outboards

[3flyingdogs]

i had a johnson outboard fitted to my boat two years back. now just three weeks out of warranty the engine started making all sorts of god-awful noises - my engineer says its the result of the gear box loosing oil and then sucking up seawater in its place , now the entire engine is a write-off.....

does this sound plausible - how can gearbox take water into the engine/cyls etc in a two stoke ?

shoud i get a new engine or a new mechanic? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[sailorman]

Talkto manufacturer its onlt 3 weeks out of cover, if that doesnt work.
"engine not of merchantable quality" might shift them.
they wont like a bad engine spoiling their good name.
if i am ever in your position i "spread the word", likewise if good service or product i do the same

 

[Roy]

Bought a new Johnson 9hp three years back and it broke its mounts first day out - nearly killed me as it came inboard my dinghy but managed to get the safety cord pulled quickly. Turned out to be an 'ongoing' warranty problem which could not be resolved as johnson had just gone bust and were under takeover blah blah. The dealer refused to refund me my £1200 and so began to sue him. He settled out of court by way of cash and a new Merc 4 stroke. Seems that Johnson have a poor name this last few years. You have a strong case under faulty goods rules etc plus higher incidences of warranty claims with that maker can only serve to strengthen your case.

 

[Wiggo]

If the gearbox oil seal fails, then the gearcase loses oil as it heats up and expands. When it cools, it sucks in seawater to the lower leg gears. These will sooner or later destroy themselves as a result of running on a yucky white emulsion of seawater and oil.

However, this will NOT all happen in the three weeks since the end of your warranty, so I would think you have a good case that the seals failed while still under warranty. Checking the gear oil is not part of routine daily checks, so would not be picked up till the next service, whenever that was due.

 

[jfm]

This sounds odd. Can you state the exact hp and model please?

It sounds like the service guy is saying the sealing has failed on the gearbox,and the gearbox has taken in lots of water, and busted. This requires a gearbox replacement/rebuild. However, this is somewhat odd. When gearboxes let in water it's usually a small amount and can be fixed by replacing the seals. For all the oil to be lost takes a major failure, or a small failure left unattended for a long time. But I'm guessing a bit, your post doesn't give a complete picture.

Gearbox trouble will have no impact on the top half of the engine. The gearbox does not suck water into the powerhead or engine/cyls. So it's hard to understnad why this is a write off. Gearbox replacement is expensive, but not write-off money

The engine is >2yrs old so all the "not merhcantable quality" arguments are unlikely to succeed - they are open to you only if raised relatively soon after buying the motor. Alas I dont think you have a bombproof warranty claim either. Failure on a 2+year old motor out of warranty is your risk, that's the deal. If youd wanted a 25month warranty, that would have cost more, see. You could of course ask for some goodwill help, as it's only 3weeks out of warranty, and if you word it right you might persuade them the seals actually failed inside the wty period, what happened outside the wty period was merely discovery. But be nice imho, dont threaten legals, as you are really begging for goodwill here

The other fly in ointment is that the Johnson who made your motor went bust and their assets were bought by bombardier. They have said they will honour old Johnson warranties, but you gotta realise your claim is less strong because of all this

Finally, you dont say how it has been used. Could it be your fault? Could fishing line have been wrapped round the prop, damaging the seals? Has it been run in gritty water? Is the gearbox oil examined reasonably often to see if has taken in some oil (looks like mayonnaise when water mixes with it)?

Next time, buy a mercury or yamaha imho

 

[cliff]

[ QUOTE ]
Next time, buy a mercury or yamaha imho

[/ QUOTE ]

Only half agree - the Mercury half - Had a couple of Yamaha 4T's which have been replaced with a Mercury. Yam are over priced for what they are and the 4 stroke is a nuisance

 

[Dave_Snelson]

My past experience of water forcing gearbox oil out of the gearbox was due, not to faulty gearbox seals, but to faulty water pump seals. The water pump sits on the main shaft in the gearbox ya see. Don't know what Bombardier would do about this - you could try their "goodwill"??

Earlier Johnsons were not that good - but are now meant to be brilliant under Bombardier.

Anyway - don't see what this has to do with the powerhead, unless the water pump wasn't cooling it, and I don't think that would be the case.

If you don't get any joy, seek advice from Bill Higham Marine in Manchester. He owns a mecca of second-hand spares that could save you money, he is also a good engineer, if you can get the motor to him.

 

[Viking]

Re: outboards -a complete mystery???

Brought a 4hp Mariner, 2years ago for the tender. I've used it no more then 2 hours. On removing it from the storage bracket on the pushpit I hear a small rattal. I open up the cover to find a small screw rolling around. Now I've seached and seached but I'll be bugged if I can find were its come from? The outboard still works fine. So come the spring its a trip to the supplier I suppose! /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[jfm]

Yup cliff. It very much depends on the hp imho. SOME yam models are better than merc, but SOME mercs are better than yam. All imho. We've mostly had mercs since 1970s, about a dozen of em. The 115merc 4t is a yam powerhead and merc leg, by the way