3 replies to this topic

[Vince]

I own a 2005 SCIC that I bought used in August 2005 with 20 hours on it. It was still under factory warranty until May 31 2006. Put another 5 hours on it that fall and had the dealer give it a full service and winterization . This June whiile operating the boat, I noticed I was getting hot water in the bilge, enough to cause the bilge pump to cycle. When I put it up in my hoist, I would drain about a gallon of hot water out the drain plugs. Took it back to the dealer and they could not duplicate the problem. (By the way, I'm 55 years old, baby all my boats, and am very picky about having all defaults fixed immediately. This boat is on Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri)

To make a long story short, on 4th of July weekend, while cruising around 30 mph @ approx 5,000 rpm, the boat locked up with a bang. Smoke and steam came out of the engine hatch and I noticed oil and water in my bilge. When the dealer finally got around to tearing down the engine (six weeks later) he reported that one of the pistons blew out through the side of the block destroying the engine and starter. .

Lucky for me, I had paid the $1500 to extend the Warranty an additional three years, only because I was leary of a 155 hp motor being super-charged up to 215 hp. The warranty covered it and they are still, as of today, in the process of dropping in a brand new $6,800 engine.

I asked the dealer if he'd had any others come in with such a major failure and he said no. They've had super charger problems and exhaust problems, but no blown engines.

I'm interested to know if anyone else has had this experience with the SCIC? When I get this boat back, I'm seriously contemplating trading it for the standard Sporter 155 hp, since I suspect super-charging that engine has to put major stress on it and shortens the life of the engine.

While I like the power of the SCIC, I would be willing to sacrifice speed for something more dependable and less maintenance. I would appreciate any other opinions or advice.

Vince

[Yuji]

Well...in the watercraft there have been a few go like this due to floated valves which is caused by hitting the rev limiter too often. I would say the water in the bilge is a problem...how much water did you have in there when the motor blew? Ingesting water can cause issues like bent rods due to hydrolock. I have found the Supercharged motors to be just as reliable as the Naturally Aspirated and wouldn't give up the hp and performance for nothing

Your dealer should be able to determine what caused this catastrophic failure and I'm confident it has nothing to with the fact that it is supercharged. Your carbon seal might have been causing the water in the bilge, was it cavitating lots and causing poor low-end performance?

Keep us posted on what the dealer finds to be the cause.


Yuji

[Vince]

Well...in the watercraft there have been a few go like this due to floated valves which is caused by hitting the rev limiter too often.  I would say the water in the bilge is a problem...how much water did you have in there when the motor blew?  Ingesting water can cause issues like bent rods due to hydrolock.  I have found the Supercharged motors to be just as reliable as the Naturally Aspirated and wouldn't give up the hp and performance for nothing 

Your dealer should be able to determine what caused this catastrophic failure and I'm confident it has nothing to with the fact that it is supercharged.  Your carbon seal might have been causing the water in the bilge, was it cavitating lots and causing poor low-end performance? 

Keep us posted on what the dealer finds to be the cause.


Yuji

Yuji,

When I got the boat up on the trailer and pulled the drain plugs, I got about a half gallon of mixed water and oil. The oil came from the hole in the block and there was not enough water to have injested into the engine. Up to that point in tme, the boat was performing fine, good low end power and no cavitation. The dealer mentioned a possible bad wrist pin. What's weird is that I got no warning signals before it went boom!

Thanks for your comments.

Vince

[poorcanuck]

Well...in the watercraft there have been a few go like this due to floated valves which is caused by hitting the rev limiter too often.  I would say the water in the bilge is a problem...how much water did you have in there when the motor blew?  Ingesting water can cause issues like bent rods due to hydrolock.  I have found the Supercharged motors to be just as reliable as the Naturally Aspirated and wouldn't give up the hp and performance for nothing 

Your dealer should be able to determine what caused this catastrophic failure and I'm confident it has nothing to with the fact that it is supercharged.  Your carbon seal might have been causing the water in the bilge, was it cavitating lots and causing poor low-end performance? 

Keep us posted on what the dealer finds to be the cause.


Yuji

Yuji,

When I got the boat up on the trailer and pulled the drain plugs, I got about a half gallon of mixed water and oil. The oil came from the hole in the block and there was not enough water to have injested into the engine. Up to that point in tme, the boat was performing fine, good low end power and no cavitation. The dealer mentioned a possible bad wrist pin. What's weird is that I got no warning signals before it went boom!

Thanks for your comments.

Vince

Guys your making me worried. I bought a new 2006 SCIC 3 weeks ago, haven't even put it on the water yet, and likely won't do till next spring.
Up to this point I've been riding PWC's, mostly Seadoo with no problems. However when I starrt using the boat should I be looking/listening for different things?
Are there any tips as to how I should break it in?

I guess the good news at this point is that I paid for the 4 year warranty.