Hit a rock - Maxum Boat Owners Club

viper12161 · 07-11-2022, 12:32 AM

So was having a lovely day out on the bay today, when BANG...nailed a rock. Outdrive was stuck in the halfway up position. Would go up, but not past the position that requires the trailer switch to go further up....would not go down past that point. Shut it down immediately after I hit the rock and got towed in. When I got back to my slip, I was able to bring the drive all the way up and then back down, so I'm thinking I just aeriated the hydraulic trim or something. However, I am leaking drive oil. From what I can see with it in the water, prop is great, skeg is fine...so I'm guessing I smacked the front of the lower end and cracked it. I'm having it pulled in the morning and can get a better look and see what's up. Anything I should be checking for here? Buddy has an outdrive from his old boat in his shed. Same drive, but it is geared for the 4.3 (mine is the 5.0), but I'm thinking I can just swap out the bottom end of the drive and call it a day. Obviously still sight unseen of the damage here, but does that sound plausible for a fix? I would think the top end of the drive should be fine....I hope. Any thoughts are very much appreciated.

Thanks

mmwjr · 07-11-2022, 02:47 PM

Are you certain it’s gear lube and not trim fluid? Inspect the gimbal ring and pivot points for damage as I have seen these fail from hitting things. If it is the drive I suspect the damage would be the lower half which hangs below the keel.

viper12161 · 07-11-2022, 04:15 PM

Yep, definitely drive oil. Went back last night to check on it and my drive monitor reservoir on the engine was dry. Marina is pulling her out tomorrow, so I can get a better look at it and see what's up

mmwjr · 07-11-2022, 05:33 PM

Post some pictures of the damage.

viper12161 · 07-11-2022, 05:37 PM

Will do. Buddy was at the local shop earlier today and was talking with them about my issue. They mentioned if its just a crack in the lower they can weld it. Ever do that? Not sure if that's just asking for trouble or not.

mmwjr · 07-11-2022, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by viper12161

Will do. Buddy was at the local shop earlier today and was talking with them about my issue. They mentioned if its just a crack in the lower they can weld it. Ever do that? Not sure if that's just asking for trouble or not.

Can’t say without seeing a picture.

viper12161 · 07-13-2022, 12:35 PM

A lot more damage than I was anticipating. The bottom of the outdrive is cracked right where the skeg meets the drive. And I cracked the lower ear off the gimble ring. Going to have to get the insurance involved with this one. Looking like over 3 grand without labor. Anyone ever had to work with an insurance company on a claim? Curious if they will let me do my own work or if I have to have it done. I'm not opposed to having a pro do it, especially the gimbal ring...but I also don't want to lose my whole summer here waiting for it to be fixed.

mmwjr · 07-13-2022, 03:54 PM

I’m not surprised by the amount of damage from hitting a rock at speed. Parts availability may be an issue as well as things have not recovered since Covid.

biggerseagar · 07-13-2022, 09:50 PM

Well I'll let you down easy but besides your deductible you will also have depreciation since your boat is 22 years old. I'd shoot for a new drive. You got a lot of damage.

Roger

viper12161 · 07-25-2022, 03:54 PM

And now the fun of battling with the greedy repair shop vs the insurance company, and I get to be the one getting boned here. Marina wants to replace the transom assembly, and the drive which includes taking out the engine. The insurance company only wants to replace the drive case and the gimble ring, but gave them 11.5 hours of labor to pull the engine and do that work. Marina is saying that's not enough labor. So now I am battling with them both. The marina refuses to just replace the ring and not the whole Transom...which makes zero sense to me...insurance is saying they will total the boat for the cost the marina wants. So...few questions for you folks. For the price they gave me for the gear case....I can pretty much get an SEI drive. Anyone have any experience with them? Few folks on my docks gave them good reviews, but the service manager told me they were junk (not sure I trust him to be honest). Anyone know what happens if they total the boat? I'm assuming I can buy it back...but how does that work? I have an agreed value of the boat of almost 17k...but that includes the trailer. So I'm guessing they give me a check for that, and I can then fix the boat...but how does that work in regards to title...can I still use my boat? I have no deductible.

mmwjr · 07-25-2022, 05:08 PM

Can’t answer you insurance questions. I would as your insurance company what happens if you follow their plan but additional damage is found while performing the work. i.e. damaged gears, bearings, bell housing, swivel shaft,...

I know and have heard mixed reviews on SEI, so have been happy with them others have had them fail in a year or two but these were covered by warranty. One thing for certain is their paint doesn’t hold up well.

viper12161 · 07-25-2022, 05:12 PM

Thanks Mike. I paint my drives anyway, so hopefully that helps with the paint part. And as long as warranty covers, I'd be ok with that. Drive swap isn't terrible to do if required...still sucks, but at least not the gimble ring lol.

mmwjr · 07-25-2022, 05:22 PM

Yea gimbal ring is a much more involved job. It can be done without removing the engine if you use either Mercruiser’s or JR Marine’s kit to do but these require drilling into the outer transom mount to access the swivel shaft bolt and nut.

viper12161 · 07-25-2022, 05:28 PM

But they got the RR to pull the engine anyway....so would it really make a difference if they were replacing just the Ring ($950 for the part) vs the entire Transom Assembly ($4k for the part). That's where I kinda got confused. At this point, if they are going to be a PITA...I'm going to do the damn thing myself. I would have to go the route of using the kit to cut out the access panel as I have no way of pulling the engine, but I found it odd the marina wouldn't do just the ring...since like I said, they got the labor to pull the engine either way. Not sure why he would refuse.

mmwjr · 07-25-2022, 05:39 PM

Did you ask them? I know some don’t like to because it can get into warranty issues. Say they just replace the ring and the swivel shaft leaks after doing so, who is responsible for that fix? You will say it didn’t leak before and the marina will say it was damaged which is why they wanted to replace the entire assembly. Insurance company will say not covered and on it goes.

viper12161 · 07-25-2022, 05:45 PM

Ahhh, that makes sense. I did ask about doing just the ring...he said no. And gave me something about having to drill stuff out to do just the ring....which is what put me on guard. I said "even with taking the engine out" and he said yeah. Wtf are you drilling dude....it's held on with 2 nuts and two pins on the side. If it wasn't for that damn top nut, I could probably have the damn thing off in an hour lol. So that was what made me think he was thinking he was being slick. I think he was just seeing $$$$ signs and the insurance isn't hearing it, so now he's pissed.

mmwjr · 07-25-2022, 06:17 PM

Since the insurance is willing to cover the engine removal are you will to spend the extra $3K to get a new transom assembly? If it were me I would consider it. New bellows, gimbal bearing, trim cylinders,...