2003 225 H0

[5dinks]

Thought I would pass on an experience that I have had with Bomb and my local dealer.Bought this motor and boat in March of 2003.In the fall of 2004 going down the river my lightning gearcase let loose.No warning , didn't hit anything, just went.Took it to my local dealer who I did not buy the boat from,checked it out gave me a call the next day and said no problem it will be replaced.Mechanical failure, replaced the whole lower unit under warranty.
May 5th ,Friday, of this year I am prefishing for 2 tournys on the weekend 1 on Sat and the other Sun and she let loose again same deal no warning.Warranty was up in March 1. Was on some fish and really wanted to fish so I call the same dealer who happens to be 30 minutes away.Lo and behold he has a gearcase in stock,unbelievable!It was about 3 in the afternoon.He says they are pretty busy but bring her on over and he will get in on yet that evening.Haul the boat over, go back to the hotel clean up and get something to eat.Calls me about 9 pm says it is ready come and get her.Way cool!
Next day after catching my limit I decide it was time to call him to get the cost.HOLY COW! $4000.00 and some change.Tells me once again that it was a mechanical failure.Said he would call Bomb on Monday and see what they could do for me.
Call him later in the week and speak with his daughter who runs the office, says that she has been in touch with Bomb.She sent them some pictures of the damage and a picture of my prop butt didn't like the answers she was getting back so give her another week to get things straightened out.Got a call today and to my suprise Bomb is covering everything but the labor. They will cut me a check and it will be in the mail tomorrow.
Thanks You! Bombardier.And kudos to Lonnie,Sandy,and staff at Aquatech Marine in Quincy Ill.who went above and beyond to get me back on the water and going to bat for me with Bombardier.This is how things work when you have a great dealer!

[rayz379]

Kelly. Aqua Tech is where I go. They are awesome to say the least knowing that place, I am not surprised that they went way beyond expectations to help you out. Sandy is the real deal huh??? I call, she takes care of everything. They are going to have my rig this week .
As far as Lonnie is concerned, no beter tech in this area for bomb that I have found, but once I found them, I quit looking
They played a huge role in my decision to switch back to bomb

[champit]

I have a 2003 200 HO that I bought recently. The guy I got it from had that happen to him once. It was under warranty so no problem. The warranty just ran out so I suspect I'll be in for a suprise some day !!! I talked to a local dealer that runs the same motor. He told me the lightning gearcase will not hold up with that motor. There is another gearcase he told me he runs but I can't think of it right now. It has a 2:1 gear ratio versus the 1:87 : 1 in the lightning. Told me it is a bullet proof lower. He quoted around $4000 also. I'll think of the name eventually. Glad to see they stood behind yours. Sounds to me like there is a problem here though.

[Kenneth ALBassr]

There was a problem with some of the units in 2003. There was a modification made to the parts being put into the gearcase halfway through that year and the problems went away. If you get one replaced, make sure it is a new unit and not one leftover from that period.

These gearcases are doing just fine on the E-TEC and they can surely hold up on the DI motors. The E-TEC is providing more torque than the DI motors.

Kenneth

[rayz379]

How do you go about identifying a gear case. Mine has been changed but I am not sure if it was changed with same, or something different. Mine is a 2002 225HO DI

[champit]

Ray, I don't know about how to identify the years or anything, sorry. The dealer I talked to said he was running a Magnum gearcase. Told me it was bulletproof. He did say it might be a little slower !!!

[jbradfishn]

Can I assume that I'll be having the same problems with my 02 225 ho rude?

[RUSTY63]

You can assume anything....I assume the $1.00 lottery ticket I bought will make me a Millionaire but that wont happen either.