Who/what is to blame??
 

Sorry for the long post. I had the complete top end of my carbed 454 rebuilt about 2 weeks ago, and have had it out twice since I got it back. The first time out, ran great. The wife and I could smell a burnt plastic smell in the cockpit area. I opened the hatch and didnt smell anything down there, so we just attributed it to a smell from shore because we were cruising the shoreline checking out some waterfront houses. So, took it out again this past saturday, ran great. Anchored up to the sandbar, hung out for a bit. Went to leave, and the shifter handle would move effortlessly, and wouldnt go in to gear. Opened the hatch, and reached back to where the shifter cable goes out to the outdrive, and it was worn completly through, because it had rubbed on the shaft to the outdrive. My question is, is the mechanic to blame for not tying it back up and out of the way correctly, or do I attribute it to normal wear and tear? Thanks for the input.

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

I think it would be hard to blame it on the machanic. Did he replace the cable when they did the rebuild? or is it the original one? No telling how long it was rubbing on the shaft. Just my .02

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

No, the cable wasnt replaced, but it was moved/removed to get the heads ect. off to work on. Ive never smelled the plastic smell before I got it back, so it seems like it is a new problem, but who knows.

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

Tough call on that one. Maybe you can work out a deal with him were you buy the parts and he installs it.

Jon

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

I think thats my plan of attack right now, but I was just curious to see what others take was on it.

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

More than anything - it stinks it happened because it leaves you kind of stranded.

Yes, it prob is fault of installer/repairer..........but, these should be replaced / checked every so often because they do have a tendency to wear and break on their own.

Relatively easy and cheap fix - well, should be. Local places here wanted $400 or more to do this with new shift bellow. Only took me about an hour or two of time and $120 in parts.

Side benefit is a new cable will make your shifting smoother than you'd ever imagine. :D

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

Yeah, was kinda stranded but luckily a friend was on the lake for the tow. I guess Ill talk to my mechanic, and see what he has to say, and go from there. Thanks for the input.

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

I think thats fair.

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

Well, just got off the phone with my mechanic, and he wasnt so sympathetic. He tells me the cable was probably routed wrong in the first place, so it wasnt his fault. It almost came to sound like he knew there was a problem, but didnt let me know about it. He thinks someone probably replaced it before I got it, and didnt route it the correct way. Anyone have a schematic of how these are supposed to be routed? Thanks.

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

By and large my experience has been that most marina mechanics do not do anything they are not told. Never are they going to tell you something is about to go out, put together incorrectly etc. Ask them to have the heads rebuilt, they do it and it gets done. Do they tell you about the fan-belt that is about to snap, no. Do they tell you that a hose is about to leak, no. It's just been my experience that they won't correct anything that is not on the work order. A very event driven profession. Just my experience though. :(

good luck and hope it all works out to your satisfaction.

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

I understand that part at a marina with 5 mechanics, and they just do what is on the work order kinda thing, and get it out the door. This guy is a one man operation, and does all the work himself. I guess I would have just expected different from an independant shop owner to tell you if he saw or noticed a problem or future problem. Whether the cable was already wearing out before he did any work, or he routed it wrong when he put it back together, Ill never know. Guess Ill have to bite the bullet and buy it and have it installed.

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

I ran my own boat repair business for about 10 years. In this situation, I would have replaced the cable. This is a very inexpensive repair. Certainly cheaper than most advertisements. This way I keep the customer, he "advertises for me" that I stand behind my work, and I have the oppurtunity to regain lost revenue through repeat business as well as possibly picking up new customers. It turns a problem, into a situation where we all win (customer gets a new cable). Not every problem is this simple though.

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

This would be my exact thought if I were in his shoes. Ive always had nothing but good things to say about his work, but something this simple makes me rethink it a bit. If he did in fact notice it, it would have saved me being stranded and then towed, plus the aggrevation of wondering if he did it, or if it was on its way out already.

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

Unfortunately there are a lot of "gray" areas, when there is a failure, shortly after a repair has been performed. In this case, it's an inexpensive (out of pocket and labor) repair for the shop owner. It's not worth the loss of a customer, if there is any question about fault. However, there are customers that try to hold repair shops liable for every problem that they experience after the work has been performed, whether it could be related or not. So every situation is different.

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

The fact that he thought it may have been run incorrectly and still ran it that way tells me he's a knob. When I used to work on sleds I can't count how many times I reran throttle and choke cables because they were to close to jackshafts, exhaust etc. I did it as a courtesy and let the customer know.

How much work does it take to reroute a shift cable? He is responsible IMO.

Were you out on the Torch Lake sandbar this Saturday? We were there for a few hours.

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

Well, I feel for ya but I can also see what he's saying.

If the cable is routed properly there is no way it will rub on the drive shaft. The cable comes out of the transom assembly off to the side and slightly below the drive shaft. It then runs outside of the bellhousing and up to the shift mechanism.

I've seen people mistakenly route them in between the transom assembly and the mounting bolts on the bell housing. This can not only make it rub on the drive shaft but will also make it harder to shift cause the cable has a decent bend it it. They also make a spiral plastic piece that protects the cable from vibration and heat. Since it's a pain in the arse to put on, some people just leave them off.

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

No, thought about hitting Torch, but just hit one of the smaller local lakes. Wish I would have been out on Torch, probably would have been more people to hang out with. I think there were four boats on the lake I was at.

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

Well I saw that coming, he was not going to admit to that one or even acknowledge a chance he moved it . I would have gone at him like this."hey dork Myer (optional) it looks like when you worked on my top end and had to unhook the cables, my shift cable should be attached to X spot, do you want me to do that? He says "oh yea, I must have missed that go ahead" then you say, well thanks for being a stand up guy and admitting this but it caused the cable to break since it was rubbing against the shaft. When should I bring it by to have you fix this?" It was clearly his fault, he had to remove this cable to remove the carb and he had to remove or loosen clamps to get it out of the way. This is a fact and I would go to the owner and explain this. You would not have lasted any longer if it was rubbing before and the smell is the key to the timing of this. I say make them be accountable for their work, which means the inevitable mistakes we all make but own up to them, no one is perfect and mistakes happen but you have to own up or be held accountable.

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

Looking back on it, I should have gone about it that route, and gone from there. Stupid me expecting someone to admit they "could" have made a mistake in the way he put it back in there. The other thing that makes me wonder that he knew he routed it wrong, or it was already routed wrong is that when I questioned him about it there was absolutly no hesitation in his response. It was instantly "it was already routed wrong". He seems/seemed like a stand up guy, but I dont know now. Its not only this, but we had a few problems while the head work was being done also. Anyone recommend a good mechanic around the Traverse City area?

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

My mechanic I use now, will always let me know if there something I should be concerned with, and asks if I want to fix it or not. Whenever I get an invoice from him, he even notes on it if there was something I should be aware of, whether it had anything to do with what he was working on or not.

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

The shift cable rubs on the engine coupling not the shaft.
routing of the cable is very close to the coupling.
I had to change one on the trailer the second day of a 5 day boat trip.
Had to drive back to the trailer the second day because the drive with the bad cable wouldn't go into reverse.( stuck in forward )

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

Your mechanic needs an edumacation. Not only should he have swallowed the repair and kept you as a client, he should have noticed the problem, brought it to your attention and charged you to correct it. Get another mechanic!
Bosco :rolleyes:

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

It seems that he's honest to a point and you've found it. Now that he has demonstrated this, you won't be able to trust him going forward. It's not the mistake that is the issue here, it's how he elected to resolve it. Bag him...find another mechanic :(

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

Ditto!!!

It's amazing how some of these boat mechanics lack common sense. :rolleyes: Hope it was worth an hour of free labor to him to lose a customer. :rolleyes: :(

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

Thats what my thoughts are at this point. I think Im going to try another mechanic that was suggested by another member on here and give them a shot. Its a little bit of a hike to get the boat to him, but I dont mind that for a little piece of mind knowing it was done right and honestly. Thanks for all the input guys.

Re: Who/what is to blame??
 

I agree with you on this one,,, and thats what I did, the mechanic is myself. It will have to be a drive or someting drastic before I take it to another mechanic. I let the reputable machine shop do the machine work and I do the engine and electronics.