Makes ya wonder why......

[flashback]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Ya know, I wasn't goin to get into this, but have any of you noticed how many of these threads run? You will see a lot of general remedies from all of us backyard mechs. then one of the pros will pop in and nail the problem. I have been around here for a couple of years, and thats just the way it is.. not to say that we don't luck up occasionally, but these guys do it for a living..I think credit should go where credit is deserved, so thanks to all who bust there knuckles turning wrenches trying to make a living...and thanks for the free advise ....

 

[marinemech1]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

i've been servicing boats for 25 years now just recently seen this sight some post are very funny some are not, some answers to problems or suggestions are down right dangerous, because i work mostly on fresh water the salt water stuff is interesting to me , and sometimes someone posts a question that i may be able to help with i'am more then happy to help because if a boater decides to get out of boating every one in the industry looses<br /> <br />a wise man once said just because its on the internet doesn't always mean its true!

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

limited time.<br /> a coupler failure due to lack of maint or improper alignment makes no noise nor vibration. your first inclination its failing is when the splines strip. a drive bellows can leak and not be noticed until the input seal wipes out and the drive oil leaks into the bellows. your first inclination is usually when the upper case explodes. you may notice some water in the bilge or you may not, depends on what is going on. the parts fail. all do. most give no warning. if your lucky you may notice a vibration before a ujoint failure or a growling sound before a gimbal bearing failure. or you may not. the seawater pump on that model is prone to a sudden failure if the blades become dry rotted. if you happen to be looking at the temp gauge you may catch it. if not you may look down and think" man I wonder how long that gauge has been pegged. a lot of inland fresh water boating is a short season as well so the boats dont work as much. merc says lube the drive shaft splines once per year. if the boat is not used often ill allow a every other year schedule. tomorrow I will be in cheasapeake working on a friends grady. a bilge pump failed and the water got in the bellows from the engine side. he paid no attention to it until it disentegrated. the input shaft seal will allow water in and the yoke rusts and cuts the seal allowing oil out when the drive is trimmed up.hopefully he caught it and all that I will have to replace is the yoke, ujoints and seal assy. will know by tomorrow night I hope. the gimbal bearing is toast. the coupler is aluminium and the drive shaft is steel. without periodic lube it wipes out all by its self. the coupler is almost 300 now on the counter and requires engine and drive removal to change.<br /> in my area if the drive has not been off in 9 years you can throw the retaining nuts overboard and save weight cause it aint coming off . hopefully your fresh water rig is still in good shape. I usually reccomend a drive bellows replacement every 3rd or 4th season. some last a lot longer like yours has. however when it splits the ujoints and gimbal bearing are trash.<br /> so sometimes ya just roll the dice and hope it always 7 or 11 .

 

[steve n carol]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Just wanted to say 'thanks guys' for all the help. and laughs!!!!!sl

 

[lakelivin]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

My perspective (as an extreme novice):<br /><br />As far as the original point about lack of maintenence, guessing 90% of the time it's due to ignorance. That's where this forum has been so valuable to me. I'm learning, and now there are alot of things where I know what I should be doing, and if I don't & something breaks I've moved from 'ignorance' (lack of knowledge) to 'stupidity'. I'd bet there are alot more like me on this forum, ignorant but learning.<br /><br />As far as how replys from 'the experts' are perceived, try to look at it from the big picure, not just your post. These guys are voluntarily giving up alot of time and adding extreme value to these boards due to their level of knowledge and experience. <br /><br />Keep in mind that they are answering a large number of posts, not just yours. They are dealing with people who haven't done a simple search see if their particular problem has already been addressed. People who ask questions but don't provide anywhere near the information needed in order to stand a chance of helping diagnose the problem. People who might post only when they have a problem instead of taking advantage of this board to learn and hopefully prevent future problems. I'm not surprised they may need to vent occasionally.<br /><br />If being exposed to occasional venting by experts who spend alot of time & effort on these boards solely to help others is the price to pay for their help, I say it's well worth it. <br /><br />As for much of the back & forth in this post, I suspect alot of it is due to the lack of precision inherent to expressing thoughts via a few sentances or paragraphs on a board such as this combined with a bit of heightened sensitivity in some. Seems like there is really not much substance left to discuss, & I for one hope this post dies pretty quickly.

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

rodbolt,<br /> Thanks for the reply...I guess I did not realize the marine components were subject to catastrophic failure with out warning . Just to use to automotive type failures...you know the type, low load plenty of warning. But if you think about it is more like a failure on a drag car or drag boat...heavy load big bang. S*** everywhere. <br />Guess Ill take on more off season projects. Don’t know how this translates but we go through about 400 gal. Of gas a year. Once again Thanks for your and all the pros. input on this board.<br /><br />L-T

 

[notinbig]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Don S, are we to assume you have never had a motorized veichle die or not start on you before. I hope you are such a genius in everything you do in life. We are so sorry that we are here asking for help.

 

[notinbig]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Rodbolt, we don't all run out in the deep dark dangerous ocean. some of us just run around a 100-200acre lake. Five foot what?!?!?!

 

[Reel Poor]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Ill try to translate for rodbolt. I also speak Southern Draw.<br />

rouhs up and the chop is 5ft tall

He said "when the ride gets bumpy and the waves are dam near as tall as you are"<br /><br />I hear these same queations at work day after day <br />soon followed by "so how much is it going to cost?", and I havent even accepted the job yet. Some customers {not knowing what the he!! theyre talking about} can even make up names for parts that dont even exhist and expect me to know what theyre talking about, so I can understand anyones frustration due to being overwhelmed by redundantsy, especially dealing with ADVICE, much less TECHNICAL ADVICE, in a help forum.

 

[sue5878]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Don S, Rodbolt, Dunaruna and all who help on this forum (that includes Achris when he returns)<br />your help is appreciated. Your frustrations understood. <br />Human nature that people take things personally, however no doubt not intended that way, otherwise you wouldn't spend all the time u do helping other boaters.<br />Bondo must be havin a weekend away.<br /><br />Keep up the good work<br /><br />Neil

 

[notinbig]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Reelpoor, all I can say is you are not required to be here or respond. and neither does rodbolt or bondo or some of the other great tech's here. Don't get me wrong I deal with idiots also but I don't tell them to thier face!

 

[notinbig]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

again reelpoor, we are not all out on the ocean with the nasty fishies and stuff, thats scary!!(HEHE)If my boat breaks down I'll float to a sandy shore before someone will tow me in! We get five footers also, it's you idiots in your fathers cruiser going to fast in a no wake or closed throttle zone.

 

[BillP]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Don S.,<br />So what the point is of riduculing folks about their posts? If they knew better the questions wouldn't be asked. Everyone has a learning curve. If I ask any motor questions here don't help me.<br />Bill P.

 

[RubberFrog]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Don is alright and so is rodbolt and everyone else. I regret posting anything in this thread because it has gotten totally out of hand.<br />If you read the original post it really wasn't all that bad. He didn't laugh at anyone or call them names. He just made an observation about lack of maintenance and breakdowns. In fact, the only 2 posts he had in here were to say it wasn't personal and he doesn't want a pat on the back. What more do you want from the guy?<br />Everybody is invited over to my house for a brew so we can all move on.<br />Peace,<br />George

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

hello<br /> I dont think anyone is ridiculing anybody. DonS was just pointing out a fact. fact is to many boats get the wrong maint or wrong schedule. you would not believe how many boats I get with the water seperator rusted through or the fuel line between the tank and the pump cracked and dripping. even in little lakes winds and sudden rough waters are dangerous. usually due to trash in the tank or half full water seperators. once the waters get sloppy and the wind is 35-40 MPH is where you really really need flaw less operation. its also where everything is sloshing so bad that all the tank nasties get picked up. now water is going past the water seperator and debris is clogging filters. just after that channel 16 lights up with a mayday call and coast gaurd station elizabeth city goes out again. mnost boats that are "taking on water" had **** poor and defective equipment when they left. commercial fisherman WILL NOT maintain anything. 95% of the I can grab any splice in the bilge and pull it right apart. most have pumps that are as old as me. they work but when its imperative they work they fail.<br /> notin big<br /> good luck on floating to a calm sandy shore with a broke motor in 45MPH winds from a sudden squall. here we have 25-30 sink each year in the sound in less than 5 ft of water due to just that. small boats calm day just out for a spin, maybe doing the 8 mile run from collingtomn to manns harbor for some fishing. next thing ya know its 40 MPH from the southwest or northeast and it gets sloppy. instead of immediatly seeking shelter they attept to make home port. in ten min or less the sound can go from glass to 5 ft swells. and as you get in shollow near shore it can become just random chop. if everyday was going to be calm and peacful there would never be a need for bilge pumps or life jackets or VHF radios or flare kits.<br /> how many posters on this board with portable tanks actually clean them out at least once per year? how many with fuel water seperaators actually unscrew them and dump the contents in a container for a debris/water check once per month? not many I bet. most will wait till it quits and repair the fuel system aand complain about the cost. I see this daily. get a boat in and they saay I change the oil every moth but that is about it. no preservative spray or wiring maint. no testing of the biilge pump, no testing the blower, and BTW if the blower is screaming when ya turn it one replace it . I know boating is expensive. it costs me as well. all we try to emphasize is correct and needed maint. yes I have had a machine fail unexpectedly. but I have never suffered a failure of maint. on my cars the belts and hoses get replaced every 2 years. the wheel bearings get serviced at 20K intravels. differential oils and and ujoints get it at 20K intravels the water pump on my vehicles get replaced at 50K intravels. over the years of repairing these contraptions I learned its far better fo replace a weak link periodically than fix the motor when the 35 dollar part quits. in years past auto motive timing chains would fail between 70 and 80 K or at the first overheat. I made a practice to inspect timing chain slack at each tune up or service.a scheduled chain replacement was much faster,cheaper and usually involved less parts than a failed chain replacement.<br /> I take my job seriously. my job is to inspect and maintain a rig so as it does not fail. usually I can detect problems and reccomend a solution before it quits.<br /> I have commercial rigs that have run since the ninties here in the salt pond. but they also do preventative maint on my reccomendation. 1 day lost during peeler crab season can set them back 10 thousaand dollars. a total failure and they lose a week can cost them 50K or more. failure is not good. the season usually lasts 1 week<br /> sometimes 2. on a good year we may have a second run a few weeks after the first.on a good season softshell crabs wholesale for 1.75 to 2.00 dollars apiece. dont have to miss much and ya lost out.

 

[rabidfish]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

So... we're all agreed then...<br /><br />Pats on the back to all who have helped...<br />and a "kwitcherbelliakin" to those who don't???<br /><br />Good... Now let's get back to work! SUMMER'S COMIN'!

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Did not mean to bring this thd. back up but felt this had to be noted....<br />rodbolt stated: “I take my job seriously. my job is to inspect and maintain a rig so as it does not fail.”<br />As I see it there in lies the difference between a pro and a hobbyist. Nuff said, now lets go to the lake!!<br /><br /><br />L-T

 

[Regal-89]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Well this post turned almost as bad as talking about which oil should be used in your boat!!! Also to BIG POPPA, yes I have pics PLENTY. It was a great weekend for the lake the sun was out everyday here in ATLANTA!! Sorry about my last weeks post, but it seems sometimes some folks on this forum should relax a little, but again I think I mis-read the post and took them wrong.

 

[achris]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

Sorry guys, I'm with Don on this one too. Yes, sometimes there are legitimate reasons for a tow, but lack of fuel and lack of maintenance are inexcusable! I have absolutely no sympathy for these people, they are a hazard on the water and endanger the lives of the rescue service personnel. I think a nice hefty fine for 'preventable' tow-ins would be the best place to start. <br /><br /><br />Chris.........<br />(Hope I haven't been too subtle)

 

[b4413]

Re: Makes ya wonder why......

OK. But does anyone have an opinion about type of oil to use?