Need to rebuild merc 240EFI Jet

[fm2007]

I was hoping someone could help me with a rebuild situation I am in. I am looking at 3 options. The first option is to have my mercury dealer rebuild the engine. I am a little concerned as to his experience with rebuilds. Their shop is a mercury "premier" service facility. The second option is to have my mercury dealer ship my engine to one of the following 2 places to have it rebuilt:
http://www.opcmarine.com/html/service.html
http://www.boatpartstore.com/powerhead.asp
My 3rd option would be to simply buy a new powerhead. The mercury facility says that the 4th and 6th cylinders are wihout compression. They say there is not a crack in the engine. The crankshaft needs to be replaced and runs about $800 new. The total price at the mercury dealership will probably end up being around $4800. I would appreciate any suggestions especially if anyone has any expereince with the two websites that I listed. One of those 2 has a lifetime warranty. The mercury dealership will give a one year warranty. I just purchased the boat back in may and the engine went out the first time i took it out. The year model is 2002 and is inside a seadoo jetboat. Apparently, the boat was left outside prior to my purchasing it with the drain plugs left in. It filled up and the engine was submerged for some unknown length of time. There is also water in the oil. The mercury mechanic is unsure as to how it got there. He believes someone either left the cap off of the oil or it was deliberately sabotaged. The boat is a repo, so this is not out of the question.


Thanks for your help.

[rockdamage]

Best there is "period" FIRST CHOICE!!!!!!
http://www.jerrys-marine.com/boat-repair.shtml

Fatstest to get things done! "great work and cheap"
http://www.roberieoutboards.com

OPC is way over priced............. Roberie built me a 225 merc for half what opc quoted.. very pleased! 2200 Vs 4500 you do the math.



never heard of the other place..

[Rickracer]

I don't know if performance is a priority, but you can't go wrong with Jay Smith at JSRE or Noah at Eagle One either. Both have a long list of satisfied customers who would be happy to tell you about their experiences with either one. Just my personal opinion, but anyone who will give you a lifetime warrany on almost ANYTHING (especially an outboard motor) is trying to set you up for an obligatory lifetime service relationship. Before you decide, give Jay and/or Noah a call, the insight you receive will be worth it. :cool:

(Disclaimer: I am not attempting to dismiss anyone else, but I have spoken with several customers of both Jay and Noah, and both come highly recommended. :cool:

[Travis Fulton]

http://www.madefi.com/main.htm

[fm2007]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I spoke with Jay Smith today. He was very knowledgeable, helpful, and generous to take the time to speak with me. I should find out an exact estimate from my mercury mechanic tomorrow or Wednesday. I'll then analyze their prices for parts and labor to see if its worth paying their enlarged fees for a year warranty vs. having someone like Jay Smith rebuild the engine. I feel pretty comfortable after talking to Jay that either way the engine will get restored. My biggest concern now is making sure that the mercury mechanic has correctly diagnosed the problem that caused the engine to destruct so that it will not happen again once the rebuilt engine is installed. Thanks for everyone's help. If you have any more suggestions, I would definitely like to hear them. Specifically, what type of sleeves, pistons, etc do you recommend? Jay gave me a good idea as to what not to buy as far as rods go.

[fm2007]

Rockdamage, can you tell me more about Jerry's Marine? Are they dependable and trustworthy? I am considering having them repair my boat.


Thanks

[fm2007]

I purchased a new mercury 240EFI sportjet from jerry's marine in Louisiana recently and had them install it in my seadoo jetboat. The engine was supposed to be brand new. I was told to keep the rpm's low for the first 8 hours and adjust them frequently. I took the boat out 3 times with no problems. That put a total of just over 6 hours on the boat. I was very careful not to take the rpm's very high, and I always adjusted the rpm's so that they were not constant for any length of time. In fact, the engine will not go over 5000 rpm's. I am not sure if the computer keeps it from going over or not. On my forth trip out, the engine started knocking pretty hard and died once after only ~5 minutes. The oil light came on, and I immediately trailered the boat. There was plenty of oil in the main oil canister and the reservoir was filled to about 1/2 inch from the top. I took the boat to a local mercury repair shop because Jerry's marine is a long drive for me. They did not find any events on the computer, and the puter didn't show any abnormalities. They hooked the engine up to a water hose, and it didn't overheat, but they didn't rev the engine or run it very long either. The spark plugs were filthy according to the repair man, and they cleaned them. They did a compression check, and one side measured 125, and the other measured 115. I contacted Jerry, and he said this was ok. He said to try taking the boat out again. I did this evening, and the oil light came on as soon as the boat was backed off of the trailer. Jerry had told me to open the oil reservoir while the engine was running so that the oil would fill up the 1/2 inch remaining. I did this, but the light stayed on, and the engine was running horribly. I trailered the boat immediately.

I am at a loss. I have had this boat at 2 seadoo/mercury dealers and 2 premier mercury dealers since I bought it in May. If anyone has any ideas as to what might be going on, I would appreciate your input. Jerry gave me a written warranty for 90 days on the engine. I am worried though for multiple reasons. I have already been bent over on this boat, and it really feels like this is about to turn ugly. I intend on taking the boat to Jerry on Saturday.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read my post. I appreciate any help you can offer.

[rockdamage]

I wouldn't worry to much ..
Jerry will go out of his way to make things right with you, he can't afford not too...word of mouth can be a terrible thing for a man in his business...

[fm2007]

I took the boat over to Jerry's Marine on Saturday. Jerry and Lance checked everything out for most of the morning, and they didn't find any major problems. They put in a new set of spark plugs, and the engine seemed to do a lot better. We went and test drove it, and the rpm's got up to 6500. They also fixed a problem I had on my trailer with the wheels. It was a good experience. They were nice, and they addressed all of my concerns. I took the boat out on sunday, and it ran real well for about 2 hours. It then died once, and the rpm's came down some again. I took it home, and the spark plugs look a little too black. I just talked to Jerry, and he thinks this is likely still from the engine breaking in (too much oil). He gave me an extra set of spark plugs while I was in Louisiana to try. I am going to put those in and try them out this coming weekend. I feel much better about my engine right now. It still has some tweaking that needs to be done, but at least it does not seem to have any major problems.

Thanks for the help.

[rockdamage]

didn't I tell you not to worry !!!!!!