HELP! Botched winterization or just plain bad luck??

F16fixr · **Posted:** Tue Jul 07, 2015 6:34 pm

Hello everyone. I am new to this site.

I would appreciate feedback from anyone qualified and knowledgeable on the Volvo Penta engine. I own a 2010 H210SS which only has about 50 hours on it. I have had absolutely zero issues with it for the last two summers. The engine is so clean, you could eat off of it. At the end of last summer, I brought it to a new marine which was closer to my lake and cheaper for the winterization. Two weeks ago I put it in the water for the first time. I took it around the lake once and the engine died. Unable to restart. I brought it to the original marina I used previously and they told me when they drained the lower drive unit, it was completely full of water with zero lube. They didn't dig into it, but they informed me that the prop shaft seal failed. From what I have read, total seal failure is very rare. I am not sure if this drive has one seal or two. I am also not sure if they are rubber o-ring type seals or if they are some sort of brass seal?

Do you think the mechanic who drained and filled the unit at the end of last summer is responsible? Initial quote for this unit is $7,000.00 and obviously they are not taking responsibility.

Thanks for any assistance you can provide.

alex8q4 · **Posted:** Tue Jul 07, 2015 6:44 pm

Sorry to hear of your bad luck. It would be hard to imagine blaming a prop shaft failure on anyone.

$7,000 seems steep for repair as I think that is more than a new out drive.

taz42169 · **Posted:** Tue Jul 07, 2015 7:36 pm

You can pick up a new outdrive cheaper than that!

GottWhat · **Posted:** Tue Jul 07, 2015 7:44 pm

What kind of outdrive do you have? As others have said, you can get complete outdrives for less than that and only the lower for even less.

Bliss36 · **Posted:** Tue Jul 07, 2015 9:57 pm

If you had lost 3 quarts of lube that quick I think you would have seen a massive oil slick. My guess is the drive was empty from winterization and the seals are failing a pressure test now because it was run without lube. My prop shaft seals failed a few years ago and at least in my case it didnt dump its oil out but turned it milky over a period of time

fi.na.tine · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2015 2:18 am

1) when they returned the boat to you they failed to notify you of a problem.
2) the failure of your unit can be attributed to that issue. (Could be others, but...)
3) they want to charge you more than the cost to completely replace to repair it.
Get it repaired and tell everyone you see and meet to steer clear of the place.

rpengr · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2015 6:57 am

Bliss36 wrote:

If you had lost 3 quarts of lube that quick I think you would have seen a massive oil slick. My guess is the drive was empty from winterization and the seals are failing a pressure test now because it was run without lube. My prop shaft seals failed a few years ago and at least in my case it didnt dump its oil out but turned it milky over a period of time

+1

It sure sounds like they did not put oil back in the drive. I don't know how big your lake is...is "once around the lake" several hours? It seems impossible for a bad seal to let all the oil out and be replaced with water and the gears to fail in a short ride around the lake, unless there was no oil to start with.

Where was the boat stored...make sure there was no sign of oil leak as it sat over the winter. If it leaked out over the winter, then that's on you for not checking it.

But I would guess that this "cheaper" marina uses newbies to do these oil changes, and one of them screwed up and did not put oil back in our drive. Start writing down the chain of events that led to the failure, including the exact amount of time to failure. Also get a second opinion from another marina. You might need this for lawsuit.

LouC · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2015 8:49 am

Sounds like someone forgot to refill the drive; I'd look at their invoice and see what they listed as their services.
A word to the wise you should all try to learn how to at least check fluid levels to verify that work you paid for was done right.
Engine oil
Drive oil
Trim fluid
Brake fluid in your trailer master cylinder.

It's not hard and will save you from screw ups like this.

rpengr · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2015 9:56 am

Does anyone know if this could be an insurance claim?

LouC · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2015 10:54 am

Not unless the boat owner hit something or has breakdown ins. Should be on the marinas own ins if they own up.

alex8q4 · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2015 11:06 am

Likely not. The seals are ware items and that is where the insurance is going to hang their hat.

rpengr · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2015 11:49 am

LouC wrote:

Not unless the boat owner hit something or has breakdown ins. Should be on the marinas own ins if they own up.

That's what I thought. I would ask the marina to do the right thing and submit a claim to their liability insurance company, so you don't have to escalate and get the lawyers involved. They could at least get you a used outdrive in good shape, and installed for free.

F16fixr · **Posted:** Fri Jul 10, 2015 12:18 pm

Thanks for all the replies everyone. To answer a few questions, I did not hit anything. I only had the boat in the water for about 15-20 minutes MAX. I have called my homeowners and boat insurance companies and waiting for a call from from both. Not feeling hopeful.

The marina which did the work is not owning up to this since they believe the seals completely failed. I spoke to the mechanic and he said, "It's not on me. We aren't liable." From speaking to a couple boat mechanics, reading many articles and watching YouTube videos, the likelihood of both seals failing in ten minutes is near impossible. The second marina I brought it to said the plugs were installed. When they removed them, nothing but water came out. The second marina also stated they would charge me $500.00 just to disassemble it to investigate. At this point, I don't think I have many options but to have to pay for the entire thing. I am not sure if I will need to replace the entire outdrive or just the lower unit. Does anyone have any good suggestions on where to find these units for a decent price? I really don't want to pay the $7,000.00 OEM which was initially quoted by the second marina.

Thanks again!

Scott

GottWhat · **Posted:** Fri Jul 10, 2015 4:53 pm

Which outdrive do you have? VP, Merc, SX, DP, Bravo 1, Bravo 2, Alpha?

jayjay4735 · **Posted:** Sun Jul 12, 2015 10:14 am

The fast fact sheet for the h210ss shows that it the volvo engines came with the SX outdrive, so I'll assume that's what you have. Greatlakesskipper.com has them new for 5500 and even has a freshwater demo model available for 5k. If you wanted to look around on CL or ebay I'm sure you can find rebuilt ones cheaper than that. For the kind of money you're going to have to spend, I'd at least talk to an attorney to see what they think as far as going after the marina for the damages.

www.iFourWinns.com

HELP! Botched winterization or just plain bad luck??

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