ETEC 200 snapped engine mount bolts !?

[Seppo BNE]

Was out yesterday and noticed the engine moving around a but more than it normally does on the way back to the ramp, especially throttling up/down..

Checking at the ramp there was definitely more movement - i thought an upper mount rubber had died.

At home, had a look around the net, and apparently the bolts breaking are a thing that 150-250 HP Etecs can do.
Went outside and had a look, and pulled the ends of the bolts by hand - they came out !!!! - argh.
About 1cm into the thread along the bolt, it had snapped.

You could see the break progress over time across the bolt, with corroded face area (about 2/3 cross section), and clean break (1/3 cross section).
There was a fair amount of surface corrosion on the bolt.

Jim from Slades reckons he has seen a few older Etec's (2005-2007) with broken bolts, especially the big blocks (heavier?), other guys had not seen it before though.

To get at the mount and broken bolts, the powerhead has to come off - DOH! - I hope nothing else is bent..

[scottar]

Got any pics Seppo

[Oceanic Dave]

Yes, i am curious too

[Ocean_Spirit]

Never heard / seen it? Do you mean the engine bolts? I had the mounts replaced on my 250 early on, but have never heard of this.

[Seppo BNE]

See pics further below-- didn't use the advanced tab here...

[Darren Mc]

Yeah you have to go into the Go Advanced section below, next to the Post Quick Reply bit for us to be able to see pics.

[Seppo BNE]

Pics or it didn't happen try 2 :)

Bolt Location
112134

Loose Bolt
112135

Snapped bolt full view
112136
112137
112138

Some similar links:
http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/509171-almost-lost-my-motor-weekend.html
http://www.etecownersgroup.com/post/sheared-steering-mount-bolts-6013589
(http://www.etecownersgroup.com/post/sheared-steering-mount-bolts-6013589)
It looks like nothing else is bent/broken - but it means no boat for the weekend and Australia day!!??
Maybe able to get it back on the water for the weekend following :) -- fingers crossed..

Seppo..

[Dan5]

Did they break off this bad?

[Darren Mc]

Did they break off this bad?
Holy Crap...

[Darren Mc]

Geez that's bad hey seppo.

[scottar]

All the 4 banger owners just wish they had enough grunt to snap bolts like that. Helmet fastened, popcorn cooked LOL.

[Seppo BNE]

Nothing like the sound of a 2 stroke at full noise on a Sunday morning :)
I do wonder how common problems like that actually are.
Cant wait to get back on the water, though, may give a reason to get other things done on it in the meantime.

[Fed]

I reckon you could hang the motor vertically, undo the bottom mounts and move it away from the rest of the stern assembly.
Then you could get to what's left of the bolts....maybe.

Do you tow it with the motor not in the fully up position?

[Moonlighter]

Gee, i thought that might just be the in-built eTec automatic jettisoning system commencing operation......

You know, the system that the owner activates after having been towed in 4 times and had to replace the 4th faulty injector, and replaced the trim and tilt unit that wont stay up for the third time......?😜

[Spaniard_King]

Gee, i thought that might just be the in-built eTec automatic jettisoning system commencing operation......

You know, the system that the owner activates after having been towed in 4 times and had to replace the 4th faulty injector, and replaced the trim and tilt unit that wont stay up for the third time......?

That is extremely poor form! Why would you you come out with a comment like that if it wasn't to just belittle the owner. Keep those comments to yourself or take them else where IMO

[Moonlighter]

Settle down, get a sense of humour.

[Seppo BNE]

Fed, - I always re-set the engine onto the trim lock? (not sure what it's called) when done.

Good idea on swinging the engine around off the lower mount - problem is I don't have much in the way of lifting gear and spare time, and for a reasonable labour cost to do it, I don't mind getting someone who's done them before to check it out.

I didn't mind the Etec jabs- I figured my auto-jettison system must have had a failure :) - lucky for me !!
I have been pretty happy with it so far, around 80 hrs in 5 months and it has been really good. Though, like anything mechanical, corrosion, age, and sometimes bad design choices results in things breaking.
Have read good and bad stories about them, but, until time comes to repower, I will make the most of it :)

Hope to get a few more years out of it, but, you never know. -- It's true that BOAT = Bring out another thousand ;) -- but, geez, it's fun in the meantime :)

[Spaniard_King]

Settle down, get a sense of humour.
I loose my sense of humor when people fail to take their foot out of their mouth before engaging their brain!

[stue2]

Did they break off this bad?
Yep...Too much torque

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

[Oceanic Dave]

Fed, - I always re-set the engine onto the trim lock? (not sure what it's called) when done.

Good idea on swinging the engine around off the lower mount - problem is I don't have much in the way of lifting gear and spare time, and for a reasonable labour cost to do it, I don't mind getting someone who's done them before to check it out.

I didn't mind the Etec jabs- I figured my auto-jettison system must have had a failure :) - lucky for me !!
I have been pretty happy with it so far, around 80 hrs in 5 months and it has been really good. Though, like anything mechanical, corrosion, age, and sometimes bad design choices results in things breaking.
Have read good and bad stories about them, but, until time comes to repower, I will make the most of it :)

Hope to get a few more years out of it, but, you never know. -- It's true that BOAT = Bring out another thousand ;) -- but, geez, it's fun in the meantime :)

Love your attitude :)

[scottar]

Courtesy of Seppo's post, this afternoon I added these bolts to my regular maintenance regime. They came out easy enough (with the threads still attached thankfully) and much the same as Seppo's, exhibited surface corrosion. This cleaned away easily with a wire brush with only some very minor surface pitting in a couple of spots on each bolt remaining - not in the threaded area. Replacements will be ordered but for now they have been thoroughly greased (they were installed dry at manufacture) and re-installed. Certainly worth investigating before they potentially become a problem. Cheers for the heads up Seppo.

[Seppo BNE]

Glad the posts were useful for someone! :)
We got ours back on the water with a new upper mount, new bolts and an unbent gear select rod. Was a bit of a mission work wise, but, glad it's done.
When I picked it up, the guys mentioned the lower mounts look a bit swollen and over time, it will bind on the gear select rod and make a mess in the lower half.
Decided to change the lower mounts out as well - bought the bits in from the US with bolts and all, and changed them over today.
The lower mounts were shot - swollen and corroded very badly - they were pushing the lower end of the engine out by approx. 7mm or so.

Was a mission getting them out - ended up drilling through the rubber and corrosion in the middle of the mount where there is rubber, being careful not to add holes to the lower leg :)

New mounts look much nicer--

112427112428112429112430

[littlejim]

Seems incredible a bolt that thick could bust. As a WAG you would say either poor quality or wrong grade of bolt, or else over torqued when fitted.
Can't comment on ones to get because I'm not qualiified in that area.
One of the projects (non-boating) I did a while back required all the bolts to be high tensile.
the man at the specialty bolt shop should be able to advise.