I have a Merc 60 EFI CT that fails to hold a trimmed position while under power. (any forward thrust at greater than, say, 25% throttle will cause the hydraulic cylinder to collapse).
Merc mothership advises a rebuild. My local authorized dealer is unable to get me in until mid June so I have to go in search of an alternative and need some help weighing my options.
The engine is one of a pair being used on a houseboat -- currently it is unmounted and sits on a stand in my garage. I can bring engine to any valid service site within, say, 4 hours drive.
The question is what/who is 'valid service'? I'm hoping for guidance on how much I should expect the replace vs. rebuild option to be. The stakes are high because once the boat's in the water it's almost a $1000 to take back out if a rebuild wasn't done correctly. But if replacing is thousands more than rebuilding...
So:
Merc mothership advises a rebuild. My local authorized dealer is unable to get me in until mid June so I have to go in search of an alternative and need some help weighing my options.
The engine is one of a pair being used on a houseboat -- currently it is unmounted and sits on a stand in my garage. I can bring engine to any valid service site within, say, 4 hours drive.
The question is what/who is 'valid service'? I'm hoping for guidance on how much I should expect the replace vs. rebuild option to be. The stakes are high because once the boat's in the water it's almost a $1000 to take back out if a rebuild wasn't done correctly. But if replacing is thousands more than rebuilding...
So:
- Or is it feasible to remove the hydraulic unit myself ( or perhaps a non-authorized Merc shop but known competent service tech) and bring or ship just the unit for either service or full replacement?
- If I were to just be calling authorized Merc dealers in my general geographic area and find one that says they can perform a rebuild over the next, say 6 weeks, do I just trust that 'authorized Merc dealer' is good enough or how do I make that judgment?
- Is it possible to ask what the difference between rebuilding vs. replacing with new is going to cost me? (not looking for 'how much will this cost -- just a range of 'replace' vs. 'rebuild').
