Bill for outdrive repair

jhr

jhr

Well-Known Member
Joined
26 Nov 2002
Messages
20,256
Location
Royston Vasey
jamesrichardsonconsultants.co.uk
I've just had a rather belated bill for some work carried out on the boat last winter; principally fitting new bellows. I was, ahem, taken aback by the size of the bill but would appreciate opinions (particularly from any of the professional Marine Engineers who post on here) as to whether I am being unreasonable or not, especially in relation to labour costs, to whit:

Remove outdrive leg and various ancilliaries - 5 hours
Remove stern drive leg and clean & change impeller - 4 hours
Remove pipework, clean leg, refit oil way connectors, replace oil/water feed into stern leg, prepare leg to re-fit - 6.5 hours
Refit outdrive leg - 4.5 hours
Fit stern drive leg - 7 hours
Remove/replace water pickup pipe through transom - 2.25 hours

I have no idea how long these jobs should take, and obviously I don't know what problems may have cropped up whilst the job was being done, but would appreciate an informed opinion.

I'm not naive and I was steeling myself for a bill of about a grand in total, but it came out at about double that. Cost of parts were mostly as I expected, though a new bell housing was unexpected, and added £250. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

It's a 2nd generation Alpha 1, 2001 vintage, linked to a Merc 5.0l V8 with efi.

All thoughts gratefully received. I'm not a tight fisted git (well, not really) and if that's what it costs, then fair enough, but I have a lurking and probably unworthy suspicion that someone is taking the p*ss..........
 
I've not removed a mercruiser leg before, but have taken off and replaced an OMC Cobra and that was about half hours work each way! Remove the trim arm, undo 6 nuts and wiggle/hit it wth a hammer/swear alot and off it comes.
 
Just had both my Volvo DP legs removed (by a main Volvo dealer) as they had emulsified oil in them, pressure tested back at their workshop, seals replaced, serviced (inc new bellows) and refitted for £1250 all up.
 
Sorry but you have been well and truly stuffed!!
I am a former Mercruiser mechanic and heres my breakdown;

Remove outdrive leg and various ancilliaries - 5 hours - MAX 15 -20 MINS, hell even the theives do it quicker than that!

Remove stern drive leg - DIDN'T WE ALREADY DO THIS ABOVE !
and clean & change impeller - 4 hours - ONE ARMED YOU CAN DO IT IN 1.5 HRS INC REFILLING WITH NEW OIL

Remove pipework, clean leg, refit oil way connectors, replace oil/water feed into stern leg, - NOT SURE WHAT THEY MEAN HERE BUT IF YOU HAD THE WATER AND OIL HOSE REPLACED THATS AN EASY 3-4 HRS

prepare leg to re-fit - 6.5 hours - WHAT! YOU FIT THE 'O' RINGS,GASKET AND GREASE THE SHAFT AND ITS READY TO GO

Refit outdrive leg - 4.5 hours - 1 MAN 20 MINS TOPS
Fit stern drive leg - 7 hours - WE'VE DONE THIS ALREADY!
Remove/replace water pickup pipe through transom - 2.25 hours - WE DID THIS WHEN WE DID THE OIL HOSE

According to them they used 18 hrs to refit a drive, in 18 hrs I've had the engine drive and transom shield out and back in again, so who are they kidding, did you see the mechanic, was it a one armed bandit with a white stick?
I know its workshop policy to round up the time so even so they are taking the p**s. I have rounded up all of my 15-20 mins to 1 hr and I make it 7.5 hrs. And really if a mechanic can't do that amount of work in a day he's not worth employing and wants firing. And a total of 29.25 hrs, we have regularly re-engined boats in that time.
And why would a 5 yr old bell housing need replacing I suspect they damaged it at some point and I would want to see the old one.
Theres no mention of the bellows, I hope they changed them while they were at it.
I am sorry you had this experience and would recommend you contest it as it gets the boat industry a bad name.
 
What's the difference between an Outdrive Leg and a Sterndrive Leg?

The time taken (5 + 4hrs & 4.5 + 7hrs) does seem excessive, well in comparison with doing the same job on a Volvo DuoProp, anyway. It wasn't all seized up was it?


Ahh, there you are, told you so /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
Removed my Alpha 1 leg. Not as quick as Neale said, took me about an hour to get it off, but it did "P" down with rain.
Took a bit longer to clean and prepare it for a respray, but i was in no hurry.
While it was off i fitted another impeller, drained oils and refilled them, then checked everything else over.
I guess in total from start to finish, that's remove it, check it over, fit new impeller, drain/refill oils, cleaned and resprayed it, then refitted it, total actual working time was less then 6 hours spread over two days. Nothing complicated, a simple straight forward job.

5 hours on your bill to remove it???
7 hours to refit it??? all seems a bit long winded to me.
 
An approach a guy on our marina told me yesterday in dealing with a local company might work for you now or in the future. he basically told the guy that if he stung him for a big bill this time, he would pay it but he'd never go back to him again. However, the bill hasn't actually turned up yet 2 months later LOL. Still you might want to take some of these replies back to the guy and suggest that this 2grand bill will be the last you ever pay him.
 
to remove and replace sternpowr outdrive, 2 hours tops, to replace the whole gear train bearings and shafts 3 hours, some one is being taken for a ride, and it aint me.
 
Thanks everyone, and particularly to Spannerman for his detailed breakdown. Yes: I, too am wondering what's the difference between a stern drive leg and an outdrive leg.

Actually, I think they've amalgamated two bills into one by mistake, and that the hours on the invoice are similar gobbledegook. Although I've had slight problems with the Yard in the past, they've always done a reasonable job for me at a fair price so I don't want to start naming and shaming - I think it's probably just an honest mistake, or a case of "computer says no" and I'm going to write to them, inviting them to redeem themselves. Much easier to do this with some informed advice..... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

PS: yes, they did replace the bellows - I looked before she went back in!
 
it's the bell housing that raises the issues for me - as spannerman.

so - if they have combined 2 jobs on your invoice fine; assuming they appropriately uncombine!

I am guessing that the second 'remove' and 'refit' relate to the lower part of the drive to access the impellor. OK but as already said someone's having a laugh.

rather interestingly you could probably have had a new leg fitted for that money......much faster and easier all round as quoted!

all the best in resolving it - I don't have an impellor on my BIII but can remove the leg, grease the bearings and refit inside 30mins with 2 people on the job and no problems - if I was replacing the bellows of course it would be longer - but not for the itemised bits listed above!!!
 
[ QUOTE ]
rather interestingly you could probably have had a new leg fitted for that money......much faster and easier all round as quoted!

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes; that's what I thought! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif Anyway, I'll let you all know how it goes, in due course.
 
I've seen a rather talented bunch of Scottish rib'ers replace a Bravo 3x leg in under an hour and that included lifting the boat in and out of the water. This was at the Kyle of Lochalsh. So I think you have been well and truly overcharged. Hope you can resolve it amicably.
 
so guys, if I wanted my one year old B3 leg inspected a reasonable bill would be about £140 + vat (2 men - 2 hour)

which this being the case might be worth it given the whiteliner senario
 
if you mean 'dropped off to check it's not leaked' then stuck back on then, excludding travel, this is not far away plus £30 for the rubber o rings that should be replaced when removing (you won't get a professional checking and reusing them like what I do (at my risk etc).

However while it's off I quick check on the UJs, gimbal bearing, greese the coupler, gimbal and UJs if not sealed for life and then put back together ..........

maybe 250 +vat + parts ?
then do the gearbox oil change yourself (it's £40 for the oil!)
and anodes
and drop the props off and grease the propshaft......(380 for the spanner........... /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif)

or accept about 350 + + for the whole job; increasing a bit when the bellows are done every few years
 
Last year I paid £500 to remove 2 outdrives (VP DPDs) which were well and truly stuck in place, replace oil, new bellows and hoses, repaint, antifoul and refit. The workshop/engineer was 20 miles from the boat. All in £500 and this was on the hamble!
 
"I think they've amalgamated two bills into one by mistake,"
Think you are spot on with this one,your first estimate is just about right,if a tad on the highish side..
 
For information I had a Full service and bellows change on
my Sea Ray 215 this time last year and was invoiced as
follows:

Total parts £213
Labour £427

Total including Vat £752

Hope this helps
 
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