Outboard service

[NorthRising]

Hmmm - the moral of the tale is learn to do it yourself..... which is what I shall do next time around.

I was asked would a week or two do - I said yes, anyway eight weeks (I kid you not) later several phone calls, and 3 visits to the 'outfit' concerned still no engine...

is it always this bad???????

 

[Seajet]

No it isn't; if it were me I'd get my engine back pronto and either do it myself or find somewhere which doesn't take the mickey...

 

[VicS]

Hmmm - the moral of the tale is learn to do it yourself..... which is what I shall do next time around.

I was asked would a week or two do - I said yes, anyway eight weeks (I kid you not) later several phone calls, and 3 visits to the 'outfit' concerned still no engine...

is it always this bad???????

I think if it is just a routine service, ie no repair work needed, I wold be giving them a deadline a few days away and telling them that if they dont meet that you will name them on a major internet forum.

 

[pagoda]

No it isn't; if it were me I'd get my engine back pronto and either do it myself or find somewhere which doesn't take the mickey...

Our dinghy sailing club has a safety rib with a 30HP outboard. Until recently we felt obliged to have it serviced "professionally" . It never felt remotely good value for money/time, so we eventually tracked down a retired mechanic with some outboard experience. We found enthusiasm, attention to detail and decent value.
The previous mob were charging over £200 for effectively 3 spark plugs and some oil..

I have no compunction about working on my own little engine for the dinghy. I've had the head off it on the pontoon once or twice! - clearing out crystallised deposits. You can get manuals on CD easily nowadays. You can even put the PDFs on a Kindle and have them in front of you.
Don't be afraid, very little in a small outboard is rocket science....

 

[rotrax]

I concur-a new chum here in Torrevieja had a 140 Euro service on his 4hp Tohatsu, which included an impeller change.

When he took us for a sail in his Hawk 20 the engine was noisy, had only drips coming from the telltale and ran poorly.

As he told us the guys who did it and took his money were not interested in looking at it again I suggested we pulled it in bits and had a look.

With only a few spanners and sockets we removed the power head to find the telltale pipe melted almost shut-from the impellor failure we assumed-and a seal missing from the gear shaft that allowed the exhaust out from around the shaft, causing the excessive noise.

Sunday in Spain, no available spares. The power head gasket went again, just a bit of sillicine sealer needed. I cut the closed bit of the telltale pipe off-the bit left was just long enough.

I found the float level in the carb. very high. Bending the lifting tab has made a vast difference to how the engine runs-it now two strokes! I had no info on the setting, but took a guess which proved accurate.

The gear shaft seal was a bit trickier. Shaft was 10mm, hole around it 13mm.

A wall plug for heavy screws was the best we could do-and works well.

The correct seal is on order and my new chum tells me that now he has seen how simple it is, he will fit it himself.

The whole job, including going to the local Chinese equivalent of a Pound shop to get a suitable wall plug took under 2 hours.

Small outboards are very simple-get the manual and do it yourself!

 

[Fantasie 19]

I think if it is just a routine service, ie no repair work needed, I wold be giving them a deadline a few days away and telling them that if they dont meet that you will name them on a major internet forum.

A little unfair at this time of the year though as everyone is getting ready to go back in - not sure if that's the same issue for the OP... I get mine serviced at Home Marine in Emsworth Yacht Harbour (wholly recommended by the way) and they give me an expected completion date when I drop it off.... there's only two of them working there, and there were 14 engines waiting for service in front of mine in addition to any emergencies that might arrive in the interim.... I was told two weeks, they actually managed to finish in 10 or 11 days....

 

[VicS]

A little unfair

Not if he was told a week or two and is still waiting 8 weeks later with no reasonable explanation

 

[sailorman]

If he serviced it himself he might learn how to fix it when it stops offshore

 

[onesea]

If he serviced it himself he might learn how to fix it when it stops offshore

Servicing outboards I have mixed views on, I do most myself. Then occasionally something that I do not normally deal with crops up. Changing an impeller is one, I know its not difficult but when the water starts to run slow or I feel a need it goes for a service.

The routine stuff of plugs and cleaning carb I do.

If my outboard is going for a service I will pay (probably through the nose) for a main dealer or reputable business to do. Anyone can bodge an outboard but to do a proper job you either need the time and patience or to know what your doing.

I can often leave stuff with people for weeks due to the nature of my work, I have learn not to. I set deadline and expect it done within time, if its not I chase repeatedly. If not 6 weeks later and job is not done :ambivalence:....

 

[NorthRising]

I had a voicemail indicating engine was ready for collection the day after my post and collected on Saturday, and actually got out on the water for the first time since 12/1/14 - so that is good.

The problem I think is communication between the chandlery concerned's sales counter and the mechanic:

- The sales counter said a week or two (back at the start of February) saying it was quiet.
- I chased after 3 weeks to be told it would be done the end of the following week.
- At the end of the following week it was not done
- At the end of the week after that it was still not done, and I was at this point told the mechanic was back from a 2 week holiday the following Monday
- The next reason was the mechanic had been on a training course in Norway.

When I saw the mechanic he had a shed load of engines awaiting work - literally. I don't blame him, he's on his own, he is as entitled to leave and training as much as the rest of us and in the 8 weeks since early February it will be starting to get busy, but the management of customer expectations was poor.

The merchant responsible is the more reliable of two outfits in Inverness; the other I would not dream of letting loose on anything mechanical...

I will be doing it myself henceforth, and am now rebuilding my old outboard so I am never without one.