boat is still a LEMON!!!!

skunkman said:
Rusty,
Thank you for your PM.

You helped me out before, hopefully you can again. I really want to love this boat.

I found out yesterday that in addition to the engine coupler the boat needs 4 new batteries.

Today I got this email from the service manager at MarineMax:

My tech just informed me your trim tab cylinders are leaking and need replaced. They cost $352 for the pair and 1.75 ($190.75) hours labor to replace . He also noted the starboard engine end caps were leaking and needed replaced. O-rings and seals cost $223.82 and 3.6 hours ($392.40) to replace. The hydraulic smell you noticed is the upper yoke seal leaking fluid (2.5 hours to repair ($272.50).

I dare not inform my wife of this or I'm certain I will be boatless by the end of the week!!!!
Click to expand...


More nonrelated parts are failing....!???

SeaRay buys the parts from various top company's like Bennett trim tabs, Mercruiser engines, Taylor Made products, ect, ect....

I've never heard of such bad luck before....just doesn't smell right....almost wonder if your boat is being vandalized?
 
Last edited:
Something just doesn't sound right, my trim tabs were leaking the total cost for my old 88 to fix was $0. Bennett sends you or the service guy the o rings for free and the tools to fix them! Total time for me to do both the upper and lower on both was less than an hour.

After taking them apart I can tell you there's not much there to leak but those o rings.

Im not accusing...I'm guessing....I smell a bad fish
 
Air O'Nautical said:
More nonrelated parts are failing....!???

SeaRay, buys the parts from various top company's like Bennett trim tabs, Mercruiser engines, Taylor Made products, ect, ect....

I've never heard of such bad luck before....just doesn't smell right....almost wonder if your boat is being vandalized?
Click to expand...

Vandalism would be unlikely. The boat is up high on a lift and always covered. It is under video surveillance and I have very watchful neighbors. The boat is on a canal on a barrier island with a strong police presence and only 2 ways on and off the island. It is strange (and frustrating) that so many different things are breaking down. I keep hoping this will be the last of it. The fact that boat manufacturers purchase parts from so many different companies presents a big problem. Kohler has their warranties, Merc has theirs etc etc. Boat companies don't take responsibility for the entire boat as do car manufacturers. The way I look at it however is whoever accepted my payment should be responsible for the item I purchased as a whole.
 
But, Sea Ray does sell through a dealers whose responsibility it is to handle your warranty issues, and smile about it, no matter who the OEM vendor is. And, if the dealer sold you an extended warranty, then they should be your interface with the warranty company.
 
If the tabs are Bennett, parts are covered.Exactly what defines the bad coupler?
"end caps leaking" if you mean the heat exchanger end caps then the motor was not winterized correctly and the end caps are pushed out a bit. Remove them, flatten out and reinstall them.
As far as the hyd smell, bad /damaged shaft alignment is the cause if that because it takes out the seals.
You mention batteries, if they were wet cells cooked dry thats the chargers fault.
Some voltage regulators will allow a higher voltage if the batteries are gel or agm
 
Last edited:
Bt Doctur said:
If the tabs are Bennett, parts are covered.Exactly what defines the bad coupler?
"end caps leaking" if you mean the heat exchanger end caps then the motor was not winterized correctly and the end caps are pushed out a bit. Remove them, flatten out and reinstall them.
As far as the hyd smell, bad /damaged shaft alignment is the cause if that because it takes out the seals.
You mention batteries, if they were wet cells cooked dry thats the chargers fault.
Some voltage regulators will allow a higher voltage if the batteries are gel or agm
Click to expand...

I'm, not very knowledgeable about boat mechanics so some of this is foreign to me. The coupler I believe links the engine to the out drive. I was told the splines were bad if that helps clear things up.


I did have the charger repaired in the past. Hopefully it doesn't cook these batteries.

The boat doesn't get winterized - I use it all year. Never freezes in Long Boat Key.

I think the batteries are AGM - I'll check
 
was expecting inboard in that size . If outdrives, the engine alignment should be checked every 2 years when the drives are removed for service. If engine alignment is off from mis-adjustment, loose /rotted engine stringers/lags or damaged rear motor mounts the engine will move under the torque and destroy the coupler. If the coupler splines are pointed and not square ,mis-alignment is the cause
leaving a cell, its quicker
 
UPDATE:

2 Year service
Port Yoke seal replaced
All four batteries replaced
Starboard coupler replaced
Replace rear motor mounts
Replace exhaust flapper
Replace both trim tab cylinders
Replace end caps
Reseal upper yoke
Replace O rings
Replace tensioner pulley

TOTAL: $8332
My extended Warranty covered $1071
Out of pocket: $6261

Took boat out Saturday:
Emission control problem warning Starboard engine
Emission control problem warning port engine
Generator starts but shuts off after 10 seconds
CO alarm goes off when engines are on

I did use the boat but needless to stay I avoided the cabin
I did not check the generator strainer but that was supposedly cleaned as part of the service. I will check that next time I am on the boat
 
Are you sure the service technician is competent? Maybe every time they fix one thing they damage something else. That wouldn't be a first. I know I'm lucky to have excellent professional service at my dealer.

I am friends with a woman who had a new car with repeated issues. The last time she had it in they damaged the fuel rail and her year old Malibu burned to a crisp! She complained about a gas smell and they told her it was normal!
 
I'd like to see some pictures of the engines and outdrives. The things you are describing are replaced on 15-20yr boats and usually never, not on 5yr old boats. Couplers, engine mounts, exhaust flappers, they don't just go bad or wear out - something happens. Sorry to hear about your troubles, but there has got to be more to this.
 
Generator starts but shuts off after 10 seconds

Check the strainer and oil. Low oil will shut it down in 10 or less


 
The newest problems listed above were checked out:

Emission control problem warning Starboard engine - needs 2 O2 sensors replaced
Emission control problem warning port engine - needs 1 O2 sensor replaced
Generator starts but shuts off after 10 seconds - don't know cause yet
CO alarm goes off when engines are on - faulty - was replaced

Hopefully I'll get out on the boat this weekend.
 
Sell sell sell. Take your losses and sell. Something is way off here.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
mquiet said:
Sell sell sell. Take your losses and sell. Something is way off here.
Click to expand...

I'm a total Sea Ray fanboy. Providing the OP can back up his claims, and he is still enduring disparate system failures at an alarming rate, regrettably, he should be pursuing litigate, litigate, litigate. I'm at a total loss how Sea Ray could produce something this bad.

Hmm. Given Sea Ray's track record, the multiple unrelated system failures, that from a statistical analysis is next to impossible, I'm leaning toward the OP is "salting the mine" with claims that he is going to produce in his impending lawsuit.

Am I off base?
 
What I find so dumbfounding is that many of the problems the OP is experiencing are with systems manufactured by third party Sea Ray vendors. Not all of these parts were built on a Monday. I'm not suggesting the OP is in any way at fault but it seems like there has to be something more going on here than just bad luck.
 
JimT said:
What I find so dumbfounding is that many of the problems the OP is experiencing are with systems manufactured by third party Sea Ray vendors. Not all of these parts were built on a Monday. I'm not suggesting the OP is in any way at fault but it seems like there has to be something more going on here than just bad luck.
Click to expand...

Other than the hull, what on a SR or any boat for that matter is not from a third party vendor in some way, shape or form? It all may be built to SR specs, but is it built by SR? I don't know, but I would suspect not. The overhead cost would be astronomical.
 
skunkman said:
UPDATE:

2 Year service
Port Yoke seal replaced
All four batteries replaced
Starboard coupler replaced
Replace rear motor mounts
Replace exhaust flapper
Replace both trim tab cylinders
Replace end caps
Reseal upper yoke
Replace O rings
Replace tensioner pulley

TOTAL: $8332
My extended Warranty covered $1071
Out of pocket: $6261

Took boat out Saturday:
Emission control problem warning Starboard engine
Emission control problem warning port engine
Generator starts but shuts off after 10 seconds
CO alarm goes off when engines are on

I did use the boat but needless to stay I avoided the cabin
I did not check the generator strainer but that was supposedly cleaned as part of the service. I will check that next time I am on the boat
Click to expand...

I'm having some difficulty squaring this math with the repair estimates you had quoted earlier. What would be helpful is to know the parts/labor breakdown that they charged you and what part the extended warranty covered. It doesn't make any of this better but it would provide some insight into whether or not the mechanics you are dealing with are padding the work and the bill. Lots of little things go wrong with boats. It doesn't take long for a mechanic to figure out who can pay and who can't. Unfortunately, there are some mechanics and yards that try to bill you for as much as they can find which leads to replacing parts early.

Once repaired and paid for....there is little recourse.

What I see is $2000 in parts and $6300 in labor and that can't be right. Also, that is a very weird coincidence that the O2 sensors had issues after the service which leads me to wonder if they were damaged during the aforementioned repairs.

The generator is a separate issue. I would check the oil but my bet it is a fuel related issue if it restarts and runs for another few minutes.

John
 
LTD.330 said:
I'm a total Sea Ray fanboy. Providing the OP can back up his claims, and he is still enduring disparate system failures at an alarming rate, regrettably, he should be pursuing litigate, litigate, litigate. I'm at a total loss how Sea Ray could produce something this bad.

Hmm. Given Sea Ray's track record, the multiple unrelated system failures, that from a statistical analysis is next to impossible, I'm leaning toward the OP is "salting the mine" with claims that he is going to produce in his impending lawsuit.

Am I off base?
Click to expand...

I have no desire to litigate and never have. I just want my boat to work reliably. I purchased a new boat to avoid just this.
 
skunkman said:
I have no desire to litigate and never have. I just want my boat to work reliably. I purchased a new boat to avoid just this.
Click to expand...

I agree with you.....a new boat should not have these issues. Oftentimes on CSR we find ourselves responding to the middle of a story and lack the context to be helpful in a meaningful way. I appreciate your frustration especially with a new boat. Sea Ray builds a great boat. I remain concerned about how much you were charged you for these repairs and the subsequent problem with the O2 sensors.

John
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,154
Messages
1,427,382
Members
61,060
Latest member
Danileo
Back
Top