What would you do???
 

Just looking for advice. I had a local machine shop. Build me a motor that lasted around 20 hours before it dropped a valve and took out #4 cylinder. I took my lick saying "sh*t happens" so the shop agreed to covering all the labor if I covered parts which was around $900. 9 months later (august to may) I finally get my boat back with the new engine. Well this one had issues from day one broke two rocker studs and wiped out my valve covers which they sold me and found me some aluminum tall covers which had no baffles which I was unaware of until after 18 hours the motor blew up again wiping out the crank. I had asked why the motor had let go and they told me it only had 3 quarts of oil in it and I was at fault because as the operator I failed to check the oil!!! Mind you this is my third time out with the boat after the new install the first two times out was cut short due to the rocker studs snapping. So they tell me for $400 they can repair the motor again so I agree since I have no idea what really happened and the motor was no good to me in it's present condition. They call me a month & 1/2 later telling me the motor was done and I could pick up. I went to get it and they tell me I owe them $1200 because there was a lot of parts they had to get after they tore in to it. I am not happy at this point so I pay them in full and as I'm leaving he says you need to get some push in breathers because the holes in the valve covers are right over the pushrod and it is spraying oil up my breather tubes he says he has them plugged for now and I can run it no problem. so I ask is that where the 4-5 quarts of oil disappeared causing the motor to blow the last time and he responds it may have been a factor?? Remember he put these valve covers on for me. Obviously this was the exact reason it blew up the Oil was spraying up the breather tubes
down the carb!! So me and my wife leave there launch the boat take it
for a ride all seems well motor runs strong then I lift the hatch and out comes this huge cloud of white smoke from oil spaying all over the engine room. So I returned to the launch called them and he says it's a easy fix he will take care of it Monday, it is Friday and now my weekend is shot. The real kicker is he agreed to water test before I picked it up which he never did leaving me and my wife to me test pilots. I am done dealing with this guy and am thinking of taking him to court for the $1200 for the last build feeling it is their fault the motor blew up. Am I out of line?? What would you guys do??

Sounds like a shoddy engine builder.

I take there isn't any warranty? You might be SOL...

No both receipts state 90 day warranty which both failures were barely in to the first month. I haven't even mentioned other things he has done but I just wanted to focus on the big stuff. It has been a 2 year nightmare!!!

Were the parts that failled New or used for your old engine? Was thos a entire new motor? Need more info on this to give you my thoughts. Does the engine buider only do Marine motors? If it was a new motor pan to carb then yes he needs to man up and fix for free or return yoour money but I cannot judge this until we know all the facts

why does it matter if the parts were new or used / even from the original engine the shop build it and screwed it up rent a helicopter lift the junk engine up about 400 feet and give it back to them thru their roof they will figure out who it was real quick

did you happen to have paid by credit card if so do a charge back on your card that will get his attention real quick

contact a lawyer,see what he or she thinks,you could go ebay ed,s way,if u do,you wont have to worry or wonder how long before it takes a chit for the third time.even better,have them build u a high dollar motor,then tell them to keep it.:party-smiley-004:

Everything was new only thing we reused was the mercruiser exhaust.

Your in Michigan just call Tyler Crockett and he will get you right!

True story.

fixx
 

your in michigan, i thought michigan was a no fault state so they can get away withallot of crap like this up over their:coolcowboy:

Lawyer may sell you out small claims court 4k max I think tell your story maybe get some funds back?

Does the warranty list any specific limitations? I would try to hold them to whatever it says. IMHO..... Small claims would be the way to go. It would cost too much to have an attorney deal with it.

Thanks.

Thanks for all the feedback guys! ;)

Warranty says all parts and labor is covered dunno I have a Lawyer friend I will have read it before I go to court. He also said go the small claims route.

I would go small claims as well. Just a question tho, did you not smell or see the engine burning all that oil? Seems to me that if it happened fast it would have fouled the plugs, and if it happened slow you should have caught it if you check your oil regularly.

All the other stuff falls back on the builder, however you might have saved yourself some time and money by checking the oil. I always tell people, it is your responsibility to protect your warranty. Most builders will not warranty a low oil failure that happened slowly over many hours of use.

Good luck, and find a new builder :)

See post # 1!

I agree Tyler has done me right many times. Give him a call. This time of year you might get him when he is slow ( work load wise), but even then he has boats lined up with winter work

There was no smell or signs of trouble at all the day it let go, It is a 35 minute run across the bay to our state park so no I didn't stop and check the oil on the way to the park. however I do pull the dipstick before I leave the dock and it was full and I always do a checklist to see if the bottom plug is leaking any hoses leaking belts etc. I manage a Mercury parts & service department and I have been on a boat since I could walk so I'm schooled on operator responsibilties, but like I asked the builder, do you pull the dipstick on your truck every time you got to the store? On a brand new motor I never would have guessed I would lose 5 quarts of oil running to the beach! The motor runs great now and was built with all the good stuff but it was just the little things that were overlooked that made the last motor kill its self. I just feel because of there stupidty I lost a good motor and I want my money back.

-----I also will tell you to head to beautiful downtown Ruby Mi. and have Tyler Crockett do the job. You wont be disapointed.
-----I see where you are from,,,and am guessing who your "builder" is. Can you let us in on that tidbit, or PM me. I may be able to give you more info, if not help........Bill S

I'm not saying who built it until I get through this but I have heard he don't have many friends out there.

You can keep screwing around with a builder that is "screwing around" or just take your running motor to someone that knows what it needs and gets it squared away before anything else gets destroyed. This guy will not get it right, you need to walk.

Let me guess the builder is on M59

No not on M59 im
sorry to hear there are more of these guys out there.:eek:

To many bad ones. Make it hard for the good guys. So many have been burned by the bad ones. I was lucky Tyler did my first boat. I had great results so I stuck with him. He also races what he builds so that is a pretty good r&d.

WTF was that?

spam

BAng...!