Kents private wwpotter archive : The continuing saga of the OMC 4

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Just to update you about my broken four HP Johnson. For those that =
haven't seen my earlier posts, I have a two and a half year old, four HP =
Johnson that I bought new and have sworn by for all of that time... I =
am now swearing at it. Back in October, while motoring (about half =
throttle) the engine started racing. I shut it off thinking that after =
approximately 30 hours of use it suddenly decided to be a Tohatsu and =
break a shear pin. As the wind was up enough to sail, we raised the =
sails and headed off to the campground. After tying up to shore, I =
pulled the prop anticipating a quick fix but found instead a good pin. =
My next thoughts turned to the lower gears (I change the oil myself and =
I know that there is an outboard-motor-dealer-God who frowns on such =
actions) so I put everything back together and enjoyed myself as much =
as I could while thinking of a $200 repair bill. =20

After the shop pulled the lower end they found something totally =
unexpected, the drive shaft had ground itself out of the end of the =
crank! When I asked how much this would cost to fix the dealer started =
showing me a new engine. After getting my heart restarted I calmed down =
long enough to ask if this was a normal situation. When the mechanic =
told me that he had never before seen such a thing, I asked the dealer =
to call OMC and see if they would do anything to help me with the repair =
costs. After a couple of weeks of haggling, OMC told the dealer that =
they would give me a free crank and drive shaft, almost $300 in parts. =
This sounds good until you realize that if I agreed, those 30 hours of =
use would end up costing me $380, or 12 and a half bucks an hour! I =
then called OMC myself. After about an hour of pleading my case, I was =
told that, as my motor was over a year and a half out of warranty this =
was the best they could do for me. Remembering what SF posted, I calmly =
asked for an address to send a letter to. =20

That was yesterday. This morning my repairman called, he told me that =
OMC had just contacted him and that they had decided to pick up the cost =
of all of the parts except the impeller. That lowered my cost another =
$40, but 10 bucks an hour is still a little high for my blood so once =
again I called them and made a counter offer. I told them that if they =
would also pick up half of the labor costs I would be satisfied. That =
is where it now sits. =20

As even the OMC rep stated that a crank failing like this is extremely =
rare (about 2 per year out of all of the motors that they have sold), =
and almost unheard of in a motor with as little time on it as mine has, =
I felt that they should repair it without cost to me, but I have come to =
the place that if I can get away as cheaply as a couple Hundred dollars =
I will be doing OK. =20

The worse part of this is that my unwavering faith in OMC products is =
now a bit shaken. =20

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Just to update you about my broken four HP = Johnson. For=20 those that haven't seen my earlier posts, I have a two and a half year = old, four=20 HP Johnson that I bought new and have sworn by for all of that = time... I=20 am now swearing at it. Back in October, while motoring (about half = throttle) the engine started racing. I shut it off thinking that = after=20 approximately 30 hours of use it suddenly decided to be a Tohatsu and = break a=20 shear pin. As the wind was up enough to sail, we raised the sails = and=20 headed off to the campground. After tying up to shore, I pulled = the prop=20 anticipating a quick fix but found instead a good pin. My next = thoughts=20 turned to the lower gears (I change the oil myself and I know that there = is an=20 outboard-motor-dealer-God who frowns on such actions) so I put = everything=20 back together and enjoyed myself as much as I could while thinking of a = $200=20 repair bill.

After the shop pulled the lower end they found = something=20 totally unexpected, the drive shaft had ground itself out of the end of = the=20 crank! When I asked how much this would cost to fix the dealer = started=20 showing me a new engine. After getting my heart restarted I calmed = down=20 long enough to ask if this was a normal situation. When the = mechanic told=20 me that he had never before seen such a thing, I asked the dealer to = call OMC=20 and see if they would do anything to help me with the repair = costs. After=20 a couple of weeks of haggling, OMC told the dealer that they would give = me a=20 free crank and drive shaft, almost $300 in parts. This sounds good = until=20 you realize that if I agreed, those 30 hours of use would end up costing = me=20 $380, or 12 and a half bucks an hour! I then called OMC = myself. =20 After about an hour of pleading my case, I was told that, as my motor = was over a=20 year and a half out of warranty this was the best they could do for = me. =20 Remembering what SF posted, I calmly asked for an address to send a = letter=20 to.

That was yesterday. This morning = my=20 repairman called, he told me that OMC had just contacted him and that = they had=20 decided to pick up the cost of all of the parts except the = impeller. That=20 lowered my cost another $40, but 10 bucks an hour is still a little high = for my=20 blood so once again I called them and made a counter offer. = I told=20 them that if they would also pick up half of the labor costs I would be=20 satisfied. That is where it now sits.

As even the OMC rep stated that a crank failing like = this is=20 extremely rare (about 2 per year out of all of the motors that they have = sold),=20 and almost unheard of in a motor with as little time on it as mine has, = I felt=20 that they should repair it without cost to me, but I have come to the = place that=20 if I can get away as cheaply as a couple Hundred dollars I will be doing = OK.