Mercury Customer Service
 

Well, the verdict is in from Mercury. I blew my powerhead the first trip out in early May. The engine was entering its 5th season and has about 550 hrs. on it (200 hp Opti) and was 1 week out of warranty. Merc agreed to cover the parts ($8400 !!) under warranty, but not labor. After waiting for a couple of weeks for the powerhead to ship and being told it was backordered, I had enough and called to complain that I was without my boat for too long. Got a call from Merc then stating they were sending a "dressed" powerhead instead so in effect, I will have a new engine other than the lower unit. So, the part was received on Wed. and I should be back in water by Monday. So, other than the waiting, Merc did right by me. It helps tons that Optimax has a well deserved bad reputation for blowing heads and they are trying to salvage their customer base. Probably also helped that I stated that I was being influenced by my friends always telling me how much they loved their Yamaha 4 strokes !