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9.9 Mercury repair bill! @#$#@

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theshepirate
Deckhand

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USA
19 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/15/2015 : 11:20:46

We have 2001 9.9 mercury long shaft on our 25' Catalina. We bought it with the boat five years ago. Toward the end of last season, it started missing after running for 30 minutes. We treated the fuel, a little better for a small amount of time.
When we put the boat up on the hard in the marina, we requested that they service the motor and fix the sputtering problem and change the impellar as it has been about 3 yrears since we put in a new one.
Alos change the spark plugs, we supplied the new ones, as we bought them as we originally planned to do it ourselves.
When the bill came in, this is what it said:
Water kit/impellar=98.00
tighten and clean carberator, don't know if they removed it or just sprayed,
change spark plugs with ones provided,
Labor 3 3/4 hours Total= 427.00
Does this sound fair or inflated?

TheShePirate

britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 05/15/2015 : 11:29:48

$87 an hour.

Pretty cheap for a mechanic.

Do mechanics provide a review before they do the work similar in process to a car mechanic?

Paul

Joint Decision. (Sold)
PO C250WB 2005 Sail # 841.

Moved up to C34 Eximius

Updated August 2015

Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3323 Posts

Response Posted - 05/15/2015 : 12:51:21

The marina at Canyon Lake's labor charge is $95 an hour. I had the 4hp 4-stroke serviced and it cost $271.

Derek Crawford
Chief Measurer C25-250 2008
Previous owner of "This Side UP"
1981 C-25 TR/FK #2262 Used to have an '89 C22 #9483, "Downsized"
San Antonio, Texas

theshepirate
Deckhand

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USA
19 Posts

Response Posted - 05/15/2015 : 13:16:10

Thanks guys,Guess its about the same labor wise all over.
No they did not give me the estimate, i guess because I told them to fix it in the first place. Should I ask him if he changed the fuel filter?

TheShePirate

panhead1948
Captain

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345 Posts

Response Posted - 05/15/2015 : 17:00:54

I just had my 7.5 Honda serviced. New impeller, new water pump housing, new plugs, change oil. change lower unit oil, and clean and adjust carb 427.00.

RAG Sailor
Navigator

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USA
144 Posts

Response Posted - 05/15/2015 : 21:30:40

quote:
Originally posted by britinusa

$87 an hour.

Pretty cheap for a mechanic.

Do mechanics provide a review before they do the work similar in process to a car mechanic?

Paul

Wow. You were ripped a new one. I just brought mine in on Saturday. Last years service was $125. I expected this year to be the same. Got a call Wednesday and was told an impeller should be dowe every 2 years. I braced my self thinking it a big job. She said your size engine...$25. This is an authorized Merc dealer, too!

Good to be back at sea!

Tomas Kruska
Admiral

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Czech Republic
522 Posts

Response Posted - 05/16/2015 : 05:00:47

Holy cow, $87 an hour is cheap??

The average "marine" motor service starts here from $40.

I think I'm gonna move to US and start servicing outboards

Dalpol Phobos 21, 2013, Sole Mio, hull #27, current adventures - We sail Phobos 21

PO of Catalina C25, 1978, High Anxiety, hull #701, SR, FK, L-dinette, inboard diesel Volvo Penta MD2010C w/saildrive - more info

Kper
Captain

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USA
417 Posts

Response Posted - 05/16/2015 : 05:41:53

I had the exact same work done to our 9.9 Seahorse about 4 weeks ago. The marina ran it through their account with the repair shop and with the discount it was still $340 so $427 sounds about right for our area.

Kyle
'86 SR/SK/Dinette #5284 "Anodyne"
In the barn where we found her...

redeye
Master Marine Consultant

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3477 Posts

Response Posted - 05/17/2015 : 06:12:48

Exactly because of those costs I've always encouraged working on your engine yourself, however now with the newly designed engines I'm not sure this is still a good option.. I bought a manual with my new Evinrude ( teeHatSue ) and the beginning of each chapter shows special tools needed ...

A friend of mine recommended I purchase an additional carb.. TO switch out.. with costs like that it sounds like and option..

ANyhoo.. trying to get my head around maintenance on this new engine and it sounds like change the oil, plugs, clean the carb, change water pump impeller, ( test thermostat ?? )

or pay a mechanic $450 every other year.

Hmmmmm.....

Personally I think the rippoff is the mechanic saying they will do the "diagnostics" and let you know what the costs will be, when often it sounds like it is simply a clogged carb jet...

At least that's what I keep hearing. But, lets not degrade the value of a good mechanic.

In the mean time ... I'd look for another mechanic.. I know I've spent a LOT of time researching mine. And different ones for different jobs.

Anybody need the original weed eating prop??

Edited by - redeye on 05/17/2015 06:57:55

TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2272 Posts

Response Posted - 05/17/2015 : 07:25:37

quote:
Originally posted by RAG Sailor
...Got a call Wednesday and was told an impeller should be dowe every 2 years. I braced my self thinking it a big job. She said your size engine...$25. This is an authorized Merc dealer, too!

For $25 including labor, I'd have someone do it every year. However, the vast majority of mechanics will charge much much more for an impeller job.

In general, I want to caution all of you about taking mechanics' recommendations for frequency of impeller jobs, spark plugs, etc. They are used to dealing with powerboats that run their engines full time, so they may recommend replacing certain items more frequently than needed. Sailboats put much fewer hours on their motors, so impellers will last a lot longer. Eventually they'll get hard and crack, but my mechanic tells me you can get a lot more than 2 years out of one with the light use of a sailboat auxiliary motor. He also said spark plugs last 5 years or more - the stuff about replacing them every year is just marketing fluffery.

YMMV.

Rick S., Swarthmore, PA
PO of Take Five, 1998 Catalina 250WK #348 (relocated to Baltimore's Inner Harbor)
New owner of 2001 Catalina 34MkII #1535 Breakin' Away (at Rock Hall Landing Marina)

Edited by - TakeFive on 05/17/2015 15:47:16

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 05/17/2015 : 07:33:59

My 5 hp carb is just $55 so having one to swap out because of jet fouling in 4 stroke engines sounds like a reasonable thing to do. Had I not gone electric I would have ordered one for this season.

Frank Hopper

islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4029 Posts

Response Posted - 05/17/2015 : 15:33:53

Hmmm...$25 sounds like the price for the impeller kit, Not the labor.

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 05/18/2015 : 18:58:01

$25 for the part sounds about right. Labor in Ohio when I had work done a couple of years ago was $90/hour. In Florida that same year for another job that I chose to farm out it was $115. Basic servicing of plugs, both oils, impeller, and installation of a good fuel/water separator/filter is an easy home job. I run a tank full with carb cleaner mixed in and spray the carb once a year. "Mechanic in a can" might or might not do anything, but it doesn't hurt on an annual basis.

Dave B. aboard Pearl
1982 TR/SK/Trad. #3399
Lake Erie/Florida Panhandle

RAG Sailor
Navigator

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USA
144 Posts

Response Posted - 05/19/2015 : 09:54:21

quote:
Originally posted by islander

Hmmm...$25 sounds like the price for the impeller kit, Not the labor.

No, that's how much more they said it would cost me above the original engine service (oil change, lube, etc. - no spark plug needed yet). again, this is rural Tennessee, not Port Washington, LI (where I used to keep my boat (35 years ago). These are the salt of the earth people and really know their business...it just costs less to live here, a lot less!

Good to be back at sea!

shnool
Former Capri-25 Tech Editor

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USA
1032 Posts

Response Posted - 05/19/2015 : 12:49:32

Ok, so I did my own impeller job, found the parts online for $28 (Ebay baby)... took me about an hour to properly remove the lower unit (cause I hadn't even done it on this motor)... I have a 7.5hp long shaft 2 stroke Evinrude circa 1983.

Then it took me at least another hour to figure out how to get everything aligned perfectly to get the unit all back together. So my layman work (non experienced) took 2 hours. YOU tell me what a good mechanic that has done this a thousand times would take to do the job... keep in mind 1 hour minimum is usually charged.

I know pictures or it didn't happen... Note the impeller missing a tooth (by the way others were cracked)... the water stream from the motor was still good though (just proves you can't tell by that).

C&C 32 Smith Mountain Lake Virginia

Edited by - shnool on 05/19/2015 12:53:23

Tomas Kruska
Admiral

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Czech Republic
522 Posts

Response Posted - 05/20/2015 : 03:34:48

Great, now you are skilled to do it even for your friends :-)

shnool
Former Capri-25 Tech Editor

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USA
1032 Posts

Response Posted - 05/20/2015 : 09:07:33

I got lucky... my outboard doesn't require unlocking the gearshift lever, it just presses in. Although I'd say aligning the water tube, gear shift, and bolts together was a REAL bear. What I was MOST worried about was the gearshift didn't want to align correctly and I read where you had to be in THIS gear, or NEUTRAL, or REV, to align the spline. Turns out you had to be in neutral, and moreover, you had to align the bolts, and press the gearshift back in by slowly and evenly tightening the bolts. I was worried that was too much pressure, but apparently necessary to get it all to fit. I also can't figure out why the bolts have to be so far recessed... no socket or box wrench fits it, you can only use an open end box on it, you know, a thousand 1/8th turns, on 2 bolts.

The one I gotta bone up on is pulling the carb and cleaning it. But I'm here to tell you if I can change the water pump, ANYONE can.

C&C 32 Smith Mountain Lake Virginia

Edited by - shnool on 05/20/2015 09:08:45

RAG Sailor
Navigator

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USA
144 Posts

Response Posted - 05/23/2015 : 19:39:48

Okay, picked up my 2009 9.9. Here are the costs: $150 oil change and lube all fittings; $21 new impeller; $125 installation fee for impeller. That's the total cost.

Good to be back at sea!

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4316 Posts

Response Posted - 05/24/2015 : 07:54:59

quote:
Originally posted by RAG Sailor

Okay, picked up my 2009 9.9. Here are the costs: $150 oil change and lube all fittings; $21 new impeller; $125 installation fee for impeller. That's the total cost.

You got hosed in my opinion. $150 to change the oil? I can get an oil change in my truck with 7 quarts of Mobil 1 for $85.00 and they check all the other fluids and air up my tires!

You might have 1 quart of oil in your engine and it's not Mobil 1 and it takes maybe 1 minute to lube all the fittings.

The water pump is probably about right.

Association Member

GaryB
Andiamo
'89 SR/WK #5862
Kemah,TX

TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2272 Posts

Response Posted - 05/24/2015 : 14:17:39

quote:
Originally posted by RAG Sailor

Okay, picked up my 2009 9.9. Here are the costs: $150 oil change and lube all fittings; $21 new impeller; $125 installation fee for impeller. That's the total cost.

Hmmm, I thought you said $25 all-in cost for the impeller. So much for salt of the earth. Sounds like you were really ripped a new one.

I'd be looking for a new dealer if I were you. To be initially told $25 all-in, then they charge you $146 is unacceptable. And $150 for an oil change is totally absurd.

Rick S., Swarthmore, PA
PO of Take Five, 1998 Catalina 250WK #348 (relocated to Baltimore's Inner Harbor)
New owner of 2001 Catalina 34MkII #1535 Breakin' Away (at Rock Hall Landing Marina)

islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4029 Posts

Response Posted - 05/24/2015 : 14:28:55

quote:
again, this is rural Tennessee, not Port Washington, LI (where I used to keep my boat (35 years ago). These are the salt of the earth people and really know their business...it just costs less to live here, a lot less!

I won't say any more..

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9089 Posts

Response Posted - 05/24/2015 : 15:31:33

quote:
Originally posted by RAG Sailor

[quote]Originally posted by britinusa

...Got a call Wednesday and was told an impeller should be dowe every 2 years. I braced my self thinking it a big job. She said your size engine...$25. This is an authorized Merc dealer, too!

Me thinks you mis-heard or she mis-read...

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage before going over to the Dark Side (2007-2025); now boatless for the first time since 1970 (on a Sunfish).

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