BRUCE1911 said:
Ok he only works on boat engines but is not a dealer has done it for years I looked at it last night the crank may not be bent but fly wheel prolly is it wobels some and the nut on top of fly wheel looks like it is not tight cross threaded and has jb weld on it so I am sure the threads on the crank r in bad shape he just didn't think it would be a idea to spend a bunch of money trying to get it all apart to seeing what's wrong especially since I need it this weekend its not been dropped by either of us he thinks maybe it was pryed on trying to get it off the jb weld has been there a while and he called me as soon as I left with the news he never removed from boat
Amazing....at so many levels.
Like I said earlier, a slight up and down movement at the edge of the flywheel means nothing, zero, zip.
We have independents come in our shop all the time looking for parts, asking for information, wanting free troubleshooting help, etc, Most do not have proper troubleshooting equipment. Some change physical locations every couple of years due to some conflict with their landowner, getting arrested for drugs, etc, or a law suit from a customer temporarily puts them out of business.
Most are parts changers with a line of BS a mile long to back up their lack of knowledge until they finally luck out and fix it or the customer pulls the engine out of their shop. Ever hear about the one that told a customer his crankshaft was bent on his 25hp?
We are always getting engines in to work on that have been totally butchered by these rocket scientists in many different ways. Pissed off engine owners who have been ripped-off by these guys are often hard to deal with when they come in.
I have tried to purchase engines from these guys to get back in shape and flip. On more than one occasion the engine advertised as running had a locked up powerhead or gearcase. Twice at one "shop". Other times the engine listed was in fact up to a decade older than advertised.
The latest one we currently are putting back into service is a Yamaha 4-stroke that was found with the timing belt so far off the valves hit the pistons. According to the customer the "Mechanic" blamed this on mud-daubers. We found this out about two weeks after the mechanic had been in our shop asking how to time the cams on this engine. The customer said that the engine had simply sat up a long time and ran rough but ran prior to having a mobile guy come out and "fix" it.
This is not to say all are bad. Some are good enough to have become an independant AUTHORIZED service center. It is a buyer beware market however and before you or anyone else reading this trusts a very expensive piece of equipment to a mechanic, ask to see the manuals and electronic test equipment. Make sure the shop is clean and organized, the work will be the same if it is. Look around while you are there, is his toolbox a junk pile? Ask about any guarantee of workmanship and materials. Ask for current references.