Tranny Cooler Failed

savignr

Member
May 10, 2008
82
Manhasset Bay NY
Boat Info
2003 320 Sundancer
Engines
Twin 6.2L Merc V-drive
Hi all, Although here in then NE the temperature is 16 I'm thinking boating.

At the end of the season I had a tranny cooler failure causing sea water to enter the tranny. The repair was made at the but the machanic called about a month later stating that the tranny should be rebuilt since water had entered the tranny. He said he will not be able to do the work.

So.....
Does that sound about right, does the tranny need to be rebuilt?
What do you think the cost of a rebuild would be, I'm in the North east (Long island)
Any recommendations? I was going to call MarineMax next week.
Thoughts on this matter...money is tight due to medical reasons so I don't want to waste money or time.

PS. I will be replacing the other cooler also.

Thanks in advance,
Ray
 
I would drain and flush 3-4 times and pay close attention to how it ran. Why spend the $$ if not needed.
 
Thanks Knot In...I had read that thread but was looking for others with the same issue to jump in. Here's my fear, if I wait and have a problem I lose a month, guessing , if I get it done now and don't really need it done its thousands wasted. I know it's a crap shoot but I was hopeing I would get a consensus on which way to go.

If I wait as Hottoddie suggets is there a possibility that I can do more damage to the tranny?

As with many things in life it comes down to money or time and at the moment I'm short on both.

I also would accept opinions on which way to go...What would you do????

Thanks all
 
Based on getting salt water in an engine 1500 HRs ago I changed the oil several times at the dock. Would change it run the engine for 1/2 hour change it again. After 3 dock changes ran it for 15 hours under load. Then changed it again. Transmissions I have no idea how hot they get but, just changing the oil at the dock probably does not get all the moisture out. Think the trick was get the moisture out as soon as possible. If your boat has sat with water in a transmission I would think you need a new one. If you drain the transmission and send all the oil off to be analized they should be able to tell youif there is any moisture in the oil. My engine is still fine.
 
Sounds like you should be talking to a transmission dude. Hopefully, you will find an honest one who will give you sound advice and not just be out to sell you a new one. A transmission replacement is not a long job in terms of time, so why not just change the fluid a few times and see how things turn out. In the meantime, you can source out a rebuilt tranny, etc.
 
Savignr,

Not clear on the status. So your mechanic repaired the cooler only? Did he do anything else? Hopefully he changed the oil ! Have you run the boat since the repair? You will be paying at least $2,000 for a rebuild. If the mechanic changed the oil you may be OK if you change more times soon. The biggest risk as I see it, at this moment, is if the boat is sitting in storage with water in the tranny.
 
Obviously getting more detailed info from your mechanic and an opinion from a transmission shop is in order. But, why playing the guessing games instead of taking the transmission oil samples and take to the lab?
 
Savignr,

Not clear on the status. So your mechanic repaired the cooler only? Did he do anything else? Hopefully he changed the oil ! Have you run the boat since the repair? You will be paying at least $2,000 for a rebuild. If the mechanic changed the oil you may be OK if you change more times soon. The biggest risk as I see it, at this moment, is if the boat is sitting in storage with water in the tranny.

The mechanic replaced the cooler and fluid but since it happened at the end of the season I didn't get a chance to run the boat much but it was changed and flushed. The machanic called me a month later and told me his tranny guy said that it needed to be rebuilt.

I perfer not to spent the money if I could... not to wine but I recently went from a double income home to a single income (medical issue not divorce) with a kid in college.


But, why playing the guessing games instead of taking the transmission oil samples and take to the lab?

Good Idea!
 
Old Cowboy saying "If it aint broke don't fix it" Worked for me when I got salt water in an engine.
 
Based on your description of the work completed, "oil changed and flushed", and the fact that you did run it a few times, Northern has a point, not broke, leave it alone. I would change the oil again, look at it and the filters and go from there. Oil sampling would not be bad either.

Good Luck,
 
Hard to say, you may get lucky, but ongoing testing will definitely help. That is why Frank Webster always suggest testing when you don't think you have an issue. So you get a baseline and can see if readings start changing. The big issue you face is when you go to sell. If the buyer takes readings and they are bad. The sale is now over or the buyer will ask for a large price concession.
 
Yup my original trans cooler on the starboard motor went. Nice oil slick coming out the exhaust. I put about 3 hours of cruise time on the trans after I noticed the slick. Probably not smart but I did. Got back to port and figured out it was the cooler. I ordered 4 new coolers trans and oil coolers from mr cool. A fraction of the coast of oem and supposedly thicker walls. So I changed the coolers and drained and filled and drained and filled probably 5 times if I remember corectly. Then ran for an hour on plane and then dropped anchor and changed oil again then ran an hour back to port and changed again. Ever since then I havnt had any problems no noises no nothing and put about 4o hours run time since the issue. I wouldn't spend the money kn a rebuild unless they failed. U may have to pull your motor to get the trans off but I could be wrong. Good luck if u have any questions fire away
 
Thanks all I was on the hook when I noticed the leak and onl ran it long enough to diagnose the problem not sure how long the machanic ran the engine before agreeing with my diagnoses. I think I'm going to wait and see how it goes before I do anything.

Thanks all for your advise
Ray
 

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