New Rebuilt 302 OMC fried after 30 min running.... They say warranty doesn't cover it

[celebrater]

Ok, just bought a brand new rebuilt 302 ford omc motor from a rebuild company. After getting the engine i put it in my boat. it started find and i took it out for a test drive. after about 30 min of running at about 3000 rpm's i hear a change inthe motor sound and then i look down and see the heat guage rising to 210. I immediatly shut it down and get it back to the dock. I call the company who gave me a 1 year unlimited hours warranty and they say to send the motor back to them. when they get the motor back they tell me that the heat tabs on the motor are still in tack but that the front two cylindars were over heated and scored the pistons. they tell me since i didn't have a thermostat in the motor that the cold water from my ENCLOSED COOLING system caused a reaction from the cylinders that were over heating. i told them that i may understand it if the water cooling the engine was fresh water from the outside but i had a closed cooling system.... they said it didn't matter....has ANYBODY ever heard such a thing or are they trying to get out of their warranty?

 

[Bondo]

Re: New Rebuilt 302 OMC fried after 30 min running.... They say warranty doesn't cove

and then i look down and see the heat guage rising to 210.

Ayuh,... So you installed a brand new motor, 'n didn't check out/ fix the cooling system,..??
Is the raw water impeller trashed,..??
'n Why were ya runnin' it Without a T-stat,..??

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: New Rebuilt 302 OMC fried after 30 min running.... They say warranty doesn't cove

they tell me since i didn't have a thermostat in the motor that the cold water from my ENCLOSED COOLING system caused a reaction from the cylinders that were over heating. i told them that i may understand it if the water

That sounds totally rediculous

 

[HCMQA]

Re: New Rebuilt 302 OMC fried after 30 min running.... They say warranty doesn't cove

I am curious did you run the boat on muffs before you took it out to check everything out or did you just run the snot out of it?

It sounds like they may have a valid point.

 

[celebrater]

Re: New Rebuilt 302 OMC fried after 30 min running.... They say warranty doesn't cove

Ayuh,... So you installed a brand new motor, 'n didn't check out/ fix the cooling system,..??
Is the raw water impeller trashed,..??
'n Why were ya runnin' it Without a T-stat,..??

This is the original motor (1977) and it didn't have a thermostat in it. I was going to put one in it but when i pulled the themostat housing, there was no cut groove to put the stat in. i ran the motor at home, i checked the cooling system and it circulated great. I checked the incoming water that cools the antifreeze from the muffs and it was circulating good. I didn't just take it out and run it hard. just ran it in cycles like a few min. slow then speed up and back to slow to stop and take off again.... i just never took it above 3000 rpms out of caution. besides i had paid extra for them to break it in for me at the machine shop. they said they put it on a machine and burn it in for me.

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: New Rebuilt 302 OMC fried after 30 min running.... They say warranty doesn't cove

a proper failure analysis cannot be done in this forum. You own the engine, so get it returned to you and do a proper analysis of the failure (best you can considering disassembly has been done) and either go after the company legally if you think there is an issue, or rebuild it yourself as cost effectively as possible and carry on trying as best as you can to understand the nature of the failure as you examine the parts.
shop.evinrude.com has all the parts books online - you can check to see if there is supposed to be a stat in your motor- I'm pretty sure you'll find it must have one to operate properly. I have never seen a marine inboard outboard engine without one - closed cooling or not. The thermostat may not reside in the housing where you expect to find it, but the cooling has to be thermostatically controlled by some method.

 

[DragonBlod]

Re: New Rebuilt 302 OMC fried after 30 min running.... They say warranty doesn't cove

That doesn't even make sense. I have driven many cars without thermostats (temporarily) and had no problems. The principle should be the same since this is basically an automotive engine adapted. Keeping fluid circulating constantly should at the worst cause a slow warm up of the engine. I would get a a marina or another shop to look at it and get there testimony on what they think and get it in writing. Use that information in court because they are screwing you. I am guessing the shop used inferior parts and there was some sort of mechanical failure, like a bad water pump or valves are screwed.

 

[Gettinther]

Re: New Rebuilt 302 OMC fried after 30 min running.... They say warranty doesn't cove

Ok, just bought a brand new rebuilt 302 ford omc motor from a rebuild company. After getting the engine i put it in my boat. it started find and i took it out for a test drive. after about 30 min of running at about 3000 rpm's i hear a change inthe motor sound and then i look down and see the heat guage rising to 210. I immediatly shut it down and get it back to the dock. I call the company who gave me a 1 year unlimited hours warranty and they say to send the motor back to them. when they get the motor back they tell me that the heat tabs on the motor are still in tack but that the front two cylindars were over heated and scored the pistons. they tell me since i didn't have a thermostat in the motor that the cold water from my ENCLOSED COOLING system caused a reaction from the cylinders that were over heating. i told them that i may understand it if the water cooling the engine was fresh water from the outside but i had a closed cooling system.... they said it didn't matter....has ANYBODY ever heard such a thing or are they trying to get out of their warranty?

#1 unless i'm missing something " see the heat guage rising to 210 " in automotive that is not death yet .
#2 "the heat tabs on the motor are still in tack" Those are for their protection , if they didn't melt = no overheat sufficient to cause damage OR they put the tabs in the wrong place. Their choice
#3 "but that the front two cylindars were over heated and scored the pistons" is their something about this engine that the front cylinders get seperate cooling water? I DON'T THINK SO. In auto the rear cylinders usually suffer the damage first in my experience. The temp sender is at the front of all my 302 Ford engines and 210 might be time to shut down and check for a cooling problem but not a rebuild again.

If this were my engine i would get it back from the rebuilder A.S.A.P. don't let them touch it any further , make sure you get all your parts back. Take it to another machine shop have them mic the cylinders and pistons, an auto engine that runs in a hotter enviroment
experiencing this problem i would be checking for improper clearancing between the piston and cylinder.
The temp sender is just above those cylinders and 210 won't boil water but seems to have destroyed your engine, they haven't convinced me.Also check remaining cylinders for damage.

Sounds to me they don't want to honour warranty.

I also go with Bond-o /"So you installed a brand new motor, 'n didn't check out/ fix the cooling system,..??
Is the raw water impeller trashed,..??
'n Why were ya runnin' it Without a T-stat,..?? "
Thats just askin for trouble.

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: New Rebuilt 302 OMC fried after 30 min running.... They say warranty doesn't cove

That doesn't even make sense. I have driven many cars without thermostats (temporarily) and had no problems. The principle should be the same since this is basically an automotive engine adapted.

had you driven your car up a steep hill towing a trailer for 30 minutes at 3000 rpm with a hose coming from the ditch supplying cold cooling water on the rad... you might have had the same issue

but it's all speculation unless we can all get together and look at these failed pistons. I'd be looking for a "4 corner seizure" where the meatiest part of the piston (beside pin bores- thus 4 places) scuffs the cylinder wall - that says cooling system

whereas, if the issue is piston crown focused or ring issue - says assembly/parts etc