MacGregorSailors.com

Hey Y'all,
Well I received two props today. One of them was from Defender Marine. I tried to order a Pro Pulse prop from them. After doing a lot more research there are two different spline props for the 13" size. Guess what I ordered the wrong one. I am returning this one and I might order the other correct one.
Okay on to the rest of the story. I was excited to see my driver Richie come up and deliver the box for the other prop. I opened it up and went out to see if it fit. Well guess what? The "new", with plenty of nicks and just plain gross looking, prop did not fit. It also is a 15 spline prop while I have a 13 spline. The thrust washer and other related hardware are also wrong. I called the company and after a lengthy hold I was told to send this prop back and "we" will see IF they can fin me another prop. I was again reminded that I did not "pay" for this prop but that it was thrown in for free. This was from the same guy that sold me the motor. In the mean time I start looking at the motor and guess what? The lower unit is leaking oil. Nice!!! Now I am not going to blame that on them because something could have happened when the prop was thrown. So I tear down the bearing hub and see they did not replace the anode. It looks old or make that used. Remember this is the second running with about a hour total of running time. I would not expect any pitting much less holes in the anode. I then take the bearing hub out and some of the seals look like trash. Whoever rebuilt this unit did not do the job I would have done. As a side note I have worked on the Navy's aircraft for the last twenty-two years. If my quality assurance guy were to look at this I would be doing it over again.
So I am in the process of ordering the parts to reseal up the lower unit like it should have been. I am debating if I want to order a prop so that I don't have to deal with these people any more. The one year warranty does not mean anything to me. I can do it myself cheaper and with the reassurance that it was done right the first time. So have fun. I might see y'all out on the water again one of these days. Tony

Tony
Look at the bright side. If the prop didn't disappear you would have never known about the bad seal which could have been a catastrophic event. Hope it works out for you--can't wait to see the pics of an at 30+ mph

Bob

Hello, Y'all,
Well I went to the Evinrude dealer after I checked online for the prices. I spent $120 or so for the parts. Online it would have been about $110 with shipping. The local dealer cost did not include tax or shipping. So I am waiting to see how much that is going to be. If I feel too ripped off I will buy online next time. I know I should buy from the local guy but there is a point to savings. We will see by Tuesday or so. I am waiting to see if I win a prop on eBay. Hopefully I will have the boat next weekend. Y'all have fun, Tony

When dealing with the Online vs Local dilemma, I always figure in the chance of getting a defective, or wrong part. When I know that I want to tear something down and repair in one shot, it is handy to be able to hand the defective part to the local dealer and get a replacement on the spot, rather than wait for one to come from the online merchant. It can take many days a/or weeks to deal with this problem at a distance. You have to talk with a real person, get a return authorization, ship the part back, wait for them to determine if they are liable and get the part shipped back. To me, it's not worth 10-20% savings on small ticket items. JMHO

~Rich

Another update,
I called the locals dealer to see if my parts were in. The real parts guy said that on Thursday when I placed my order they did not have enough for a minimum order. He said that the order was placed on Monday. It might be in Wednesday. I can see that I will have to pay shipping on my order also. I am not really impressed with the service this dealership is providing. Having engine troubles is not making things any better. Hopefully the parts will be here before the weekend. Have fun, Tony

Hello Y'all,
I have a dilemma. It is now Thursday. I have not received a call from the local parts guy. I spoke to him before about ordering the parts to place the prop on the motor. He said to me that it would take two days to get them in if he ordered them before noon. Now I know I came into the shop last Wednesday and the true parts guy was not there. So I am assuming that on Thursday he could have ordered them. He told me later that they did not have enough for a minimum order. So they were ordered last Monday. Now two days later should have been yesterday, Wednesday, I have not heard from them. They said they would call me. It is now Thursday and still no call. I want to order the parts online because I still haven't heard from them. I am going to wait till tomorrow afternoon to give them the benefit of the doubt. I still feel that I am going to get ripped off. What would y'all do.

Personally I would get my money back and then buy on line. I know it can be risky (wrong/defective parts) but I have never had a problem with that happening. U tried a local dealer and look at the service, or nonservice, that you are getting. For my purchases I buy 90% of everything on line, only to exclude groceries and things I need ASAP. And most things you can find not only cheaper but also buy from reputable dealers/manufactures. I needed a new prop for my 25hp Johnson, called a local dealer just to get a price, but ordered it on line and saved $15 even with shipping, had it in four days. Just my thoughts.



Allan

See the Birthday VHF post in the front room of the pub - I like We$$t Marine and the local guys working there but 100+ is 100+. I to have become an on-liner for a large number of electronic and other significant dollar purchases.

Hello Y'all,
I waited till about 3:30 pm my time in the wet rainy Charleston, Sc. area. I did not get a call. Yes I know I should have called the store but I felt I was receiving an attitude when I went in there. Believe me when I need something even if I have to pay for it I will suck up. So I ordered the parts from Shopevinrude.com. The total price including shipping was $98. There alone I saved about $20. I hope to have it in for next weekend. I have promised a friend that I will take her for a ride. Well I will keep you in touch. Have fun, Tony

See...no fuss, no muss and no crappy sales people to put up with Saved money, time and gas!



Allan

Hey Y'all,
It is Tuesday here and still no call from the local dealer. The parts, per the Evinrude parts place said tomorrow with the tracking. My guy in brown usually delivers in the morning. I will hopefully have it back in the water about two hours after that. Have fun, Tony

Well her goes,
I met Richie at the door with my box. It took about an hour to reinstall all the parts along with the new cotter pin. I also refilled the new oil and after I go take a drug test for school I am going to go for a ride. Hopefully by 4:30 this afternoon I am going to be motoring up the Ashley. When I come back I plan on draining the lower unit oil to hopefully get every last bit of water out of the lower unit. I used a lot of brake cleaner and gas to clean it out. I hope that and the changing it will do the trick. Thanks again. Have fun, Tony

Tony,
Hoping, this time every thing has gone well, so we are waiting to hear from you about the performance of 115 hp.

Hey Y'all,
I left school on Thursday to drive home. I checked my messages to see that the local dealer left me a message that the parts were in. he said that he called me and left a message. I have my phone on all the time. Being his first call to me since I ordered the parts I was a little upset with him. I was debating whether to go and talk to him. He definitely said that he would call me when they came in. The call this past Thursday was two weeks after I ordered them. The service I received from the online store was exceptional compared to them. Well I finally figured out what was causing the boat to run like trash. I took off the vro, oiler, and the motor seems to run fine. I am going to take it out tomorrow after school and see how it runs. Well have fun, Tony

Tony-

Since you mentioned removing the VRO, I hope you at least added oil to the fuel tank. As I'm sure you know that the VRO is the engine's oil source & running it without would NOT be good!

FWIW - Back in the early '90's when I met my (now) wife, she had ownership of her family's motorboat. It had a Johnson 120 hp V4 VRO (late '80's vintage). Same as your E115 (porting is different). Ran like a champ, but the family observed that it didn't draw oil. I looked into it and ended up replacing the pickup oil filter in the VRO tank. Problem solved. We never had experienced major problems with it up til when we sold it mid '90's. Even rope started it a couple of times - fairly easily (bilge pump ran down battery). Good motor...I hope you get yours dialed in for some fun!