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Outboard issue-Final update


mike rousseau

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So update on my issue...

 

Maintenance manager had no issue putting it as warranty work...

 

Dropped the boat Saturday.... No tech till Monday...

 

I called today to find out I had a mojor issue in the power head... They found "chunks of metal" in my oil strainer (i think that's what he called it)

 

Guy said the time it would take to tear apart the power head to find the problem he would rather just replace everything... Cause in the end that would likely be the outcome anyways after the metal chunks have gone through the engine...

 

He said he wants to replace the entire power head for me under warranty but had to clear it with Yamaha because marinas are only permitted to do up to $2000 in repairs before they need to get clearance...

 

I should know for sure what's happening by the end of the week...

 

He said if he gets the green light my motor should be ready next weekend...

 

So far I'm very happy with how I've been treated...

 

I'll update as soon as I'm 100% sure the outcome

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Hope it gets worked out soon Mike! Nothing worse than being boatless...

I have some great friends and family that have all offered their boats up to me...

 

Even a buddy I've never fished with offered up his 20' Larson tiller with 200 hp Merc for a tournament this weekend...

 

Felt pretty good to see friends offer to help like that

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This complete motor failure is the stuff of my nightmares. So glad that you have warranty coverage.

 

Is this kind of thing common in motors that are relatively new? I don't hear of people blowing their engine on a 5 year old car all that often. Is it because outboards are run at WOT for much of their life in some cases?

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This complete motor failure is the stuff of my nightmares. So glad that you have warranty coverage.

 

Is this kind of thing common in motors that are relatively new? I don't hear of people blowing their engine on a 5 year old car all that often. Is it because outboards are run at WOT for much of their life in some cases?

Ethenal Gas

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This complete motor failure is the stuff of my nightmares. So glad that you have warranty coverage.

 

Is this kind of thing common in motors that are relatively new? I don't hear of people blowing their engine on a 5 year old car all that often. Is it because outboards are run at WOT for much of their life in some cases?

The way it was explained was that it could be a $50 part but the labour cost involved to completely strip down the power head... Fix the problem... As well as any other damages caused by the broken parts going through my engine.. And put everything back together... Is more costly then replacing the power head...

 

 

also consider according to the industry standard of 100hrs per year... I'm probably over 10 years of use on my motor... I figure I broke 1000 hours... I'm actually curious to see how many hours I put on that motor in 3 years... If I go out for 8 hours my motor runs for 8 hours...

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I heard that the motors they build now are just not expected to get the same number of hours that the old ones used to get. Most of the old ones would last forever if cared for properly.

 

Think the downward spiral all started when they made the switch from premix to oil injection. Bet half the early oil injection motors , the owners disabled it and went back to premixing.

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I have a japanese made yamaha built mariner engine. I would bet my paycheck there is a million hours on it. No kidding. I'm like mike, I do a lot of trolling, and rack up the hours.

 

I've had to replace a head gasket in the 20 years I've had it. Did the impeller once a few years ago.

 

Right now I have no reverse gear, but that's a whole different issue. The power head had been bullet proof!

 

Pre mix, 2 strokes are hard to kill.

 

S.

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I heard that the motors they build now are just not expected to get the same number of hours that the old ones used to get. Most of the old ones would last forever if cared for properly.

 

I only got 30 years from my Johnson VRO outboard, but I'm happy with that.

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If any of you guys come from a manufacturing background you'll understand that building an outboard motor (or anything for that matter!) that will last 20+ years is a bad business model.

 

Back in the days when they didn't have the knowledge or OPEX certain manufactures "overbuilt" their equipment in an effort to gain market share through customer loyalty. In today's world where statistics is a science and engineering can predict, with amazing accuracy, just how long a product will last. Many cynics will say that most things last "just after the warranty expires" which isn't far from the truth.

 

Its a fine line between keeping customers happy and keeping the business profitable. A proverbial tight rope really.

 

Its my belief that if you've had brand xx model yy for 30 years and its been flawless, be happy. With today's technology this is the last thing any of the manufacturers want.. Its also not a reason to by another product from this same manufacturer either. Unless of course you can get the exact same model, built during that time.

 

Regardless, its nice to see that Yamaha is covering the cost and that Mike's getting excellent service. All of this stuff we use and play with is man made so I take that for what its worth. At the end of the day, how problems are taken care of is really what matters.

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