www.iFourWinns.com

hey guys, i went out saturday for a 20 minute boat ride becasue the marina did not replace the fluid in the gearcase after repairs & froze up. now i am looking at a rebuilt gearcase costs, of course the gaurrentee has expired. any suggestions?

zif[url][/url]

Are you talking about the outdrive? If so, you're saying that the marina worked on your outdrive and didn't fill it back up with gear oil? What repairs were they doing that they had to drain the oil? When you say "froze up", what do you mean? A seized outdrive has the potential to cause a lot of damage to other components.

If you can prove that the marina is at fault for not filling the drive back up with oil, I don't think the guarantee expiring has anything to do with it. Have you contacted the marina and told them what happened?

_________________

1996 205 Sundowner DLX
5.0FL Volvo SX Cobra
Tow Veh: 2012 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X

I agree with Niagara. If they did not refill the gearcase this would not be a warranty issue, it was not their work that failed, it was the lack of work that failed. They can't warranty something they did not do. They charged you for something they did not do and materials they did not use, to me that is fraud.

Of course that is my I watched Judge Judy this morning at 4am opinion, but certainly something worth pursuing.

Do you have an hour meter reading on your invoice to prove the lack of use since the service?

_________________
2011 Four Winns H180 SS.
Aussie built Mustang 2800.
SOLD - 1997 Four Winns Horizon RS

Suggestion: Call a lawyer or file a small claims case. If the marina's "mechanic" failed to put lube back in the drive, there's no other logical solution.

hey guys, the plot thickens. it is the lower unit,they are calling the gearcase, yes it really screwed things up. the engine did start eventually but stalled when put into gear. presently the repairing marina mechanic has not broke open the gearcase to find exactly the problem for the leak of the fluid. the marina owner that made the repair last year swears she saw the mechanic put the fluid into the lower unit & it leaked out over time. the good news is that it the repair was not as costly to me last year as i thought. when i purchased the boat the lower unit was questionable & we had hope to get away w/o a new unit but it did not work out...

any ideas on where to pick up a rebuilt sx volvo penta lower unit for a 5.0 engine.

thanks for all your replies, they do help,

The repair work was last year? Again, what was the repair?

Is your boat slipped or on a trailer? That's a lot of gear oil to leak out without anyone noticing. Do you check your level frequently?

What year/size is your Vista?

Forgive all the pointed questions, but something just doesn't add up with this marina "mechanic" and their repair work.

_________________

1996 205 Sundowner DLX
5.0FL Volvo SX Cobra
Tow Veh: 2012 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X

Oil does not evaporate, and gear oil is very thick, so if it was parked over any kind of hard surface, then the oil would leave a puddle/stain on concrete or asphalt, etc.

Even if it was parked over dirt/sand/grass, there should be a sign of the oil leakage. It just does not wash away easily. Should be dead grass, or oil soaked sand under the drive if it had leaked out. Even months later.

If your boat was in the water, then a leaky drive would end up with a lot of water in it...would not be dry. Also the leaking oil would create the typical oil-sheen rainbow effect on the water that someone probably would have complained about.

_________________

"Knot Easy" 2000 Horizon 240 Volvo 5.7GS /SX
tow: 2017 Honda PILOT EXL-AWD
prev. boats:
'87 Chaparral 198CXL 4.3 OMC Cobra
'69 Jetstar 16ft Ski Boat, 115hp Yamaha
'68 Aluminum Jon Boat, 3hp Sears
'64 Water Wings

Not knowing what really happened, its a good idea for any boat owner to know how to check all the fluids and re-check work done by the shop. Its easy on the Volvo SX style drives there is a dipstick right in the top cover just like the OMC Cobra.

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

no doubt, these folks are shadey business owners. yes indeed, i will check my work done by mechanics, especially cute blonde ones.

good input guys....