Hi all.

Well, my worst fear has come true for my 88' 175hp merc. My motor is
trashed, and the worst part is it didn't have to be!

Earlier in the year I had a rash of small problems, one weekend was cut
short due to a bad impeller (I should have changed it earlier since I just
bought the boat, so I'll take the blame for that one). I took the boat home
(200 miles away) and put a new pump in it and headed back to the lake the
next weekend. As I was heading back to the launch, my tilt and trim quit.
Another day shot running down and changing solenoids. The very next trip out
everything was great, until I fired the motor up to head in. The "no oil"
beeper continued to sound after the motor started, I shut it off immediately
and trolled in (luckily I was very close to the boat launch).

Here's where it gets interesting... I was sick of working on the thing every
weekend, so I left it with a shop in the area that was recommended by a few
people. I told the guy to check out the oil situation, whether it was a real
oil pump problem or if it was a bad sensor. I also talked to him about just
removing the pump and going to premix. He reccomended that I keep the
injection system. I also had wanted to clean the carbs and check linkage, so
I had him do that as well.

I headed home, and gave him a call during the week. He said that the alarm
computer was faulty and had a new one on order. Several weeks later the boat
was supposedly finished so I headed back to the lake. I was greeted with the
bad news that I had a bad switchbox, and he had decided I should remove the
oil injection system and mix my fuel. He didn't do it though, as he didnt
have the block off plate on hand. He said to use the boat, and leave it with
him after the weekend so he could do that (for the same price as the alarm,
which he didnt install, but assured me it was oiling properly).

I take the boat out, get it on plane for a minute or two, and it bogs down
bad. I troll back to the launch and take the boat back to him. He does a few
checks, and says that the new switchbox is faulty, but of course he doesn't
have another on hand. Another weekend shot. I left it with him to replace
the switchbow again and finish the oil injection pump removal, and he said
he would have it ready for the following weekend.

4 weeks later, after letting me down for 3 weekends, he says the boat will
be ready by the time I get there, and informs me that my stator was bad. I
arrive at the lake to find that its not quite finished, but will be in the
morning. The next afternoon I decided I would just go get the boat and head
home to finish it myself. I can't believe how long it took for me to finally
say "enough is enough".

Now, after my long story, comes the bad part. Once I got the boat home I
decided I had better check everything this guy "supposedly" did, as nothing
he said seemed to be true. I went to the local shop (they had the blockoff
plug that "was so hard to get" on the shelf). I pulled the injection pump
and looked in the hole with a flashlight to find that the nightmare had come
true, the gear on the crankshaft was stripped and the alarm had been working
all along. The engine had not been getting oil. I did a compression check
and found that one cylinder was only holding 60psi, and another was about
105psi. I had checked it right before I originally took it to him and
everything was great, between 120 and 125psi on all six jugs.

Here's where I need advice....
I pulled the head with the bad cylinders and found them to be scored. Not
incredibly bad, but definitely not real good. I haven't measured the bores
yet. They are chrome bores.

What are my options? I'm pretty sure I can rebuild the thing myself (I'll
probably have a few questions here). I know that the jugs can be replated if
they aren't too bad, and that they can be sleeved as well. How much does
this cost, and what kind of turn over time am I looking at? I have also
found several sites that sell rebuilt powerheads, but they arent cheap
(around 2800-3500 buckaroos). I know the cylinders are probably out of
Mercury's specs with the scoring, but the bore size may still be OK. Is just
giving them a hone job and replacing the damaged pistons and whatever else
is burned up (the cheapest route) really an option? I have found a complete
rebuild kit for about $1250 (new bearings. pistons, gaskets, etc). If I
decide to get the kit, I would have the block properly repaired. I am
guessing the whole job (with plating or sleeving) would be around $2000 if I
did it by myself.

So here I am...
$3500 for a rebuilt powerhead, I just install it.
$2000 (assuming I can get the block done for $750) for a rebuilt powerhead
that I do all the work myself.
$300-$500 to fix just the damaged parts, and no real block work.

I sure like the sound of my last option, since the rest of the motor and
boat is 15 years old. Just how bad can a cylinder be before it just won't
work?

This isn't a new motor. I don't need the thing to perform like a race boat,
I just need it to be semi reliable.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and possibly offer input (at least
condolences ;0) ).

Rich

On Sat, 3 Jul 2004 00:27:21 -0500, something compelled "rgdavico"
, to say:

Thanks for taking the time to read this and possibly offer input (at least
condolences ;0) ).

Sure.

I'd talk to a lawyer to see how much it will cost *you*.

This isn't a new motor. I don't need the thing to perform like a race boat,
I just need it to be semi reliable.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and possibly offer input (at least
condolences ;0) ).

Rich

Sorry to hear about all this trouble.
My opinion is that;

1) You probably won't be happy just replacing a couple parts...you'll
end up with continuing problems and always be wondering if it will
get you home.

2) You said you're sick of working on it. Doing the rebuild is going
to take up a lot of your time.

3) How much boating time has already been wasted with this?

I'd go for the rebuilt block and get it back on the water asap.
You're already going to save a bunch of money putting it all back
together yourself, so that should be somewhat comforting.

I do as much work as I can myself as well. Too many lousy mechanics
out there who will dick you around like that.

Best luck on it!

John C.

I've got an i/o myself but from my moto-x days I do know that you don't hone
chrome cylinders. You replace them.

"rgdavico" wrote in message
news:0trFc.1261$jp1.544@lakeread04...
Hi all.

Well, my worst fear has come true for my 88' 175hp merc. My motor is
trashed, and the worst part is it didn't have to be!

Earlier in the year I had a rash of small problems, one weekend was cut
short due to a bad impeller (I should have changed it earlier since I just
bought the boat, so I'll take the blame for that one). I took the boat
home
(200 miles away) and put a new pump in it and headed back to the lake the
next weekend. As I was heading back to the launch, my tilt and trim quit.
Another day shot running down and changing solenoids. The very next trip
out
everything was great, until I fired the motor up to head in. The "no oil"
beeper continued to sound after the motor started, I shut it off
immediately
and trolled in (luckily I was very close to the boat launch).

Here's where it gets interesting... I was sick of working on the thing
every
weekend, so I left it with a shop in the area that was recommended by a
few
people. I told the guy to check out the oil situation, whether it was a
real
oil pump problem or if it was a bad sensor. I also talked to him about
just
removing the pump and going to premix. He reccomended that I keep the
injection system. I also had wanted to clean the carbs and check linkage,
so
I had him do that as well.

I headed home, and gave him a call during the week. He said that the alarm
computer was faulty and had a new one on order. Several weeks later the
boat
was supposedly finished so I headed back to the lake. I was greeted with
the
bad news that I had a bad switchbox, and he had decided I should remove
the
oil injection system and mix my fuel. He didn't do it though, as he didnt
have the block off plate on hand. He said to use the boat, and leave it
with
him after the weekend so he could do that (for the same price as the
alarm,
which he didnt install, but assured me it was oiling properly).

I take the boat out, get it on plane for a minute or two, and it bogs down
bad. I troll back to the launch and take the boat back to him. He does a
few
checks, and says that the new switchbox is faulty, but of course he
doesn't
have another on hand. Another weekend shot. I left it with him to replace
the switchbow again and finish the oil injection pump removal, and he said
he would have it ready for the following weekend.

4 weeks later, after letting me down for 3 weekends, he says the boat will
be ready by the time I get there, and informs me that my stator was bad. I
arrive at the lake to find that its not quite finished, but will be in the
morning. The next afternoon I decided I would just go get the boat and
head
home to finish it myself. I can't believe how long it took for me to
finally
say "enough is enough".

Now, after my long story, comes the bad part. Once I got the boat home I
decided I had better check everything this guy "supposedly" did, as
nothing
he said seemed to be true. I went to the local shop (they had the blockoff
plug that "was so hard to get" on the shelf). I pulled the injection pump
and looked in the hole with a flashlight to find that the nightmare had
come
true, the gear on the crankshaft was stripped and the alarm had been
working
all along. The engine had not been getting oil. I did a compression check
and found that one cylinder was only holding 60psi, and another was about
105psi. I had checked it right before I originally took it to him and
everything was great, between 120 and 125psi on all six jugs.

Here's where I need advice....
I pulled the head with the bad cylinders and found them to be scored. Not
incredibly bad, but definitely not real good. I haven't measured the bores
yet. They are chrome bores.

What are my options? I'm pretty sure I can rebuild the thing myself (I'll
probably have a few questions here). I know that the jugs can be replated
if
they aren't too bad, and that they can be sleeved as well. How much does
this cost, and what kind of turn over time am I looking at? I have also
found several sites that sell rebuilt powerheads, but they arent cheap
(around 2800-3500 buckaroos). I know the cylinders are probably out of
Mercury's specs with the scoring, but the bore size may still be OK. Is
just
giving them a hone job and replacing the damaged pistons and whatever else
is burned up (the cheapest route) really an option? I have found a
complete
rebuild kit for about $1250 (new bearings. pistons, gaskets, etc). If I
decide to get the kit, I would have the block properly repaired. I am
guessing the whole job (with plating or sleeving) would be around $2000 if
I
did it by myself.

So here I am...
$3500 for a rebuilt powerhead, I just install it.
$2000 (assuming I can get the block done for $750) for a rebuilt powerhead
that I do all the work myself.
$300-$500 to fix just the damaged parts, and no real block work.

I sure like the sound of my last option, since the rest of the motor and
boat is 15 years old. Just how bad can a cylinder be before it just won't
work?

This isn't a new motor. I don't need the thing to perform like a race
boat,
I just need it to be semi reliable.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and possibly offer input (at least
condolences ;0) ).

Rich

Sorry to hear that .. I am not a boat motor expert but would say
either fix it right (whoever does it) or leave it. A semi reliable
boat motor isnt a good thing to have....

For the cost ... I would look into legal options for getting my money
for a repair from the guys who wrecked your motor. A lawyer may cost
you more but maybe you can go to a small claims court

matt


Thanks for taking the time to read this and possibly offer input (at least
condolences ;0) ).

Rich