Fiat4Fun
Petty Officer 1st Class
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2009
- Messages
- 224
Greetings all, I hope you are having a great Christmas season!
It's cold here, and the boat has been winterized, but thinking of what I should do?.
Here is a quick background?..
I have a 1986 Chris Craft 210 Scorpion, with a 260 HP Alpha One.
It had the original drive, and three seasons ago, I hit a rock, and chipped a gear in the lower unit.
Through my insurance, a shop replaced my lower unit with a Sierra complete lower unit.
I have had the boat serviced every year, new oil, pressure tested, drive removed?..etc.
This year, during winterization, my mechanic noticed metal shavings in the oil. I took the drive to the local
Mercrusier dealer, and they found the lower end had issues with gears being shaved off, and small metal
indentations in the gears. Called Sierra, and we are shipping the lower unit back to them to see if they will warranty it.
So, here is the big question. The boat has just over 700 hours, and the original drive. I was thinking I should just put a new drive on it, as the old upper has had it use of the years. If I go buy a new drive, do I go OEM for $2500-$3000 or do a SEI for $1400? The original has been trouble free, and I have always used original parts in the past.
I am going to wait to see what Sierra does, but really don't want to be dealing with this in another three years.
The boat has been trouble free, and I don't mind if I need to replace the drive, just need to start budgeting now for the spring!
Any thoughts on OEM vs aftermarket? Any experience with the SEI units? Three year warranty sounds good, vs the one year for Mercruiser. Sierra offers a lifetime warranty, so looking forward to seeing their response.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Bob
It's cold here, and the boat has been winterized, but thinking of what I should do?.
Here is a quick background?..
I have a 1986 Chris Craft 210 Scorpion, with a 260 HP Alpha One.
It had the original drive, and three seasons ago, I hit a rock, and chipped a gear in the lower unit.
Through my insurance, a shop replaced my lower unit with a Sierra complete lower unit.
I have had the boat serviced every year, new oil, pressure tested, drive removed?..etc.
This year, during winterization, my mechanic noticed metal shavings in the oil. I took the drive to the local
Mercrusier dealer, and they found the lower end had issues with gears being shaved off, and small metal
indentations in the gears. Called Sierra, and we are shipping the lower unit back to them to see if they will warranty it.
So, here is the big question. The boat has just over 700 hours, and the original drive. I was thinking I should just put a new drive on it, as the old upper has had it use of the years. If I go buy a new drive, do I go OEM for $2500-$3000 or do a SEI for $1400? The original has been trouble free, and I have always used original parts in the past.
I am going to wait to see what Sierra does, but really don't want to be dealing with this in another three years.
The boat has been trouble free, and I don't mind if I need to replace the drive, just need to start budgeting now for the spring!
Any thoughts on OEM vs aftermarket? Any experience with the SEI units? Three year warranty sounds good, vs the one year for Mercruiser. Sierra offers a lifetime warranty, so looking forward to seeing their response.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Bob
