Broken bolt. Mechanic liable?
 

A couple of quick questions for the people on here. Local marina mechanic broke a bolt on my water inlet elbow on transom assembly while troubleshooting an overheat. (hose closed by corrosion) Removing the bolt will require removing the engine to drill it out.

1) Is this the mechanic's fault for breaking the bolt or just one of those things to expect on a 13 year old bolt in salt water? On the one hand, I expect a seasoned mechanic to know when to stop, on the other hand, it's a 13 year old boat.

2) instead of removing engine, it has been suggested to plug the inlet and plumb the bravo water pump to a thru-hull. Any negatives to this.

Now the frustrating part. Mechanic who replaced my engines in 2004 was supposed to replace/check this hose. Let's just say this guy stopped getting my business several years ago.

Thoughs appreciated.

Back a lifetime ago I was automotive tech so I have spent sometime turning wrenches. Sometimes things go badly, not anyone's "fault". (especially in salt water boat). Sure , I agree 100%, you would hope a marine tech would spend the efforts and do the right things but nothing will guarantee things turn with breaking and work out right. I had to replace starter in my personal boat about two years ago and spent hours with penetrating oil and heat trying to free a seized bolt. Finally put the wood to it and it was at best a 50-50 shot it would turn or break. If it broke, that meant engine removal and a upcoming vacation would be boat-less. Lucky for me it turned .........but rest assured if there was anything I could have done to stop it I would have.
Welcome to boating, especially in a harsh salt water environment.

Might not be what you want to hear but sh-t happens especially on a salt water boat 13 years old. These things happen no matter how careful we are and usually at the wrong time.

I have to agree with both above posts..sorry bud !!!

It's only a 1/4 inch bolt, doesn't take much for that to break. Even if he stopped before the bolt broke, what would you do? You can't use heat on it so if the bolt didn't break you would still have to drill it out. I would pull the engine, should only take an hour or so and you will have plenty of room to do the job right.

Fixx
 

as stated chit happens in salt ware environment,if you want to blame somebody blame mercruiser for using a coated 1/4 ' bolt instead of a stainless one..some years had a ss bolt and others didn't..

i would have it fixed the rite way,it still needs to be sealed even if you go to a transom pick up,i wouldn't trust 1 bolt holding on..

Sorry :( but a 13 year old saltwater boat.........

:Whatever:

You should just buy a brand new boat so that you won't have to find someone to blame when your 13 year old boat breaks.

Thanks all. I've been turning wrenches on boats and cars for a couple of decades. restored a couple of cars and boats during that time. Sometimes I've had the luxury of time, oil and heat to free rusted bolts. Sometimes not. Stuff happens is exactly what I wanted to hear. I do blame Mercruiser for a lot of engineering clearly intended to benefit their bottom line and will not buy another mercruiser product if given the choice.

This was a problem I could not address with a boat on a lift.

CubicInches, mighty harsh words for a man with no knowledge of the facts. I'm actually not too quick to blame others but I will let you judge. I fired the mechanic who build my motors after loose,leaky oil lines, loose fuel lines, improperly routed shift cables which wrapped around my input shaft, failure to torque exhaust manifolds which caused exhaust leaks, improperly set limit switch on the drive, water hoses touching belts, continuity wires not connected on bravo 3 drive, grossly diffferent jetting on carburetors on twin engines . I let him fix his negligence each time under "warranty". Finding fuel in my bilge from that fuel line however was too much for me. Should I have blamed him for any of the above or was that just a result of 90 day old motors?

normal for a boat that age...and maybe break more when stuff has to come apart, corrosion can be a killer !!