boat service

[ROLAND]

Hello friends... wanted to get you opinion on something. Earlier today my son took his 2008 pontoon boat into our local dealer to have it serviced. They told him without even looking at it that the bill would probably be somewhere between 400 and 500 dollars, and the biggest part of that bill was because they would "probably" have to replace the water pump. When I asked my son if he had been having trouble with the pump, he said no. I told him to advise them not to replace the water pump. I mean if it aint broke, why fix it, right? He also told me that the shops labor rate was 100 bucks an hour... I'm not in the boating business, but that seems kinda high dosn't it? And you know now that I think about it, when I first bought my boat from this same dealership back in October, I asked about how often to service and one of the things they told me was I would probably need to replace the water pump every 1 to 2 years.... is this some kind of gimmick. I've got a friend who's got a 1997 model 115 horse mercury and he has never replaced the water pump. So I guess what I want to know is, exactly what should they be doing when they do an annual service on a motor and about how much should it cost... also, I'm about to take my boat in for the so called " 10 hour " service.... what do they do for this and again, how much? Don't want to get hosed.... I'm just a little surprised because this dealer has a very good reputation and so far has been great in my dealing with them. Thanks for your input.

[dockholiday]

four or five hundred is a lot of money, but seems like everytime I put my car in the shop no matter what may be the problem it is that much, unless I let a friend of mine do the work. A hundred bucks an hour is about the going rate here for a certified mechanic. Not sure about the water pump thing, but remember when I had a toyota which had a timing belt rather than chain. Think it was to be replaced ever 50k miles or so. I was pretty much like you when I first heard you need to replace it. After they told me what would happen if I just waited until it failed, I said go ahead an replace it which in itself was pretty costly. My dealer told me what his operating cost monthly were an I am sure you would be shocked as I was, plus they don't just shut down in the winter so that monthly cost is the same in Jan. as it is in June. Remember when I thought our marina had a gold mine, but once the summer was over it looked like a ghost town. So bottom line they are making money but sure not getting rich.
doc

[trott46]

The water pump itself is normally RECOMMENDED every 2 years. that being said if it is still under warrenty i would change it so they dont try to stiff you later on warrenty work. once out of warrenty then i would only change it when it seams to be running hot or not muuch water pressure. I personally change mine every 4-5 years. Has always kept me going fine. Also something to keep in mind on a water pump that if you get into sand to mud it can damage and need to be replaced sooner. The annual service (winterization) at the last marina I worked for we would change lower unit oil fog the engine and run on antifreeze and grease the steering and hydrolics pull the prop and grease and put a bag around the lower unit to keep moisture out stablize fuel and remove the battery. The last I looked $100 an hour is about average for a marina.

[lakerunner]

My advise is replace it yourself. It really is easy to do.
On replacement I do every 2 years. $15 to $20 part is the life blood of your motor. I had a Honda go bad the month I bought the motor so time don't matter.

[toondog]

That's about what my mechanic charges. Better safe than sorry if your not sure what your doing.
I change my water pump every 2 to 3 years if it hasn't received any abuse (accidental dry start).
That impeller is rubber and will start cracking and small pieces will break off at some point. If that happens they can clog your cooling system and then you have even worse problems.
It's like changing your oil so often, the trick is to do it before it needs it.

[slingshot]

$400 to $500 is excessive but I’m not sure what service they’ll do for that price. A water pump impeller replacement should run around $170 to $200 which should include all parts and labor. Engine oil change w/ filter, about $40 to $50. Lower unit oil $40 to $50. Spark plugs $40 to $50. Lube cables, prop shaft, ect. $40. These things could add up to the amount you mechanic said however, I’d point out that if you did everything yourself except the impeller the parts would only coast about $60 or $70. Doing all the lube stuff and the plugs is easy and there’s the satisfaction of doing it yourself w/ perhaps better quality oils than a mechanic might use. Just get the engine manual and go for it.