Cracked Housing

[Salty Pete]

Thought I would drop in a couple of pics of my Suzuki 30 HP outboard where a nasty crack has appeared at the front right corner of the plastic housing.

I am lost as to may have cracked it. It is in a position that could not be impacted by anything with damaging the rest of the outboard cowling.

When I tilt the outboard it is well clear of everything.

I can only put it down to a weak spot in the plastic.

Any ideas?

[Pikey Dave]

Have the cowls been tightened up & not aligned correctly? This was a common problem on Etecs as the cowls were a very tight fit.

[Salty Pete]

Yes Pikey I think you are correct. When I posted my photos I hadn't started to repair it. When I loosened the screw the cracked part of the cowling realigned indicating that the screw was forcing the cowling out of alignment, resulting in the crack.

The cowling didn't look out of line so there may be a wire stuck between the joint. I'll check that before I retighten the screw.

Somebody in the Suzuki factory was not watching what they were doing.