Shaft seal

[Eric863]

I have a 2022 Axis… we have been using the boat daily with no issues… one day it just shuts off and battery’s die. My husband pulls it by hand to the trailer and we wench it up and take it to the dealer. 
Dealer calls and asks if the boat sank. We say no we have been using it daily no issues. They insist that it has been sank. Weeks go by and they call and say it has a bad shaft seal. 
sending it it for warranty repair. 
Months go by… apparently warranty doesn’t want to cover it. Dealer says they will fight for it…  After more months go by Malibu calls today and says the reason they won’t cover it is bc it’s the dealers fault. The reason the seal failed is because of the alignment from the dealer. 
Dealer says it’s a warranty issue…. 
also found out the whole motor needs to be replaced bc of the water that came in. 
can anyone give me their thoughts/Advise? 
we are 9 months in… Do I fight… just pay to fix it? Any ideas on a rough estimate on price? 
thank you for any help you can give

[COOP]

 

 

How did you not notice enough water in the hull to do damage to the motor? You didnt wonder why the bilge pumps were running non-stop? You didnt notice the boat was sluggish from all the extra weight?

 

[Rednucleus]

Welcome to the Crew. I think we need more details! You say it just dies one day in the beginning, then say at the end they tell you water got in the motor.  What I infer from this is the bilge got so full you had water damage?  Does the boat stay in the water or always trailered?  Was your auto bilge pump not working??  A leaking shaft is a warranty item, but if you don't see that you bilge is filling with water that's another story - so please, give us a detailed story/timeline of events. IMO it would take a catastophic shaft leak or days in the water w/o a bilge pump to do what you are suggesting.

[Eric863]

We did notice the bilge pump running what seemed like nonstop and called the dealership…. They said that was normal with regular use. So we kept using it for months with it running what seemed like a lot. 
we didn’t notice it running sluggish at all. 
It would be kept in the water for a few days at a time. 
 

[Eric863]

1 hour ago, COOP said:

 

 

How did you not notice enough water in the hull to do damage to the motor? You didnt wonder why the bilge pumps were running non-stop? You didnt notice the boat was sluggish from all the extra weight?

 

Not sure that it matters at this point but we also had just had our 200hour service done a month before. Is a shaft seal something that normally gets checked?

[dizzygti]

On 3/22/2024 at 4:03 PM, Eric863 said:

I have a 2022 Axis… we have been using the boat daily with no issues… one day it just shuts off and battery’s die....

also found out the whole motor needs to be replaced 

Well that escalated quickly.   

[oldjeep]

On 3/22/2024 at 5:50 PM, Eric863 said:

Not sure that it matters at this point but we also had just had our 200hour service done a month before. Is a shaft seal something that normally gets checked?

Shaft alignment would likely get checked.  As for anyone telling you that it is normal for a boat to have the bilge running all the time - no way.  Mine has only ever run after a rainstorm when the boat was moored.

Why exactly are they saying the motor has to be replaced?  Pretty sure you would have noticed if boat had sunk enough to submerge the intake.

[Eric863]

Dealer is saying it’s a warranty issue. Malibu called us and said it’s the dealerships fault bc the alignment was on them and then they didn’t follow protocol when the boat came in with so much water. That the motor coukd have been salvaged but they didn’t do it correctly so now we need a whole new one. He also said we should just file an insurance claim.  
Something just feels off about the whole thing. If there was that much water how did it not look saggy in the back? How did we move it by hand onto the trailer … We are clearly pretty novice at all of this but I feel like anyone would notice some of the signs.

[COOP]

Im curious what dealer told you its normal for the bilge pump to run all the time.

[ahopkins22LSV]

I think you need to get a written statement of the issues found, how they were diagnosed and a written statement of corrections needed. There seems to be a lot of he said she said going on here that will get no one anywhere. 
 

If there was enough water in the boat to swamp the engine, you would not have been able to load it on the trailer nor really drive the boat. You also would have gotten multiple alarms on the dash with probably a loss of power. You would have absolutely known. 

[justgary]

This Tread Needs Moar Pictures!

[23LSVOwner]

Dealers are supposed to check and if necessary correct the alignment at the initial break in service as well as the 150 hr service. The engine being severely out of line can cause severe wear on the shaft seal as well as the shaft log if it is really out of spec. Checks annually also.

Edited March 26 by 23LSVOwner
Spelling

[23LSVOwner]

[justgary]

On 3/22/2024 at 3:03 PM, Eric863 said:

My husband pulls it by hand to the trailer and we wench it up and take it to the dealer. 

So, exactly how much water was in the boat when you put it on the trailer right after it quit?  Did you pull the drain plug, was the drain plug already out, did you take it to the dealer full of water?  We're not getting the whole story here.

Photos of your engine would be great.  I'm expecting to see a water line on it somewhere.

[formulaben]

On 3/26/2024 at 7:20 AM, justgary said:

We're not getting the whole story here.