Boat and motor repair mishaps.

[hooknhunter]

I had a mishap with my boat motor repair last night and it made me think that it might make a good topic for a thread. First my mishap, then I think it would be interesting to hear about yours (past or present is fine).

My motor is 14 years old and I'm certain the impeller has never been changed. On top of that, last time I was out I sucked up a bunch of mud and sand and the cooling water stopped flowing. I learned long ago to check for this, so when I saw no flow I immediately shut the motor down and cleaned off the screen over the port. Next I started the motor and revved it up and got the water flowing. All seemed good, so I finished out my day, but I kept and extra close eye on the water flow every time I ran the motor.

After arriving home and thinking about it I decided I should at least pull the lower end apart and look at the impeller. I put my motor on the stand and proceeded to remove the bottom end. After removing all the bolts I proceeded to remove the lower. Just as they came apart I noticed that the motor was out of balance on the stand and was starting to tip over. My stand balances nicely with the motor on it, but with the lower removed and the motor in it's upright position it will tip over. So, you guessed it, the motor hit the floor breaking the tiller and controls. BUMMER!

A $20 repair is now going to be at least a $140 repair. And my motor is down for at least 4 days to boot.[frown]

Have any stories that might be helpful so we can learn from others mistakes? Perhaps you have a humorous story to share?

[Mojo1]

I have many, but most of them are the result of taking my motors to shops, where the mechanics were inept.

Then ther was the time I put my waterpump impeller in backwards, and couldn't figure out why my overtemp alarm was sounding. That took about 45 minutes to fix at the ramp.
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[elkmagnet]

Bummer.
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[fish_or_die]

Made the yearly "man's trip" down to powell a couple years ago. Got into ticaboo about 1am and decided to fill up gas while we were there. Boat had a two stroke 40 on it and the marks on the oil container were illegible...some of you know where I'm going with this now. Made my best guess as to how much oil 6 gallons of gas needed and made our way to the lake.

The next day we launched and ran up into bullfrog bay and proceeded to sight fish big spawning female bucketmouths on beds. It was the best bass fishing I've ever seen!

Lunch came around and we decided we needed to make camp so we ran back to the marina and loaded the boat with our gear. Idling out of the no wake zone my motor made a distinct CHUNK sound and siezed. Bad language ensued and the trip was over. Five hour drive home to think about it.

Got home and tore the powerhead apart and sure enough, a bearing had exploded and destroyed the motor. $900 later it was revived.
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[Kodiak1]

Years ago, I had small Suzuki trolling motor which started leaking fuel. I took it to the dealer on Chinden Blvd. here in Boise. He pointed out that the built-in plastic fuel tank had cracked and needed replacing. Several days later I got a call and was told it had been replaced. I was told they had to buy it on the secondary market and payed a fortune for it. But, I ponied up the money and took it home. The next day I noticed it was leaking, and took it to a friend in a local garage. Turns out they had taken the old tank and glued the crack shut. I called them and they admitted what they had done, and yes, it was stupid of them not to realized that the gas would weaken the glue. They told me they had fired the mechanic, and if I would be patient they would give me a new motor to salvage their reputation. "Come back Monday at 6:00 and pick up your new motor". Wow! How cool. I returned at 6 on Monday to find a sign on the door stating that they had closed the business, and if they hadn't picked up motors in for service, they had been considered abandoned and tossed. Contacted Suzuki, who said in effect "bummer". Mike
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[idahoron]

A couple years ago I had a Sportsman's Warehouse 10' boat. I decided to put a 2.6 HP Coleman gas motor on it. After several trips going up river through rapids into sturgeon holes I broke the frame. I took it to a welder in town and he said that when the motor thrust down the pontoons pushed out. Then when I let up on the gas they flexed back. And like a wire bent several times the frame work hardened and broke almost every weld.
I contacted Outcast. I told them it was my fault and that I had broken it out of stupidity. They replaced it no cost to me. They said your the guy that is catching Sturgeon in our boats. We need to get you back on the water. They earned my future business. Ron
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[idahoron]

Now for the Coleman 2.6 HP problems.
I took my boat fishing with that motor. I had it on the trailer and the bracket that clams it on the boat snapped off driving down a gravel road. I took it back to Cabelas and they replaced it. I didn't think they were going to be I told them I could have ordered the motor on line cheaper but I went with Cabelas because of the way they back their products. I walked out with a new motor.
Last I used that motor the whole year and on the last trip into the sturgeon hole I finished for the day and headed out. I got about a 1/2 mile and ran out of gas. I took out the bottle I was carrying and poured it in. I went about 1 mile and the motor died. I got it started and it ran about 2 miles and died. I got it going again and got it to run all the way to the dock. I turned off the gas and ran it out. I emptied the tank and got it ready for storage for the winter. I got to reading about how Ethanol is poison for small motors and found pure gas. I changed the plugs and started using the pure gas. I haven't had any troubles sense. Ron
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[Jimbojump]

Last year a buddy of mine had a Hewes River runner jet boat given to him by his father in law. He had purchased it brand new and only used it a few times. Due to some family drama it sat parked beside the house uncovered for 10 years...yeah...you heard me...10 YEARS! So when we got it home we had to go thru everything! The floor was toast, seats were shot..etc. Now I being the mechanical guru was given the task of getting the two engines back up and running...I proceeded to go thru and check all the pertinent systems. The amazing thing was that even though the covers were a little oxidized from sunburn...the internals looked brand spanking new! So I had to fog the systems needing lubricated of course. I found that on both motors the cooling water ejection hoses were packed tight with mud wasp goo that was so dry and tight I had to use a drill bit to dislodge it. Initial start up went great but I was pulling fuel from a gas can since I had not yet checked the condition of the tanks. Those babies ran like a champ! Now this is where it got tricky. The previous setup had a separate 5 gallon tank for the little kicker motor...I decided to eliminate it for space reasons...so not knowing any better, I bought new fuel line and fittings and set it up so that the line came from the main tank...to the pressure bulb...to a Y fitting and then to both engines.
I pumped the ball and fired the engines and all seemed well. It wasn't until we were on the Snake above Celebration park until problems ensued...we had just blown up our first decent sized rapid when the main engine conked out...wouldn't start...bulb was full and pumped up but it was not getting fuel for some at the time unknown reason...we drifted across a bowl into some thick weeds and had to use the anchor to pull us clear. I got her running again and all seemed fine until the next rapid. Drifting down rapids with no control is a bit stressful to say the least...even the little kicker motor wouldn't run..."should have been a clue"..we ended up getting towed by F&G to the ramp and going home...later, I found out that you cannot use a Y fitting for two motors. This is why....when the big motor is running it pulls fuel from the point of least resistance...which apparently is the fuel bowls of the kicker motor...once that fuel runs out, it sucks air and dies...So 85 bucks later we now have the problem solved and installed a manual fuel tank selector. So that way its one motor or the other but not both at the same time...so far all is well! So hopefully on our next river outing we can smash thru those pesky rapids and not stall out at very unsafe times.
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[idahoron]

I wondered how that all turned out. Ron
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[Kent]

I needed to replace my outboard a couple years ago. Found a used one for sale on KSL.com.

Went to the guys' house to check it out, and because they didn't know how to remove the controls with the outboard from their old boat, they had just cut the cables and removed the outboard.

Took the outboard to a local shop to have it installed with new controls. Picked the boat up after a few days and headed to Utah Lake to test out the outboard. Picked up a fishing buddy to drive my Suburban and launch my boat. Launched the boat and the engine fired right up. Headed out of the marina when I started to smell something hot. Felt the throttle cover and it was extremely hot and the engine died.

Decided to fire up my trolling motor and use it to get the boat back on the trailer. My fishing buddy backed the trailer into deeper water than I like but I decided to try it anyway. Everything went fine until I got the boat on the trailer and couldn't get the trolling motor into reverse quickly enough to stop the forward momentum. The bow of the boat went through one of the rear windows of the Suburban.

Replaced the window and took it to Lee's Marine and got the throttle installed correctly.
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