My 18 month old Alpha one lower unit started making bad noises on my last trip out, so I took it in to a mechanic. The first thing he did was drain the oil. When he took the bottom plug out, some oil drained out, along with lots of little pieces of metal. The quantity that came out was less than it should have been. Upon further investigation, he discovered a lot of very severe wear on the bearings, gears etc... which indicates it was not getting enough oil.
I was confused by this because I very regularly check the reservoir mounted in the engine compartment (as per the owner's manual) and there is an alarm system that is supposed to sound if the oil quantity gets too low. The mechanic says the line from the reservoir to the lower unit has a rise in it that is level with the "fill" line of the reservoir. This prevents the oil in the reservoir from getting to the lower unit if the oil level drops to the fill line, and apparently the alarm is set to go off when the oil level goes below that line also, meaning it will never go off. He says it is a design flaw. I asked him if I should try to get some relief from the company, even though my warranty expired 6 months ago. He said that it would be a waste of effort.
I tend to agree with the mechanic. I don't believe that the company has any obligation to offset my repair costs, even if I assume I can really document a valid design flaw, but on the other hand, i feel like I kinda got screwed.
Any opinions or advice?
I was confused by this because I very regularly check the reservoir mounted in the engine compartment (as per the owner's manual) and there is an alarm system that is supposed to sound if the oil quantity gets too low. The mechanic says the line from the reservoir to the lower unit has a rise in it that is level with the "fill" line of the reservoir. This prevents the oil in the reservoir from getting to the lower unit if the oil level drops to the fill line, and apparently the alarm is set to go off when the oil level goes below that line also, meaning it will never go off. He says it is a design flaw. I asked him if I should try to get some relief from the company, even though my warranty expired 6 months ago. He said that it would be a waste of effort.
I tend to agree with the mechanic. I don't believe that the company has any obligation to offset my repair costs, even if I assume I can really document a valid design flaw, but on the other hand, i feel like I kinda got screwed.
Any opinions or advice?