What would you do

While this is not a part for a tractor I would still like to hear your input.

I bought a used lower unit (with guarantee) for a older outboard motor.

The unit was sent promptly but the first time I took it out for a test run the drive shaft broke after running it for about a hour. Broke so hard because it was at full speed at the time it cracked the lower unit case.

I called the guy and he said send it back for a replacement so I did.

He sent a second unit that looked a lot newer but when I took it out for a test run I found that forward was reverse and reverse was forward.

Sent this one back also.

Now the guy has said he has had problems finding the right unit. I even sent him my old unit so he could make sure he got the correct part this time.

Now I get a email from the guy and he says he has found the correct case. He says the lower fin is broken off so he will have to send it out to be welded and then we should be good to go.

I do not know how good I feel accepting a lower unit that has been welded on. The unit may be good if welded but I keep thinking about the abuse this unit must have gone threw to get this way.

So am I wrong to insist he find a different unit or send my money back or should I just accept the unit he has ?????????

Thanks
John

I would give him the benefit of trying to make things right. A broken fin or skeg is common on an old outboard and I've seem many welded. Old outboard motor parts are getting hard to come by and will likely be impossable to find in a few years. Enviromental concerns have forced the banning of 2 cycle outboards in many areas and these are being replaced by more fuel efficent fuel injected 2 cycles and enviromentally friendly 4 stroke engines. Couple that with the fact that anybody would have to have rocks in their head to even be in the boat business in these economic times, and a dose of high scrap prices, quite likely the perfect replacement lower unit you need might well be part of the engine in your brand new Nissan.

Having once been in the boat and outboard motor repair business, the first question I'd ask was how did the skeg get broken off in the first place, and how did they find the piece to weld back on.

That being said, those castings are made out of an aluminum/magnesium alloy and transfer heat like crazy when welded on. To weld the skeg back on, and in all the years I was in business I never saw one broken off, the unit would need to be stripped bare to keep from frying every seal and o-ring in the unit. Were that done, it would probably be OK.

Is this outboard old enough that this is your last chance at parts? If not, you might be better off getting your money back and looking elsewhere.

Around here where we have mostly mud bottoms, I honestly never did see a skeg broken off. It would have taken a handling mishap.

And technology is leaving older outboards in the dust. Guess I shouldn't sound negative, but what always blew my mind when I was in the business was the people who wouldn't be caught dead driving a two year old car who would bring a thirty year old outboard into my shop and throw a bigtime fit when I'd tactfully tell them we'd both be money ahead if I didn't touch it.

Broken off skegs are a dime a dozen around here...simple welding job. Done all the time. Doesn't need to be stripped bare because the insides are in an oil bath and that sucks up heat. Never seen a problem from a skeg repair.

I would not have a problem with something that has been welded on. Sounds like he is trying to work with you. I will make this post legal, and add a tractor to it. I bought a JD 5020 and the first time I ran it, after a couple hours the trans input shaft started leaking. I didn't even contact the person I bought it from, because it would have been a waste of time. I'm sure this is what I would have been told. It didn't leak when you test drove it. Things do finally break, it just may have been time for the shaft to fail. Enjoy your boat when you finally get back in the water. Stan

Depends on what it is (make and model) it may be very hard to get parts for it, if so take what you can get he seems to be awfully nice about getting you a working part. Most people would have told you where to go when you broke the first one.
Walt

Skeg repairs are common here too. A fellow in the office has busted his 3 or 4 times from hitting rocks. Doesn't break at the weld so its not like a bad repair.

It is common to weld them. A good TIG aluminum welder can fix them better than new. Same thing with the props. If it works, I wouldn't worry about it. Dave

I noticed a bunch of replies where they have said they repaired them by tig welding....but I never noticed anybody asking what color it was. I have done my share of it and the black ones when you tig welded them, it just wanted to bubble up and not weld worth a hoot. Was I doing something wrong? They were made from an alloy that didn't want to weld with standard tig aluminum rod. I think if I remember right, I even sawed off strips of the cavitation plate from another black engine to weld with and finally give up on the Mercs. ohfred

Thanks for your input guys.

I talked to the guy this afternoon and now he tells me he was able to find another lower unit that does not need welding.
I told him that is great but if worse comes to worse I will allow him to weld up the other unit and send it to me.

You all are right in this guy has done everything possible to try and work with me and make things right. He has taken this new unit apart and inspected all internal parts just to make sure I do not have any more problems and is installing all new seals in the unit.

If I may I would like to put in a good word for him. If you ever need any outboard parts I would recommend you call Jeff at Laings Outboards.
Laings Outboards

I broke a drive shaft on an 80 HP Merc one time. We welded it back together and kept on running it.

You need to find out what kind of alloy it is and it has to be really clean. If it's black even when it's broken or worn off, maybe the coloring is in the metal when it's cast? There are a few different rods for welding aluminum and magnesium. If I remember right, magnesium in the aluminum has a blueish colored arc. Dave

Dave...the "black" I was referring to was the black paint of the Mercury motors...it was clean when I welded it, I understand that part of it...aluminum has to be really clean. The Johnsons and Evinrudes welded just fine. It had to be the content of the Mercs metal...made to be hard to weld so you would buy new instead of repairing it. Regular cast aluminum will smell like rotten eggs when you wire brush it off clean. Try it sometime and smell it. One of my ways of identifying aluminum. ohfred

buy oars HaHa

Smart azz

I dont boat

I dont boat