JK230SP
Member
If you followed my questions/comments on the supercharger rebuild thread, following the advice of many, I took my 2012 230 SP to my dealer (in December) to have both superchargers rebuilt, both pumps serviced/lubricated, oil change....and a series of other minor repair issues handled. My boat had 20 hours on it when I purchased it one year ago, and 80 hours at the end of the 2018 season. Instead of taking a 7 year old boat up to 140 hours by the end of 2019, I opted to do the supercharger rebuild over the winter.
Yesterday, two weeks after being handed the completed boat, I put it in the water for the first time yesterday. About one hour into my run while cruising at around 4000 rpm, the port side engine started to shake, clank and sputter...there were loud, metallic, scraping sounds...which to me sounded like I had ingested a tree limb, or hit something floating (I was in 30 feet of water, so it was not associated with sucking up a rock...etc). Then the motor quit. I restarted it...lots of noise and not much power, and it quit again when allowed to idle. I limped back to my dock on one engine but upon inspection saw NOTHING in the pump/impeller...so today I brought it back to the dealer.
They restarted the motor, heard the same grinding noise but could not see anything in the pump. So they took off the pump.....and discovered the source of the vibration was the SUPERCHARGER THAT WAS JUST OVERHAULED! The technician who did the overhaul admitted that instead of replacing a bearing set he thought was worn, he repacked it with grease and kept it in the case. Within one-hour of operation after the overhaul, the bearing set disintegrated, and caused the motor enough drag to shut it down. The dealer was apologetic, said his tech was inexperienced and made a mistake. They have re-ordered another rebuild kit and are hoping to have the boat back to me in a few days.
Now the magic question: I thought the reason to overhaul the supercharger was to avoid a more catastrophic failure that would potentially blow bearings....chunks of the assembly throughout the motor's intake....which could cause extensive motor damage. Although the motor shut down when the bearing came apart, I did again restart the motor...ran it to help me get the boat on a trailer in a 30 mph Texas crosswind...had it stall a few times, while all-along I though I was dealing with a prop or pump issue! Since I JUST had the superchargers overhauled, I never even considered it could be a bearing set letting go! However, this is exactly what happened.
This is where you, a member of the forum can help: tell me what you would do at this point. Trust the dealer who is going to hand me a "fixed" supercharger but a potentially wounded engine next week? Ask the dealer to also overhaul the motor at their cost as a preemptive move on undiscovered damage (not a desired path as I could lose the boat for months - in prime boating season - while the work is being done). Trade the boat in for something else and get the dealer to support any financial downside resulting from the switch?
As my boat was built in 2012, the bearings were supposedly not the high-risk ceramic ones that were known to blow parts into the intake manifold...cylinders...etc.. HOWEVER, I am concerned not just about the future expense, but rather the future hassle of finding further damages as I try to run the boat throughout the next year...and the next...etc.
To me, the value of the boat is directly tied to my ability to use it without dragging it back and forth (1.5 hours each way) between my remote dock and the dealership. Do you think I am taking too much risk in accepting a boat and a motor that has had a supercharger failure....after paying a dealer for the very service that was expected to prevent this from occurring in the first place?
I will welcome any advice/experience you care to share!
JK230SP - Dallas, Texas
Yesterday, two weeks after being handed the completed boat, I put it in the water for the first time yesterday. About one hour into my run while cruising at around 4000 rpm, the port side engine started to shake, clank and sputter...there were loud, metallic, scraping sounds...which to me sounded like I had ingested a tree limb, or hit something floating (I was in 30 feet of water, so it was not associated with sucking up a rock...etc). Then the motor quit. I restarted it...lots of noise and not much power, and it quit again when allowed to idle. I limped back to my dock on one engine but upon inspection saw NOTHING in the pump/impeller...so today I brought it back to the dealer.
They restarted the motor, heard the same grinding noise but could not see anything in the pump. So they took off the pump.....and discovered the source of the vibration was the SUPERCHARGER THAT WAS JUST OVERHAULED! The technician who did the overhaul admitted that instead of replacing a bearing set he thought was worn, he repacked it with grease and kept it in the case. Within one-hour of operation after the overhaul, the bearing set disintegrated, and caused the motor enough drag to shut it down. The dealer was apologetic, said his tech was inexperienced and made a mistake. They have re-ordered another rebuild kit and are hoping to have the boat back to me in a few days.
Now the magic question: I thought the reason to overhaul the supercharger was to avoid a more catastrophic failure that would potentially blow bearings....chunks of the assembly throughout the motor's intake....which could cause extensive motor damage. Although the motor shut down when the bearing came apart, I did again restart the motor...ran it to help me get the boat on a trailer in a 30 mph Texas crosswind...had it stall a few times, while all-along I though I was dealing with a prop or pump issue! Since I JUST had the superchargers overhauled, I never even considered it could be a bearing set letting go! However, this is exactly what happened.
This is where you, a member of the forum can help: tell me what you would do at this point. Trust the dealer who is going to hand me a "fixed" supercharger but a potentially wounded engine next week? Ask the dealer to also overhaul the motor at their cost as a preemptive move on undiscovered damage (not a desired path as I could lose the boat for months - in prime boating season - while the work is being done). Trade the boat in for something else and get the dealer to support any financial downside resulting from the switch?
As my boat was built in 2012, the bearings were supposedly not the high-risk ceramic ones that were known to blow parts into the intake manifold...cylinders...etc.. HOWEVER, I am concerned not just about the future expense, but rather the future hassle of finding further damages as I try to run the boat throughout the next year...and the next...etc.
To me, the value of the boat is directly tied to my ability to use it without dragging it back and forth (1.5 hours each way) between my remote dock and the dealership. Do you think I am taking too much risk in accepting a boat and a motor that has had a supercharger failure....after paying a dealer for the very service that was expected to prevent this from occurring in the first place?
I will welcome any advice/experience you care to share!
JK230SP - Dallas, Texas