Hi guys. 1996 200 EFI, Serial. 0G361511
A local shop rebuilt the VST saying it was corroded / varnished from ethanol. Had repeated issues with flooding, which took them several visits to sort out. Last visit, they said O-rings, and they were confident it was solved. I did some test runs after that, and all seemed normal, but i didn't run around much.
Took it out today to practice for a big tournament. On my 3rd run to a spot I heard "TICK TICK TICK" then it shut down. I glanced back and came off the throttle the instant I heard the noise, and I could see my cowling getting rammed upward. Stopped the boat, took the cowling off. The powerhead is destroyed. Metal everywhere. Control arms on both sides broke clean through. So obviously, this power head is done for.
A buddy towed me in and there was a shop at the ramp. He was willing to take a quick look. He was able to verify that the right amount of oil seemed to be in the fuel (so not an oil delivery issue). He shined a light into the gaping holes in my powerhead, said the control arms were blue, which indicates overheating.
My question to this group: is there anything about a VST rebuild that would have caused this? I had a new lower unit and impeller, so doubting that failed. I'm certain the shop will conclude they are not at fault. Is there any way to determine if they are at fault?
Thanks as always.