Forum advice required for a newbie re service work - essential or not??

[Dorset Dan]

Hi, my first boat is out of the water for its annual service work. It has mercruiser mag 350 mpi and bravo III drive and boat is 2008 year with approx 230 hrs.

In addition to the regular service work the workshop have advised of the following other jobs that could be carried out, which as it is my first boat having it's first service I wanted a 'sense' check on what is essential and what might be preventative/over cautious?

1) raw water pump - whilst changing impeller they noticed wear on metal plates at each end of housing - cost of new pump approx £300+vat

2) exhaust manifold and risers - we couldn't see from past service invoices that this had been done and he said that mercruiser advised to do every 5 yrs, mine is now 7 yrs old. Cost approx £1100+vat

3) a small 1cm hairline crack was pointed out on front prop of the bravo III duo prop (stainless steel). The crack was on the centre of the prop where it sits on the shaft but the prop (blades) otherwise in vgc - cost approx £500+vat

4) the hub on the driveshaft (where the props butt up to once slid on to shaft) was reasonably well corroded - cost approx £300+vat

The above work on top of servicing cost, lift out, anti foul, etc so a bit of a check on what of the above is essential would be much appreciated. Also are there any refurb options for the prop or pump?

Last question - the anodes were getting close to disintegrating and when it was surveyed at end of Oct they were reasonable. It has been sat in saltwater on pontoon with shore power connected (dehumidifier on) over the winter - would this level of disintegration be a concern? I am told that the boat has a galvanic isolator fitted already. I have read that bravo III drives suffer corrosion badly but should I be lifting it out say 3 monthly to do anodes?

Expensive this boating lark ain't it!?!

 

[mlines]

To me that all sounds a bit speculative on behalf of the workshop. It does sound as if there is some corrosion issues due to galavanic action, does yours have a mercathode fitted? but it almost looks as if they are looking for problems/work

I would have thought a prop specialist such as http://www.steeldevelopments.net/propeller-repair-service-1.html would have been able to sort the props more cheaply.

Our Regal 2250 with 350MAG and Bravo III is nowhere near as corroded and its also a 2008 model. However it is a trailer boat so does not normally sit in the water. I would have thought that the risers could be checked for their general condition rather than just saying they needed changing on a time basis.

Martin

 

[Chris_d]

Impossible to really offer any advice without seeing the parts concerned, could be really good preventative maintenance but it could also be that they saw you coming.

 

[Dorset Dan]

Re number 4) I think on further research it is the rear bearing carrier that is corroding.

Not sure if it has mercathode, will get them to check as I've been reading up on this on the net this evening. Thanks to replies above thus far. I read that mercathode was standard on bravo III from a certain build date but I can't find out when this was.

 

[Jurgen]

+1 for steel developments, there are plenty of companies that can weld S/S or ali so would look around.

Re corrosion, if mercathode is fitted and working then all should be ok.

Are you on a marina berth? Possibly consider drystack. That would save on anti fouling and anode wear

 

[BartW]

hi there,

for the risers,
I remember from one of my previous boats that they suffer and need replacement every 5...7/8 years...

for the props,
perhaps it makes sense to have a spare set of props onboard, maybe alum instaid of SS
I alway's had this with Outboard engined boats
put these on, and have the crack repair organise by yourselve fe @ Steel developements

just to be clear, if the yard does the repair, they need to spend time taking the props off and on,
and the transport to and from the repair house, the administration, etc, ...
so they need to be paid for that, so no complains from me about their quote

didn't they mention about the bellow replacement on the leg,
make sure this is done at least every x(5?) years !
or any other service on the legs ?
you can never be too precautious on them.

 

[dpb]

You could split the riser from the manifold to inspect them, then decide from there.

 

[Dorset Dan]

Thanks for above replies. I think this is what I will ask them to do:

Do the raw water pump replacement

Ask the engineer to check the exhaust manifold/risers for condition and then decide what to do - boat spent a good number of years in freshwater so hoping not too bad re saltwater corrosion

Send prop off to steel developments (well first discuss with engineer and then steel developments if repair is appropriate) and scour ebay etc for replacements to carry

Clean up corrosion on rear bearing carrier (repaint if possible)

Make sure the mercathode system is fitted AND working

I had already authorised replacement bellow for the leg so that's covered.

 

[BruceK]

1) raw water pump - whilst changing impeller they noticed wear on metal plates at each end of housing - cost of new pump approx £300+vat

Absolutely must do, but £300 sounds excessive for it?

2) exhaust manifold and risers - we couldn't see from past service invoices that this had been done and he said that mercruiser advised to do every 5 yrs, mine is now 7 yrs old. Cost approx £1100+vat

Absolutely. Know weakness and you should think of this along the same terms of cam belt change on cars. One of those things that if you dont do will bite you very hard indeed when it goes wrong. But again £1100 seems very steep

The above work on top of servicing cost, lift out, anti foul, etc so a bit of a check on what of the above is essential would be much appreciated. Also are there any refurb options for the prop or pump?

As stated the prop can be refurbed but you'd need an expert to validate this. Pump no.

 

[russ]

I have the B3 bellows changed every 2 years as stated in the manual whether needed or not and the leg oil and impeller annually. Its peace of mind and a good service record for when selling on.
Don't forget to renew drive belt as I have had one go whilst motoring. Not much fun changing it when your not moored up. Keep the old one as a spare.

 

[Dorset Dan]

Took a pic and sent to steel developments but as crack is on central housing its non repairable so new prop on its way.

The existing one will make a large and expensive paperweight if nothing else!!

Risers being taken apart tomorrow for inspection so fingers crossed they are ok

 

[Dorset Dan]

So the manifolds / risers have been taken apart and there is a little water in the manifold and whilst they appear to be solid, it has been recommended that they are changed.

OEM parts (manifolds, risers, gaskets) are £1,004+VAT and non OEM parts via keypart are £520+VAT, see:

http://www.keypart.com/stock/18-1953-2 and http://www.keypart.com/stock/18-1976-1

Can anyone more qualified than myself comment on whether keypart non-OEM items are significantly worse quality? My mechanic recommends OEM as they are a mercuiser dealer but there is almost £600 incl VAT to be saved........

 

[mlines]

I have been using Keypart parts over the years with only one problem. However the parts I have used were not as significant as manifolds. The problem part was a "bellows" which would fit ok but would pull off every time I raised the leg. Was told by an engineer that the genuine part was a different compound of rubber and would stretch better which was true.

However if I was changing manifolds I would have gone for the cheaper ones myself.

Martin

 

[rafiki_]

I think you will be fine with the Keypart alternative. Check the guarantee, I expect it to be the same as the Merc one. The real expert on these things is Tom Parker (aka Mercuryman of this forum). Worth pinging him a PM. I would trust his advice.

 

[Dorset Dan]

Thanks, PM sent to Tom.