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John H[_2_]

On Mon, 30 May 2011 11:25:27 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 30 May 2011 11:03:00 -0400, John H
wrote:

Given all the troubles I've had with getting the boat started, which have been due to loose grounds,
leaving switches on, etc, I decided to bring the boat home and check it out before the outing
planned for yesterday and today.

Great intentions. I tightened the ground on the engine, and then went to check the hot wire to the
solenoid. Well, lucky me, there was a sticker right there showing the torque for the nut on the
solenoid! So I got out my trusty Craftsman torque wrench, which I've used only on my motorcycle, set
it for 8 n-m, and proceeded to tighten the nut.

I couldn't believe how loose it was. After two turns of about 60 degrees with the wrench, I'd still
not felt the 'click' indicating the proper torque had been achieved. I was surprised at how tight
that damn nut was supposed to be. But, I started to give it another turn when 'POP', the Bakelite
plastic housing broke off. (Yes, I used a whole lot of foul language!)

So, I called my local Yamaha guy, who gave me an 'Oh ****, that's expensive.' He then told me he
couldn't get parts from Yamaha because he'd not sold any new engines lately. He carried Triumph
brand boats, and as they went bankrupt last year, he's not gotten any to sell. Upon checking, I
found they've been bought and will be produced in Minnesota instead of NC.

So, I called TriState Marine, the big Parker and Grady White dealer up in Deale, MD. They didn't
have the parts, but could order them. For just the solenoid, the wanted about $570, For the complete
starter assembly, the price was about $700. I almost cried. I took the boat up so the service guy
could look at it. He recommended leaving it so they could best determine what was needed. Of course,
that would add another $95/hour labor charge. I left the boat, thinking I'd probably made a $1000
boo-boo with the torque wrench.

Then I came home and called my buddy, Tim. Tim, after hearing the story, started ROFLHAO. When I
asked why he was laughing he said he couldn't believe how badly Yamaha was ripping off people, and
that he could get the whole starter assembly (a Hitachi product) for about $85. So, based on the
advice of Tim, I went back to Deale and got my boat back.

Thanks, Tim. You're a lifesaver.

And, you'd *better* make a reasonable profit on this deal!!

Did you get foot pounds mixed up with some commie metric designation?

If this is just a solenoid I think I might get creative. I know
Mercury wanted about $35 for a solenoid for my old Mariner 75 that I
could get at the lawn tractor repair for $8. Same part.

My neighbor got a quote of over $700 for the high pressure fuel pump
for his Merc 115, with the promise that this was a deal, it listed for
over a grand. I-Boats has it for under $200. I can only believe they
were selling him the whole vapor separator assembly or something.
The last I heard the same "stealer" was going to allow him to extend
his extended warranty (that expired a few weeks ago) and they would
fix it for "free".

No, my torque wrench has both units on it. I'm used to using it for head bolts. The 'click' I'm used
to is easy to hear and feel. At 8 n-m, the 'click' barely registers and I passed it completely.
Later, using a vise, I played around with it and realized my mistake. I almost took the damn thing
back to Sears, but it wasn't the wrench. It was the wrencher.

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