Metal and plastic shavings under the hood

[Bartman]

S/N 2B597338
Alternator belt broke but I think it was because something came loose. I have metal and plastic shavings everywhere. The metal shaving are from something hitting the alternator. At first glance I thought the flywheel was hitting it because how the ground spot is on the bottom of the alternator. The flywheel shows no damage whatsoever.

Is there something under the flywheel that could have comes loose??

Do these motors have an air filter? If not, I'm positive metal was sucked into the intake.

[EuropeanAM]

Ouch! And just came out of Factory Warranty last month.

Check the flywheel itself, make sure the dampner (belt drive/hub of flywheel) is secure, check alternator mounts/bolts.

There's a screen at the back of the flywheel cover/attenuator cover, but it's not stopping small pieces. That's going to involve an investigative mission (sounds like you better get a dealer involved to inspect it and determine how far down the intake runners/valvetrain/etc.

[Bartman]

Ouch! And just came out of Factory Warranty last month.

Check the flywheel itself, make sure the dampner (belt drive/hub of flywheel) is secure, check alternator mounts/bolts.

There's a screen at the back of the flywheel cover/attenuator cover, but it's not stopping small pieces. That's going to involve an investigative mission (sounds like you better get a dealer involved to inspect it and determine how far down the intake runners/valvetrain/etc.

When I bought it new in 2019, the dealership told me I had 5 years warranty and confirmed that with him a year ago when I started getting extended warranty letters from Merc.

There was also some other debris of rubber that fell out that was not the alternator belt. There were 3 pieces about 4 inches long and was approximately 3/8" x 1/2" (cross section). Those pieces of rubber were not serpentine and appeared to make about a 9" diameter circle. Could that be part of the flywheel dampener?

Yeah I seen the screen on the intake. I was hoping there was an air filter located further down. That screen will let anything in smaller than a pea.

It's currently at the service center. I bagged up all the loose pieces and gave it to them, Unfortunately, they won't even be able to look at it for another week.

[EuropeanAM]

That would be the rubber portion of the flywheel dampner. Flywheel and alternator mounts will need to be replaced, in addition to cleaning up the mess. Flywheel and mounts are (unfortunately) on backorder, so it would be good if they could get those pre-authorized so the order gets Priority.

[Bartman]

2 week update.. There is no update. Still waiting on service center to pull the hood to confirm. They have 11 boats in front of me.

[Bartman]

That would be the rubber portion of the flywheel dampner. Flywheel and alternator mounts will need to be replaced, in addition to cleaning up the mess. Flywheel and mounts are (unfortunately) on backorder, so it would be good if they could get those pre-authorized so the order gets Priority.

After all the metal shavings, would it be standard procedure to bore scope the valves, guides, seats & cylinders to see how much metal got into the engine? What about cutting the oil filter apart and/or oil analysis?

[EuropeanAM]

How in-depth an inspection is done would be handled on a case-by-case basis. Very unlikely that it would require an oil and filter analysis: There is not a lot of access for that type of contamination to occur (with the exception of the crankcase vent hose, perhaps).

[Bartman]

How in-depth an inspection is done would be handled on a case-by-case basis. Very unlikely that it would require an oil and filter analysis: There is not a lot of access for that type of contamination to occur (with the exception of the crankcase vent hose, perhaps).

Thanks for the reply. I have the tool for cutting open the oil filter. I'll at least do that and a compression check myself.

[Bartman]

Week 3 update... Flywheel separation confirmed and all damage parts/labor will be covered under warranty. New one piece flywheel (p/n 8M0183802) is on back order. I found one on boats.net, ordered it and had drop shipped to service center. I'm Working with Mercury for reimbursement of flywheel purchase.

[Jasonrs]

Week 3 update... Flywheel separation confirmed and all damage parts/labor will be covered under warranty. New one piece flywheel (p/n 8M0183802) is on back order. I found one on boats.net, ordered it and had drop shipped to service center. I'm Working with Mercury for reimbursement of flywheel purchase.

That's some good news! Glad to hear they are going to warranty it!!

[Bartman]

Week 4 update... I'm back on the water. Mercury did not reimburse me for the purchase flywheel because they shipped one with all the other parts. I'll return my spare flywheel.. Thanks to Dixie Marine for getting me back up and running in a timely manner.