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View Full Version : Not a good day



pickle311
05-22-2011, 10:22 PM
I finally got the boat out for the first time this year. Had a boat full of friends ready to have some fun. I summarized the boat about a month ago and everything looked great, so I was certain. It was going to be a good day. We put in and cruise up to our riding spot. Pull up our rider and everything was good. Rider fell, we idle back to him as normal for another run. This time when we take off, the boat felt sluggish and blew a puff of smoke. Odd, my first reaction was some bad gas in there, thanks ethanol. Next time rider pulls up and same thing. I stop to take a look and see chocolate milk all over the engine. Water was mixing with the oil and blowing it out of the carb. I'm guessing it's a blown head gasket or cracked head itself. I really hope it's nothing more than that and there's no more internal damage. I'm concerned because water mixing can cause the crank to get scored very easily. We caught it quickly though and got a tow back, havent started it back up. And to make things worse, my warranty just went out 3 weeks ago. I'm really hoping the dealer will take care of this knowing it would have happened 3 weeks ago had we taken the boat out. I'm dropping it off in the morning for them to do what they have to do. Wish me luck, I'm really bummed about this, guess it's just one of those things that happens.

mmandley
05-23-2011, 09:18 AM
Sorry to hear about that man. I can only imagine your frustration and disapointment with everyone there. I know how i get when my ballast is acting up and i cant even imagine how id be if it was the engine. Just yesterday i was talking to Claudia about the ethanol and its dangers in the boat. I know this wasnt that ehtanol but its still engine trouble.

skylar18
05-23-2011, 09:37 AM
Good Luck. Hope they take care of it. If you are taking it to South Austin Marine they usually seem to be pretty fair. (Not always but mostly!) I'm sure like any dealership.......

pickle311
05-23-2011, 10:22 AM
I just dropped it off at South Austin Marine. They have always been really good to me, heck I've bought 2 boats from them. May not be a lot of money to some people, but it is to me. I'm hopeful that they will take care of it and I really can't see any logical reason why they wouldn't. It should be a relatively easy warranty claim for them, it's fairly obvious that the problem would have happened if I had taken the boat out a month ago.

rdlangston13
05-23-2011, 03:02 PM
Here in Houston you can't buy gas that is not at least 10% ethanol and it has been that way since 2006. I can't really see boat manufacturers pretending like they don't know this and not building marine engine components to be compayable. I have no had any ethanol issues with mine yet so I reckon I should knock on wood.

I any case that reall sucks about your boat, I was at water junkies in kingwood this last week and they had a block from a boat that was not winterized this last year and there were chunks of metal missing. And this is Houston, tx

usaski1
05-23-2011, 09:58 PM
I got my Outback from South Austin Marine last fall. I have had nothing but good luck and they are pretty friendly. Hopefully they will take care of you. let us know. I know your technically out of warranty, but hopefully its close and they will still help.

davinci
05-23-2011, 10:07 PM
Strange thing that's boggling my mind is why would it shoot out the carb , normally when the head gasket is blown or the block is cracked, it would mix oil and water and shoot out the exhaust....hopefully it's just water in the fuel, sure sound like it.

pickle311
05-24-2011, 12:34 PM
Strange thing that's boggling my mind is why would it shoot out the carb , normally when the head gasket is blown or the block is cracked, it would mix oil and water and shoot out the exhaust....hopefully it's just water in the fuel, sure sound like it.

You have no idea how happy that would make me, but I don't know that the boat would run if there were that much water in the gas. Guess you never know though.

I winterized the boat and I would be totally baffled if it's a cracked block. Plus I ran the boat in my driveway and had no issues. It seemed fine when we took off from the dock too.

If it is something that could fall under warranty and they don't help me out, I will be very upset. You can't say that whatever gave out wouldn't have broken 3 weeks ago if I had taken the boat out then.

Time will tell, I keep staring at my phone hoping they will call with good news.

bergermaister
05-24-2011, 12:39 PM
If you don't fall under warranty it may not hurt to check with your insurance coverage. I went through a similar painful situation years ago.

rdlangston13
05-24-2011, 04:10 PM
What did the oil on the dipstick look like? Was it cloudy and milky looking? If the oil still looked like oil then I would not worry so much about a head gasket or block as long as you winterized I don't see why the block would crack

pickle311
05-24-2011, 05:05 PM
dipstick looked like chocolate milk too

bergermaister
05-24-2011, 06:00 PM
Plus I ran the boat in my driveway and had no issues. It seemed fine when we took off from the dock too.

How long total did you run before having problems? A small leak from a crack could take some time to build up in the oil. Slow degradation of performance.

Then it sucking up from the PCV valve on the valve covers into the carb...

Sorry man - sucks no matter what.

sailing217
05-25-2011, 09:39 AM
Other boat forumns sounds like hydrolocked the engine. Cracked exhaust manifold let the pressure drop and water comes in through the exhaust past the flappers.

Sounds like you caught it early and hope for the best.

pickle311
05-25-2011, 10:24 AM
How long total did you run before having problems? A small leak from a crack could take some time to build up in the oil. Slow degradation of performance.


Maybe 30 minutes, it wasn't long.

Either way, it makes me sick to my stomach thinking about it. I'm just anxious to hear back from the dealer to see if it's going to be covered or if I'm paying out of pocket. At this point I'd really just prefer to sink the boat and be done with it.

skylar18
05-27-2011, 09:25 AM
Going to South Austin marine today.....I will go visit your boat and tell them to take good care of it and you! Hope you hear good news.....

pickle311
05-31-2011, 04:43 PM
I still haven't heard anything on it, hopefully I'll know what's going on this week.

pickle311
06-08-2011, 02:35 PM
Finally got the word, cracked block. They said most likely freeze damage but I don't see how since it was properly winterized.
Insurance is going to cover it though, just have to get the adjuster out there to say it was freeze damage and we are on the way. Maybe I'll be back on the water before December.

dusty2221
06-08-2011, 02:41 PM
What insurance company?

bergermaister
06-08-2011, 02:50 PM
You may be surprised how fast it can be turned around once your insurance approves it. The engine shop that did mine said they do sheriff jet boats overnight sometimes when needed! I went direct to the shop vs. through the dealer so that possibly sped things up.

If you get the chance you might ask about "upgrades" before the new engine goes in - see what you can get for what. You could end up with a beefier engine than you started with for not much if anything extra. :cool:

pickle311
06-09-2011, 02:47 PM
What insurance company?

Chubb Yacht Insurance. They said this area has been slammed with claims this year on cracked blocks. We had a solid week where in never got above probably 28 this winter. That's the first time I've seen that happen in Austin. My brother in law had to get a new motor in his Centurion too, but his insurance wouldn't cover it. Good thing he's a Dr.