496mag (375hp)
 

I took my boat to the dealer four weeks ago for winterization and some warranty work. This is a new 2002 Baja with a 496mag (375) that I took delivering on May 15, 2002. I changed the oil and filter every 25 hours and currently have 115 hours on the motor. One of the items on the list was noise I was hearing from the valve covers the last two times out this season. To me it sounds like a valve tap (I'm no gear head). It would only happen when the motor is cold, after temperature comes up it would stop and run great all day with no signs of any problems.

Dealer ran some test and talked to Mercruiser, but they have not been able to find the source of the knocking (as the dealer called it) The deal tells me that Mercruiser is going to replace the entire motor with a new one.

My problem is this, I live in New Jersey and as most of you know my 2002 boating season is over. Once the dealer is done replacing the motor the boat is going to sit in my driveway until at least April 15, 2003, or one month before the original warranty is set to expirer. I was going to purchase an additional two year warranty before all this happen but now I'm thing that Mercruiser should extend the warranty on the new motor.

Any ideals on what I should do?