BRAND NEW Engine Locked up

[etcatmeat]

My dealer says that Rinker is running on a skeleton crew right now because of the economy.  I just bought my Rinker 248 a few weeks ago and I had some questions for them.  I left a message with Randy and it took him about 2 weeks to call me back.     Hopefully this will change soon.

[drifter]

I am so sorry to hear this! Makes me angry when a company doesn't stand behind a warrenty. It's one thing if the customer assumes the risk and doesn't get a warrenty. It's a whole other thing when you have a warrenty and it doesn't seem to matter....   My opinion, even if it isn't Rinker's problem and it is mercs (doesn't sound like it), you pick up the phone and call merc. You (the dealer) are the face to the customer.

Good luck and please let us know the dealer.

[Capt Ron]

The Dealer needs to step in here and decide who is responsible, Rinker or Merc. Either way, going to Rinker is not going help because they will only tell you to call Mercury. I went through all of this with my new 320. It was the dealer who needed to step in and solve the problem. I think your engine has ingested water through the exhaust manifolds. Maybe the flapper valves weren't installed properly and a back wash got into the engine. I would be requesting a new engine. Bent valves and push rods happens when water gets into your engine.  Let us know how it works out.

[flippen]

I agree with the others, If you locked the engine with water in the cylinders and it was running you may have bent/borke the crank and piston rods. I wouuld suggest a new motor at minimal because you will have troubles from now on I dont care what they say.

[Dream 'Inn]

Keith, any more word yet?  I would sure hope by now they have something figured out.  I mean Geez, let's not ruin the whole summer!

[Mkhood]

Dream Inn Et ALL---

"Daddy's Girl" is back in the water as of last weekend!!!  As expected it took some pretty serious e-mails to Merc in order to have them replace, not just fix the engine.  Throughout the process my dealer called weekly to check on me,  and Randy Rinker even called Merch on my behalf.  It took 3 weeks to diagnose, ship and change but now that she is back in the water she is running like a champ...

I can tell you that I have yet to be told what caused the Hydro-Lock but as expected it did MAJOR damage...Hence the need to replace the engine and start over.

All in All I lost a month or so and had to write a lot of nasty notes but things turned out ok..Hell Merch even covered the towing charges and the pull in pull out so I cant complain much..

Thanks for the support and concern...Happy Boating and trouble-free boating to you all for the rest of the season..

Keith

[Dream 'Inn]

That's really good news!   A month really isn't bad considering the many stories I've heard.  & going all new is great!  It's very nice to hear the outcome!  Now it's time to enjoy her!

[frodo13056]

Great news!
But...... uh...... what caused the hydro-lock in the first place (how did water get into the cylinders) and what is different now so that it does not happen again?

[Black_Diamond]

I agree, if nothing changed it will happen again.  As a precaution I would NOT shut the motor off while you are out, let it idle and keep the exhaust pressure up.  Might want to watch your people weight in the aft area too.  Just my .02.