2001 Mercury 3 cyl

[John DOrazio]

" We bought a boat and motor n

" We bought a boat and motor new from a local dealer last year. The motor has never run properly. Each time we have taken the boat out it will max out at 3,000 rpm and surge up and down. We have taken it back to the dealer and today marks the 6th time. We have had to pay for an hours labor each time and the dealer claims that they can find nothing wrong with it. He has charged us nearly $300.00 for a carb rebuild and on each occasion has charged one hour labor at $75.00 when his mechanic tested it. When we called this evening and said we wanted to go with the mechanic when he takes the boat out to test he refused on the grounds that his insurance wouldn't cover us in an accident. This boat is sitting there with it's second tank of gas that was ever bought for it and has been a huge dissappointment. The boat is a 17' Key West bay fishing boat and the motor is a 90HP Mercury. We need to contact a factory rep directly as we have no faith in this dealer to be willing or able to get the engine to run properly. He has said all along that the warrenty will cover what is wrong if he can find something wrong. Today we took the spark plug off of the top cylinder and this made absolutly no difference in how the motor ran. To this date we have paid $612.00 to the dealer for work which he claims is not covered by the warrenty. Any guidance or help would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

John and Linda "

 

[jwhite]

Call the manufacturer and com

Call the manufacturer and complain. The hourly charges should have been covered under warranty. The manufacturer will give you another dealer to take the boat to or arrange for you to get another motor free of charge. I would try to get another motor. If you need any more help please feel free to email me.

 

[joereeves]

"John..... Mercurys are not my

"John..... Mercurys are not my line of expertise, and I try really hard not to look down on anyone. However, it appears to me that you've been given a raw deal on this new engine (I assume from what you've said this was a "Brand New" engine last year). All of the work pertaining to this problem should not have cost you a nickel unless... you let the engine sit for months and the carburetors gummed/fouled because of the time period. However if the engine never ran properly from day 1, even that cost should have been covered under warranty.

Case in point.... In my line of expertise (OMC), we have had weird intermitent problems that have been hard to solve but never, NEVER, was the customer charged one red cent as we and OMC felt that the inconvenience the customer suffered overshadowed everything else. We have had engines blow powerheads for one reason or another that were a few months out of warranty.... and OMC would not think of charging the customer for the replacement powerhead (thousands of $$$).

The surge you speak of.... there are two different types of surges, one a slow surge, the other a instant surge.

A slow surge is caused by a fuel problem. This could be caused by a weak fuel pump which could be tested simply by pumping the fuel bulb, in effect acting as a backup pump. It could also be caused by a small foreign object floating around in one (or more) of the carburetors which would jam and restrict either the high speed jet or the incoming side of the float needle valve (a carburetor repair should catch that problem). It can also be caused by a sticking "Anti Siphon Valve" at the built in fuel tank which creates a fuel restriction. You'll find that valve where the rubber fuel hose attaches to the tank fuel supply fitting. If it exists, it will be aluminum, about 2" long, and the inner components will consist of a "Check Valve Ball, Spring", and a "Ball Seat". These valves are notorious for sticking. If that valve exists, remove it, knock out the inner parts, then re-install it as a straight through fitting.

A instant, sharp surge is a ignition problem and could be caused by a number of causes.... a slight shorting of the ignition switch, faulty powerpack, failing coil, poor connections. It would be just about impossible for me to tell you where to look. However, with the s/plugs out, and the key in the on position, with some kind of spark tester rigged up, setting the spark gap to 7/16"..... you should be able to obtain a sharp strong blue flame that would easily jump that gap on all cylinders. Any deviation of that strong spark would lead you in the right direction of the problems cause.

The insurance statement?? I assume that you have insurance on your boat, not the dealer. You're covered regardless of what's happening. If on the other hand, the technician is a careless wild operator.... that would bring up a few question!

As Jwhite has suggested above, it would be in your best interests if you called Customers Relations/Customers Service (whatever Mercury calls it) and relate to them exactly what you've encountered. Word of mouth can be the best advertisement.... and it is by the same token, The Worst! And I would think they would want to avoid that. Before you call, I'd suggest that you carefully put everything down on paper so that nothing is left out, exagerated etc.... just the truthful facts. Let us know how you make out. I wish you luck.

PS... Various OMC dealerships have encountered weird intermitent problems in the past that a mechanic could not catch. In which case, a factory service rep would visit the dealer and correct the problem himself.... in effect gave instant training to the mechanic to avoid a repeat scenario.

Joe

"

 

[jon]

"John,

That shop you

"John,

That shop you are speaking of definitly sounds pretty shady; I haven't worked in the industry, and know little about the specifics about how Mercury warranty work is billed etc., but am in complete agreement with Joe that you are getting a raw deal.

The one thing I wanted to add is that reporting this to the Better Business Bureau may also get you somewhere; what is going on here sounds like it may be borderline criminal, I'm not a lawyer either, but it sounds fraudulent. By selling you a warranty, which they did by selling you the boat, and then collecting money for things that the warranty should cover, they are more or less stealing from you. The BBB or possibly even local law enforcement may be very interested.

I'm sure after the slightest amount of arm twising from the authorities, you'll get your $$ back in light speed. I don't know if it is a good strategy, but by just showing up and threatening to notify authorities you may even be able to get this straightened out. I don't know what area you are in, but here's the website for the BBB:http://www.bbb.org/. You can search for your local bureau by zip code, city or state and then file a complaint online or by phone - use words like fraud, theft etc.. that probably will get you a faster response. You can also check and see if they've had other complaints, and get some information on the company this way.

Jon"