Norris Marine repair/service reviews, or boat mechanic recommendations Moore/Norman

[zseese]

I hate to keep raining on this parade (or post as it is) but the post above about doing it yourself is right. I do have a recommendation for a shop out towards Tuttle, CJS Automotive and Marine. Good guys and they both have boats of there own. They do all of the major things that I don't want to attack. I have a 1997 Crownline that I bought in Tulsa, and the only thing I have used Norris for is getting parts from Crownline. Have had too many stories told to me about Norris. As a mater of fact, I know a guy that has a 22 foot Crownline that he takes to Texas to have things done because he dislikes Norris so much.

I appreciate your input, and like I said before, after I have some more experience with the I/O setup I will do the work myself, I already taught myself the winterizing process, but since I am not familiar with the I/O setup, functionality (besides the engine) I want someone to go over it with experience to point out any potential problems before summer, and if Nichols does not work out, I will try that CJ's place!

I have one that I tinker with. You should post the problem or pics. Never know when someone on here could help!!

I'm semi familiar with mercruiser bravo ones, and mercruiser engines.

It is a 3.0 Volvo Penta I/O with the SX outdrive, the only "problem is a leak from the back that appears to be either hydraulic or steering fluid (looks and feels like ATF) but I haven't been able to track down the leak, otherwise I want a second opinion on the boats 100% mechanical clean bill of health before it is lake season!!! Mostly just for my peace of mind, ya know?

 

[PUMPKIN]

Oh I hear ya. I have a I/o 454 and a bravo one. You say leaking from the back? In the engine compartment or down by the.prop??? I don't know much about Volvo outdrives. Look to see what oil level is low, mine has a clear resivoir for the outdrive oil, they are bad about leaking from the bottomside of those. Or the hydraulic unit may be low?

 

[zseese]

Oh I hear ya. I have a I/o 454 and a bravo one. You say leaking from the back? In the engine compartment or down by the.prop??? I don't know much about Volvo outdrives. Look to see what oil level is low, mine has a clear resivoir for the outdrive oil, they are bad about leaking from the bottomside of those. Or the hydraulic unit may be low?

Well, I actually noticed the fluid coming off of the trailers back bar/rear most roller, so it could be either from the steering or hydraulic lines for trim going to the outdrive so far as I know anyways, but the engine compartment is so crowded with that massive little four banger (it's actually not big, just crowded compartment) that I'm having a hard time looking around there to figure it out, I'll give it another gander in the morning before it is warm enough to begin finishing up my fence rebuild (bought a home a few years back, not cheap either, I'm starting to question my intelligence after the boat purchase in addition to the house...), but I'll probably end up taking it in whether I track down the leak or not, for the previously mentioned peace of mind.

Edit: I'm jealous of your 454 btw, very jealous...

 

[PUMPKIN]

Man, outside the boat would be a prop seal or trim cylinders or hoses. But like I said don't know much about volvos.

 

[CBCollier]

If it is ATF fluid, red in color, it is most likely from the Trim Cylinders or the power steering like Pumpkin said. My boat uses ATF fluid in the power steering system.

 

[bigcountryok]

I've used Norris once to do some work on my 115hp outboard Merc. Work was completed in a reasonable amount of time and done properly from what I could tell. I would use them again.

 

[zseese]

Well the leak is power steering fluid I'm almost positive, the reservoir is completely empty and the bottom of the engine compartment has a 1/8" deep "pool" of red fluid, so at least that will help troubleshooting, since the motor I can work with, the outdrive not so much, thanks for the input y'all, oh and in case anyone is curious nichols has a 2 week wait and Norris said they can take boats now...

 

[jakeman]

................nichols has a 2 week wait and Norris said they can take boats now...

Think there might be a reason for that?

You gonna be doing any boating in the next couple weeks?

It's your boat, so do with it what you will.

 

[zseese]

Think there might be a reason for that?

You gonna be doing any boating in the next couple weeks?

It's your boat, so do with it what you will.

Well one reason is they are preparing for the boat show coming up at the end of the month, per the representative, and I only pointed that out in case it would help anyone else in my situation and never said the timeframe had any effect on where I was going to take it, and if the weather stays good I may do some boating in the next few days, thanks for the permission, glad to know it's ok to do with my boat what I will, no more asking for advise on boats, geez...thanks to everyone else who contributed...

Edit: oh yeah, the dealer I got the boat from is closed so I can't ask, but since the power steering reservoir is COMPLETELY empty, I'm thinking maybe it is because they emptied it as part of the winterization process, and just did it the lazy way and didn't get it all out, I say this because I tried to track down a leak for hours today and couldn't find where it could be coming from, no drips on the hoses, trickles down the side of the compartment or anything, just the pool in the bottom...

 

[sixseven]

I take my boat to Boats n Moore strictly for winterizing and dewinterizing, I know you can't judge a book by its cover but the only boats I ever see at that place are old men's fishing boats with small outboards. No way would I trust them to do anything other than winterizing on my wakesurf boat.

Fun Boat Store is right by my house buy i have never seen anything other than pontoons there and wouldn't feel comfortable taking my baby there either.

Whatever you do, STEER FAR AWAY from H&H Marine. I took my 27' Baja there just to get an oil change, took it straight from their shop to the lake and as soon as i got past the no wake zone, the engine seized up. Turns out there was NO OIL in it. Their answer when i went back to them was, "it's right here on the reciept. we charged you for it, so we put it in." Went round and round with them and the only thing i was able to get out of them was, "we'll fix it free if you buy the new motor." $5000 it cost me for a new motor. Will never step foot in there again.

There really isn't a great selection of boat shops in the metro as far as repair and/or customization goes...I am getting some custom audio work done on mine that requires some glass work and I ended up taking it to Lewisville to a place I know does high quality work. Depending on what you need done, a short drive can be well worth the piece of mind you'll have from knowing its done right.