Complete Failure

[Erie Champ]

Hey Guys
Both me and my buddy have 08 250 pro XS's. We have both had the continued coil issues and neutral switch alarms but my buddy had a complete failure last weekend. As we were running at blast-off for a tournament His motor died and when he started it again it sounded like a diesel engine.
He brought it to the shop to see what was wrong and the mechanic found a hole in one piston, no rings on another and some teeth missing on the gears in the bottom end. The Mercury Rep is saying that it is not covered under warranty because no motor has completely failed like that and that he must have abused it. I know there was no abuse as he treats his motor better then I do mine and there was no warning alarms before the initial shutdown of the engine. He has already contacted a lawyer about it and will fight the issue if needed. He has had problems with his motor right from the start. At about 80 hours I lost my first coil and the motor has not been the same. Anyone here heard or had any complete failures such as my buddy had. His 250 is on a Nitro Z9.
Thanks,
Pete

[Camaroboy]

I have a 06 225 pro xs it stoped on me today and when i start it sounds bad i hope its not like your buddies. Mine is still under warranty so hopefully it is covered.

[EuropeanAM]

Erie Champ:

Sorry to hear of your friend's issues. Sounds pretty bad!!!

If it helps to clear things up any, we do occassionally see EITHER a powerhead OR a gearcase failure... mechanical things DO break. It happens...

HOWEVER, in 34 years of "apprenticeship".... I've never seen a powerhead AND a gearcase failure "simultaneously" under "normal use conditions".

The one case I recall seeing was an OBVIOUS strike with an underwater object, followed by a cold seizure in the powerhead (from rapid heating/cooling of the powerhead as the gearcase "lost, then regained" water pressure/coolant flow.

That particular case was proven to be an "insurance claim"... though the insurance company was reluctant to cover it (they did in the end).

Step #1 is to inspect the gearcase for signs of impact: Damage to prop, skeg, case, or twisted spines on the driveshaft or propshaft.

I know this is not really what you wanted to hear.... but determining the "cause" of the failures will help to determine where "responsibility actually lies". Remember: The warranty on his engine covers "defects in materials or workmanship". If the gearcase shows signs of impact.... the failure is likely not a "defect".

Keep us up to date.......

[Largemouthlou]

Sorry to hear about that, Man a total melt down.... This is a first that I have read, one thing for sure when ya talk "lawyer" talk to Mercury is that they have more money then your buddy does (better Lawers) So ya may want to exhaust all reasonable options first!!

[Erie Champ]

There is no impact damage to the bottom end. The prop is still in perfect shape there is a couple scratches on the very bottom of the keel, the usual marks you get when your fishing and the big motor gets dragged across a rock or some sand.
Thanks for the replies so far guys. As my buddy has said if/when the lawyers get involved Mercury will have to prove abuse. His motor has no outside signs of abuse and there are no warning alarms on the computer to prove that either.
Thanks,
Keep them coming.

[doug'sdad]

not to pile on, merc's warranty or extended product protection sucks. i also had a complete failure last year on my 250 and they were no help. thank God for simon motorsports who saved my bacon and wallet. i hope they make it right for you, I'll never own another merc.

[EuropeanAM]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Erie Champ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">There is no impact damage to the bottom end. The prop is still in perfect shape there is a couple scratches on the very bottom of the keel, the usual marks you get when your fishing and the big motor gets dragged across a rock or some sand.
Thanks for the replies so far guys. As my buddy has said if/when the lawyers get involved Mercury will have to prove abuse. His motor has no outside signs of abuse and there are no warning alarms on the computer to prove that either.
Thanks,
Keep them coming.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I would recommend an open-dialogue conversation with Mercury. There is a phone number listed in the back of his owner's manual to contact Customer Service.

Although there may be exceptions, I've found Mercury to be one of the best companies when it comes to "fairness" in warranty claims handling. If claims are denied- request a "specific" reason (not a general comment such as "abuse").

[EuropeanAM]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by doug’sdad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">not to pile on, merc's warranty or extended product protection sucks. i also had a complete failure last year on my 250 and they were no help. thank God for simon motorsports who saved my bacon and wallet. i hope they make it right for you, I'll never own another merc. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Doug's Dad:

I'm very glad that Eric got your motor repaired for you!

However... let's not confuse the issue of this post. As you'll recall, I ran your engine's history some time back, and found that your engine had actually been out of warranty for MORE than one year (in fact, the "Product Protection" had been cancelled in 2007).

I hesitated to go into this in your last post.... simply out of respect.

While I respect your feelings and opinion here, it's only "fair" to qualify your statements with the fact that Mercury was asked to replace your powerhead ONE YEAR <U>after</U> the engine owner "requested the extended Product Protection be cancelled".

Thus, no warranty (or Product Protection) was in effect at, (or even near to) the date of the failure.

In an effort to avoid "totally hijacking" this post.... let's get back to Erie Champ's original issues.

[Erie Champ]

Just to keep everyone up to date, Mercury said they will cover the costs under warranty. They couldn't find any signs of abuse, I guess is was just a bad engine. Too bad they put my bud through so much stress. Anyhow thanks for the comments guys.

[EuropeanAM]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Erie Champ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Just to keep everyone up to date, Mercury said they will cover the costs under warranty. They couldn't find any signs of abuse, I guess is was just a bad engine. Too bad they put my bud through so much stress. Anyhow thanks for the comments guys.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Great!