Boat Service And Problem Not Fixed !

[joshagius]

hey guys i own a 40hp mercury lightning xr i had a problem with the engine were i would be driving it and it would differ in speed by itself and then afew moments later splutter and would turn itself off i would check the back fuel bulb on the fuel lines and it would be completley soft.

i hadnt had the engine serviced for about a year and was well due for its 100hr service so i took it to a place and had some work done and a service and later payed 500 and was asured the problem had been fixed awsome i can fish again !!!

3 trips later out on the boat problem is back again i visited the owner and explained i wasnt happy i had payed all this money and the problem wasnt fixed he explained that he can charge 3 hours labour to test run boats after they have been servied to check if problems have been fixed or give them back to the owner for the owner to test run and see if the problem occours again which saves you 3 hours in labour cost off your bill (which does sound nice of him), and if the problen is still there he personally meets you and comes test drives your boat with you to diagnose the problems then fix the boat again. the thing i am lost with is am i expected to pay more money for the boat to be fixed or should it have been fixed from my origoanl payment ? does this sound right what this mechanic is doing or as a qualified motor mechanic should they be able to diagnose problems from the workshop and fix them there ? as i have only owned a boat for 1.5 years i am in a bit of a pickle as i have not much experience. i am also only 22 so i am wondering if he is trying to take a young bloke for a ride. some advice would be greatly appreciated cheers guys.

[pinta_bay_pirates]

Man....it was so hard reading that...

Its normal for the bulb to go soft"ish" after you start the engine... Although it does sound like you have a fuel pump problem...or a leak in fuel lines.. I doubt it will be anything major... Take it to Hueys...after all, he is the sponsor, not to mention he is pretty good at what he does.... there's a mobile sponsor too...right?? but he will charge a call out fee i would guess..

But check the fuel lines first..might save you a trip..

[adjustedpete]

I live very close to you and I take my boat to Huey. It is totally worth it. Not only do you get really good work done.They give you good advice and even give you a discount AND make sure your boat is in tip top condition. Just the discount alone will pay for your fuel there and back.But you cant buy the way they treat you. ..........You wont be sorry.

[Guest]

I have been going to Huett Marine for over 4 yrs now and the service and prices are second to none.

You hear all these stories about bodgey work and it just reinforces my decision to go to Cowan and get my work done by professionals.

You can take your boat over on a Saturday and leave it at Huetts and pick it up a week or a few days later knowing that everything was fixed and you dont have to go back and shell out any more of your hard earned $$$.

Regards Stewy.

PS even if Huett Marine werent sponsors of our Site,I would still use their business because of the confidence I have in them.

[david88]

Hey mate, i own a pretty dodgy boat so im used to problems happening all the time,

I know it sounds really obviouse but have you checked to make sure that your fuel tank is venting properly?

If there is no way for air to enter your tank then the motor cannot suck fuel out of it and it will eventually splutter and stall, leaving you with a soft bulb.

Make sure the little vent thing on top of your fuel tank cap is open.

[DGF]

i had that same problem and it was because there was air in the fuel lines and fuel wasn't getting to the carbies on the motor i basically by passed a section (some massive fuel filter type of thing) and it worked well after that however im still going to have it all checked up and serviced completely Ashely from Xtreme Mobile marine had said the same thing when i explained it to him as well

[a boat]

Hi, if it ran fine for 3 trips and does not always muck up than I doubt it will be something like air being sucked into the fuel line. To confirm this connect fuel line to engine and prime the primer bulb very hard to pressurise the fuel system and if there is not fuel leaks than most likely no air leaks, although I had seen very small holes, damaged o-rings that can leak air, but as I said earlier hard to believe that it ran fine for 3 trips and then started to muck up.

It is a tough situtaion and if a problem always happens for a trained tech it can be easy to fix, but if you run around for an hour lets say and the engine does not muck up it is pretty hard to work out what is wrong and someone has to pay and usually the owner is the one, even though they might not have found an issue because the engine ran fine for them.

Cheers,

Huey.

[joshagius]

hey guys i went for a test run with the owner of the marine mechanics today and the problem would not happen we gave it a solid 45 mins run around on every different type of speed and it wouldnt happen i am so frustrated about that. The strange thing is last week it would only happen when moveing at a resnobly fast pace to full throtle if i was trolling or heading back threw a 4 or 8 knot zone it wouldnt happen.

the guy has agreed to come out and check it out when it happens again as i launch the boat at bayview and his shop is only in warriewood.

[andrew399]

Take it to hueys = problem solved

[Dhutchy]

Mate, when this many blokes, with this many different boats, with such broad expereince are, for no other reason than pointing you towards a solution, saying take it to Huey's and the pain will be over...There's a msg in there somewhere. Take it to Huey's

Good luck with it

Rgds

Dhutchy

[pinta_bay_pirates]

Mate, when this many blokes, with this many different boats, with such broad expereince are, for no other reason than pointing you towards a solution, saying take it to Huey's and the pain will be over...There's a msg in there somewhere. Take it to Huey's

Good luck with it

Rgds

Dhutchy

Like huey said though... It's hard to fix it when you don't see the problem.. Not all mechanics are dodgy..

[Catchin Jack]

Yep take it to Huetts Marine, i'm taking mine there Monday for a service, plenty close to me but the 1hr drive will be worth it knowing it's going to be done properly.

Cheers,

Leo

[DGF]

so how far is hueys from sydney might take mine up too :/

[Guest]

so how far is hueys from sydney might take mine up too :/

Its at Cowan on the Pacifc Highway and is an easy 1 hour drive at most each way.

Cheers Stewy

[DGF]

ahhh ok before brooklyn might arrange something then like drop boat off get serviced (if it can be done in one day) goto avoca catch bonito till its ready come back pick up boat goto brooklyn and chase jewies

[bluebottle18]

ahhh ok before brooklyn might arrange something then like drop boat off get serviced (if it can be done in one day) goto avoca catch bonito till its ready come back pick up boat goto brooklyn and chase jewies

[bluebottle18]

ahhh ok before brooklyn might arrange something then like drop boat off get serviced (if it can be done in one day) goto avoca catch bonito till its ready come back pick up boat goto brooklyn and chase jewies

Top idea . But you could take the wife to Hornsby for lunch and shopping and a movie on half price Tuesday.

OOOOOps not a good idea.

[joshagius]

Thank you all for your advice i think i will have to bite the bullet cut my loses and head to huett marine. thanks to all for the adivce happy fishing.

[Longy]

Thank you all for your advice i think i will have to bite the bullet cut my loses and head to huett marine. thanks to all for the adivce happy fishing.

dropping out boat around there today (Sat), it might be a bit more travel time, but if you get great service and reliable workmanship, no distance is to far to travel for that.