My dayjust became awful

OKpete

New Member
Nov 10, 2015
3
Oklahoma
Boat Info
2005 180 Sport. Tow with 2004 Jeep Wrangler
Engines
3.0 130 hp
Took my 2005 180 sport in to shop to dewinterize and get thorough check up. Bought at start of winter, never even put in water. Previous owner did start it up and all seemed well when I had it winterized and put away. Shop just called and said motor is knocking really bad and may self destruct. Said if it goes they could get a brand new 3.0 for $2600 plus labor. Thinking of the old saying about two best days of owning a boat " the day you buy it and the day you sell it ". Not sure how to proceed
 
Did you winterize it yourself or did the shop do it? If they did it, I would think they would have some responsibility for an engine that was OK before being winterized...
 
That engine is reasonably bulletproof. Engines don't go bad sitting. What happened between the last run when it was fine and now? Who winterized, where did it sit, any service work done, .....?
 
The knocking could be a bent pushrod for not fogging the motor , or #4 exaust valve was sticking open
 
Go into more detail about your purchase process. Unless you are over simplifying, it sounds like you bought a boat from someone and the extent of your engine survey was the p-owner starting it up and you assessing that it "seemed well" then you paid them and the marina winterized it. Please tell me that there is more to the story of the pre-purchase survey. If not, I'd get a second opinion, buy you may be SOL.
 
As others have said, we need more info! It seems really strange to me that the shops first recommendation was to replace the motor.
 
Yes, more details of " having it winterized " and " put away". A shop, or anyone else, should have had it running for winterizing. If it ran well then and not now, something with winterizing is very suspect.
 
Feel free to call me a jerk for that is how I feel. To give some more info, bought from private party, he started it up using muffs in his driveway. The motor has only 125 hours on the meter. Weather was turning really bad so I got it to what appears to be a reputable shop to have winterized. They said it ran when done and then it ran for a few minutes when de winterizing. Then they said the motor began to knock really bad and died. They said they need to check further, but wanted me to know in case the motor craps out totally. They said at the worst they could get the new engine and felt the boat was so clean otherwise they thought repair or replace was the way to go. Waiting to hear what is found. I will post more then. Thanks for all the input
 
Ive never done it so how long does the motor run to winterize it? Wouldnt it knock then and die when they were winterizing it? Or maybe they didnt winterize it properly?

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If they ran it to winterize, it would take over 5 minutes of run time.
they could have just pulled the hoses and filled it with antifreeze without running it and called it a day.

OP, go look at the boat. Look for a cracked block. Check the oil and look for milky colored motor oil. Maybe it was not winterized correctly.

However, maybe the previous owner pulled the wool over your eyes on a boat with a bad motor.
 
Your best friend is your insurance company at this time. File a claim for damages. As one agent put it when my boat was damage in a shop "It was under the care and attention of the shop and they are responsible to ensure no harm comes to your boat" Even if your insurance is denied a visit to the shop tends to put fear into the shop to correct the problem.
 
In Texas we had a very mild winter. I wondering how bad it was just north of the border? How many days did you have well below freezing, and specifically in a row? It just seems it wouldn't have got cold enough to do such serious damage.

I'd guess the problem may have already existing with the PO. If not, I can't imagine the problem is so bad that an entire motor is required. I seem to recall we had another CSR poster go through something similar and moved shops and got it fixed at a fraction of the original quoted cost.
 
I would take it to another shop as well. They would be more likely to be honest about wether or not it was due to improper winterizing.
 
Boat should have been run up to operating temperature in order to winterize it. I can't believe they didn't hear it then while running. Go elsewhere and get a 2nd opinion before anything!
 
OkPete...don't feel beat up about it...crap happens with boats, there are lots of other examples on here of unexpected mechanical stuff happening. I would call your insurance before you take the boat off the site of the winterization though.
 
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Insurance claim? He doesn't even know what's wrong. I can't imagine an insurance company being helpful at this stage.
 
He has report that the boat needs a new engine. He has proof the engine was fine when he took it in to the shop in the fall. Insurance agents get respect as they represent a large group.
You pay insurance premiums. The agent will go to bat for you.
 
He has report that the boat needs a new engine. He has proof the engine was fine when he took it in to the shop in the fall. Insurance agents get respect as they represent a large group.
You pay insurance premiums. The agent will go to bat for you.

I would guess it depends on what type of coverage the OP has as well.
 

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