Doing 20 hour service yourself vs dealer?

Anyone ever have a manufacturer not warranty something because you did service yourself on a boat vs a dealer? I'm not cheap, but I also like doing all my own maintenance, esp if its something simple like fluid changes.

Problem with us is we bought a boat that is a few hours away from the dealer and would rather do the maintenance ourself, but not sure how sticky the manufacturers are if something did go wrong and they wanted to point fingers. I'm sure if you had all receipts and documented everything they wouldn't have a leg to stand on but....

I've done every service myself on my boat and it now has 600+ hours on it. Never once back to the dealer, or any shop for anything.
But no warranty claims either, so I wouldn't know if it was a problem or not...
I think if you have receipts, and can show the work was performed, you should have no problem.

for the 20 hour service i def recommend a certified shop. wether that be a dealer or repair shop. Its the only one i have brought mine in for. I like them looking at it with the first 20 on it is so they can go thru the whole boat and make sure its sound or tweak it if they have to. Then i can just keep up on the mantaining of it.

20 hr I would take it in. Like mentioned above, first one have them look it all over again, and I feel more comfortable. I understand they go around and check torque on a lot of nuts and bolts to make sure they are still torqued to the correct specs. I don't know these and wouldn't know where to start looking for them either.

I'm right there with you when it comes to doing all my own maintenance. I can count on one hand the # of times I've been to the "quickie lube" for my cars/trucks.

The 20hr system check at the dealership does a lot more than a fluid change. (At least at my dealer, a lot of visual and torque inspection) One of the main things is engine alignment. They also retorqued my tower bolts that had loosened a bit (would of been a while b4 I checked those). After that make sure you and your sales rep or service manager are on the same page in reguards to you doing the rest of the service.... And of course document EVERYTHING (there should be a spot in the back of your owners manual) and keep all yer receipts and you should be good to go.

Good luck and happy wrenching you knuckle busting grease monkey

haha thanks

a quick question, does it need to be done at a Moomba dealer or any dealer that works on those engines? We have 2 dealers close to us, one is a Moomba, other sells Mastercrafts, Malibu, Donzi etc. The moomba dealer is really slow right now and back logged so I have a feeling we woulnd't have our boat back for a couple of weeks, whereas the non moomba dealer usually has fast turn around.

I will be the first to admit that I do all the service myself because yes I am cheap. If I were in your situation I would much rather spend my money on a manual anmd a torque wrench, and my time on really getting to know my boat and every part on it, than driving a few hours away, not really knowing what it was they did and not having my boat for a certain amount of time right now at the beginning of summer. Add up the cost of fuel, wear and tear on tires/tow rig plus your personal time and it makes much more sense to me to DIY. With the service manual you can do everything they would, aside of maybe scanning the ecu. You may need to acquire some tools if you fdon't have them like a good fluid extractor, a fake alake or homemade version etc, but that will all be stuff you will need down the line anyways.

On another hand if you don't have confidence in your mechanical abilities don't screw up a $5,000 motor and your whole summer trying to save 500 bucks, and seems like any service center with certified technicians can do the same service. Just keep the documentation and ensure they do everything required in your manual.

My 2 c

Did mine myself. I live three hours from my dealer and they said it would be fine. Just ask your dealer to make sure they are cool with it in case you do have warranty issues.

Originally Posted by ajholt7

Did mine myself. I live three hours from my dealer and they said it would be fine. Just ask your dealer to make sure they are cool with it in case you do have warranty issues.

I currently have NO dealer in my state, so planning on 20hr service myself. Boat only has 9 hours on it, but should be hitting 20 by this weekend.

The manual that came with my supreme is worthless. No dealer around whatsoever.

What are you looking at for the 20 hrs service? wich nuts and bolts must be looked at? Anything else?

The main thing is changing all the fluids.

Originally Posted by espritv8

The manual that came with my supreme is worthless. No dealer around whatsoever.

What are you looking at for the 20 hrs service? wich nuts and bolts must be looked at? Anything else?

The Indmar manual only recommends replacing the oil/filter and tranny/v-drive fluids.
Does not mention anything else but a visual inspection, but I plane on checking major components, belts/hoses and tightness on nuts/bolts, motor mounts, etc...

I did all my own services on our last boat, so pretty straight forward stuff.