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SS LXi leaking from port side underfloor area


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My 2001 Sunsetter seems to be leaking significantly. I've narrowed it down to the port side, from the passenger seat back to the back seat. No leakage in center bilge area including shaft apacking, plugs, fin mounts, engine lines, swim platform mounts, exhaust etc etc. No water in trunk area around fuel tank or speedometer pickups. This is definitely leaking in the port side (passenger side). I examined the hull and see no obvious cracks or holes. Pump is keeping up but if battery dies shes going down.... Leaks at dock and on the lake. Question: saw some notes on layered hull, can water leach into that section from other areas?

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Your boat has the much touted-yet useless-Hydraponic Dampening System. If you lift up the floor in front of the rear seat, there is a rectangular piece of plexiglass with a bunch of screws in it. The shaft goes through there and that box fills with water. The problem is that the box (not just the cover) is not sealed to the hull properly or the sealant (Plexus) has failed. If you are the original owner it "should be" a warranty item at your dealer. What they do to fix it is remove the cover, get a grinder in there to remove excess sealant/debris. and re seal it with a special "epoxy". I had one done on a '99 LXI a few years ago.

Good luck!

Pat

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My 2001 Sunsetter seems to be leaking significantly. I've narrowed it down to the port side, from the passenger seat back to the back seat. No leakage in center bilge area including shaft apacking, plugs, fin mounts, engine lines, swim platform mounts, exhaust etc etc. No water in trunk area around fuel tank or speedometer pickups. This is definitely leaking in the port side (passenger side). I examined the hull and see no obvious cracks or holes. Pump is keeping up but if battery dies shes going down.... Leaks at dock and on the lake. Question: saw some notes on layered hull, can water leach into that section from other areas?

Check out this thread on this exact issue:

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index....6496&hl=HDS

Dave

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Check your shower or heater if you have one. It could be something as simple as that. The shower hoses run down the port side on my RLXI.

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My 2001 Sunsetter seems to be leaking significantly. I've narrowed it down to the port side, from the passenger seat back to the back seat. No leakage in center bilge area including shaft apacking, plugs, fin mounts, engine lines, swim platform mounts, exhaust etc etc. No water in trunk area around fuel tank or speedometer pickups. This is definitely leaking in the port side (passenger side). I examined the hull and see no obvious cracks or holes. Pump is keeping up but if battery dies shes going down.... Leaks at dock and on the lake. Question: saw some notes on layered hull, can water leach into that section from other areas?

Check out this thread on this exact issue:

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index....6496&hl=HDS

Dave

Bound: did your HDS fix work??? Just curious...

Pat

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My 2001 Sunsetter seems to be leaking significantly. I've narrowed it down to the port side, from the passenger seat back to the back seat. No leakage in center bilge area including shaft apacking, plugs, fin mounts, engine lines, swim platform mounts, exhaust etc etc. No water in trunk area around fuel tank or speedometer pickups. This is definitely leaking in the port side (passenger side). I examined the hull and see no obvious cracks or holes. Pump is keeping up but if battery dies shes going down.... Leaks at dock and on the lake. Question: saw some notes on layered hull, can water leach into that section from other areas?

Check out this thread on this exact issue:

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index....6496&hl=HDS

Dave

Bound: did your HDS fix work??? Just curious...

Pat

Pat,

It worked out great. I used a Dremel and ground the bad area away and then filled it back in with Plexus 310. My bilge is finally nice and dry.

This whole issue has soured me a bit on Malibu. Even though I am the original owner, Malibu blamed the leak on me saying I must have hit something. Nothing could be further from the truth. When I started to fix the leak, it was very obvious that when Malibu layed the HDS into my boat, they didn't fill in the area with enough resin where the HDS makes a 90 degree turn and meets the hull. Other than this issue, my boat has been rock solid.

Dave

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Pat,

It worked out great. I used a Dremel and ground the bad area away and then filled it back in with Plexus 310. My bilge is finally nice and dry.

This whole issue has soured me a bit on Malibu. Even though I am the original owner, Malibu blamed the leak on me saying I must have hit something. Nothing could be further from the truth. When I started to fix the leak, it was very obvious that when Malibu layed the HDS into my boat, they didn't fill in the area with enough resin where the HDS makes a 90 degree turn and meets the hull. Other than this issue, my boat has been rock solid.

Dave

I couldn't agree more. I had one that leaked from day 1. Not only that, the dealer was unable to fix it.

It was really hard for me to purchase a 2nd Malibu, but I needed a decent barefoot wake and a Sanger was simply not going to offer the space I need for my family. Now, given the butchered barefoot wake of the 2007 Rlxi, Mastercraft and Ski Nautique are just as good of options for barefooters as Malibu, unless you're willing to downsize to a Rlx.

With all that said, I'm getting along fine with my 05 Rlxi (knocking on wood) and hope to do so for many years to come.

Edited by Tom Sawyer
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Your boat has the much touted-yet useless-Hydraponic Dampening System. ...

Do the current direct drives still have this? If not, when did they phase it out?

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What I find interesting about this topic is the amount of variance in the HDS problems. I have a 02 SLxi and I hit a submerged rock shelf really hard going about 10 mph (bent all my fins, killed the prop, and put a severe angle on the rudder) and my HDS hasn't shown any signs of leaking. I love my SLxi and personally think there hasn't been a boat made that works better for what we do as a family. But the more I hear about stuff the more and more worried I get about Malibu's quality. According to the local malibu dealer's service manager, he has seen quality getting worse and worse each year. Problem is I have heard that about all the manufacturers I would considering buying a boat from. Based on the COST alone of these boats, quality shouldn't even be a thought we need to consider on a Malibu.

Just my .02

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I too think the quality issue has taken a hit. There is an old saying in construction: "Quality, Cost, or Speed. Pick any 2..."

As companies get bigger they need to compete in all aspects especially keeping costs down to keep the company in the black and ultimately keep the doors open for next year(s). Processes get streamlined to speed up production and some steps get eliminated in the process.

Why do you think more cars are being designed front wheel drive? Handling? Nope. Ease of initial assembly.

I'm sure the MC, Tige, Moomba, Centurion, Sanger, (insert the rest here...) are having the same quality control issues... (not necessarily HDS though Tease.gifMad.gif )

Patrick

Bound: glad it worked out. I guess I was lucky to have the dealer do it. (that's clean livin' for ya...)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Update........ Thumbup.gif

Well, these posts and links have been great. I pulled the HDS cover and tilted the boat forward on the trailer, it leaked along a resin seam in the back of the HDS, and several other places looked suspect. So, my son recommended duct tape, but I selected technology one notch above that, 3M Marine Sealent 5200 series. We dried out the HDS box with hair driers, sealed the cracks, put it back in the water in 12 hours. Good news is it leaks less.... Now at least the bilge only kicks on every couple hours instead of every 15 minutes. I only had 4 weeks of vacation to use the boat this year so I wanted a quick fix. I'll strip it down and refabricate the HDS correctly next spring. Boat ran so good I couldn't spare more than 12 hours of down time!

Relative to Malibu quality, in this particular case I can't fault Malibu other than for a somewhat strange shaft entry design (HDS). I have 4 teenagers and this boats been beached, swamped, crashed into a dock, had the prop dinged, was T-boned by a PWC, been towed by USBoats emergency towing when it ran ashore on a rock bar and sank, been hit by a tornado/storm cell at the dock on June 25th (was on CNN and Atlanta News), etc etc. So its a miracle it still floats at all. Amazingly it gets used several hours a day in the summer and really hasn't given us any problems we didn't create ourselves.

Thanks everyone for the input, it saved my summer! I'll post an update in the spring. I plan to refab the HDS to make it even survive a, well a bunch of teenagers......

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Update........ Thumbup.gif

It leaked along a resin seam in the back of the HDS, and several other places So, my son recommended duct tape.

This boats been beached, swamped, crashed into a dock, had the prop dinged, was T-boned by a PWC, been towed by USBoats emergency towing when it ran ashore on a rock bar and sank, been hit by a tornado/storm cell at the dock on June 25th (was on CNN and Atlanta News), etc etc.

Note to myself.....

DON'T GO BOATING WITH THIS GUY! Crazy.gif

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Update........ Thumbup.gif

It leaked along a resin seam in the back of the HDS, and several other places So, my son recommended duct tape.

This boats been beached, swamped, crashed into a dock, had the prop dinged, was T-boned by a PWC, been towed by USBoats emergency towing when it ran ashore on a rock bar and sank, been hit by a tornado/storm cell at the dock on June 25th (was on CNN and Atlanta News), etc etc.

Note to myself.....

DON'T GO BOATING WITH THIS GUY! Crazy.gif

Poor guy, he will NEVER be able to sell it on this site now :lol:

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Update........ Thumbup.gif

It leaked along a resin seam in the back of the HDS, and several other places So, my son recommended duct tape.

This boats been beached, swamped, crashed into a dock, had the prop dinged, was T-boned by a PWC, been towed by USBoats emergency towing when it ran ashore on a rock bar and sank, been hit by a tornado/storm cell at the dock on June 25th (was on CNN and Atlanta News), etc etc.

Note to myself.....

DON'T GO BOATING WITH THIS GUY! Crazy.gif

Poor guy, he will NEVER be able to sell it on this site now :lol:

Could zteslik be related to baylinernut, or possibly crownlinerdude? This guy has to be yanking our chain.

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Update........ Thumbup.gif

It leaked along a resin seam in the back of the HDS, and several other places So, my son recommended duct tape.

This boats been beached, swamped, crashed into a dock, had the prop dinged, was T-boned by a PWC, been towed by USBoats emergency towing when it ran ashore on a rock bar and sank, been hit by a tornado/storm cell at the dock on June 25th (was on CNN and Atlanta News), etc etc.

Note to myself.....

DON'T GO BOATING WITH THIS GUY! Crazy.gif

No, I'd say don't go boating with his kids. :) He's probably waiting until they're out on their own to throw down on a new Bu.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well strange that I read this thread today about the 5200 sealant in the HDS. Just got back from the lake trip today and decided while I had the boat home I'd see if I can determine where I'm taking on some water. I had noticed the past few months I'd been taking on some water. Not a lot, but getting worse the past few times. Knowing I had a leaking HDS three year ago from a impact with a log, I thought it might be leaking again at the repaired area.

So I decided to remove the lid and fill with water too see for myself. Then I found something that floored me when I took the lid off. The place in St Louis that supposedly repaired my boat had put 5200 marine sealant in the HDS. Mad.gif

So I'm back to having a damaged HDS with a bunch of gooped up sealant in there. I'm not going to take it back to First Class Fiberglass in St Louis. I'd probably end up in Jail if I go there. Mad.gif

I'm going to call a few places and see if I can find someone to just cut the HDS out and put a shaft log assembly in like every other manufacture does in their boats. I read on one thread on here some guy had done it too a sportster and it worked great. So I'm going to try it too.

I have a real sour taste in my mouth with Malibu boats for ever putting such a piece of crap design in a boat in the first place. Not like Malibu gives a crap if I do or not, but I'll never own another one.

I'll let you all know what I find out about the shaft log and if it can be done.

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Well strange that I read this thread today about the 5200 sealant in the HDS. Just got back from the lake trip today and decided while I had the boat home I'd see if I can determine where I'm taking on some water. I had noticed the past few months I'd been taking on some water. Not a lot, but getting worse the past few times. Knowing I had a leaking HDS three year ago from a impact with a log, I thought it might be leaking again at the repaired area.

So I decided to remove the lid and fill with water too see for myself. Then I found something that floored me when I took the lid off. The place in St Louis that supposedly repaired my boat had put 5200 marine sealant in the HDS. Mad.gif

So I'm back to having a damaged HDS with a bunch of gooped up sealant in there. I'm not going to take it back to First Class Fiberglass in St Louis. I'd probably end up in Jail if I go there. Mad.gif

I'm going to call a few places and see if I can find someone to just cut the HDS out and put a shaft log assembly in like every other manufacture does in their boats. I read on one thread on here some guy had done it too a sportster and it worked great. So I'm going to try it too.

I have a real sour taste in my mouth with Malibu boats for ever putting such a piece of crap design in a boat in the first place. Not like Malibu gives a crap if I do or not, but I'll never own another one.

I'll let you all know what I find out about the shaft log and if it can be done.

Bob -

I had the same problems with my 2001 and with the same establishment.....coincidence? I think not! They took several unsuccessful shots at repairing my HDS. Your story sure does sound familiar...it would be a bit better after getting the boat back, but would eventually get worse until the bilge pump would run continuously. Even though I'm sure they contracted through the shop you refer to, in my case it was Dan's Boats who was responsible for the repair(s) The guy who eventually got the boat sent me pictures of all the 5200 he had to dig out of the HDS box before he could make a proper repair. What a mess.

I contacted Malibu several times about not being able to get my HDS repaired...they wouldn't give me the time of day. I hear you on the fear of jail...Dan doesn't want to run into me if he knows what's good for him. Mad.gif

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Well strange that I read this thread today about the 5200 sealant in the HDS. Just got back from the lake trip today and decided while I had the boat home I'd see if I can determine where I'm taking on some water. I had noticed the past few months I'd been taking on some water. Not a lot, but getting worse the past few times. Knowing I had a leaking HDS three year ago from a impact with a log, I thought it might be leaking again at the repaired area.

So I decided to remove the lid and fill with water too see for myself. Then I found something that floored me when I took the lid off. The place in St Louis that supposedly repaired my boat had put 5200 marine sealant in the HDS. Mad.gif

So I'm back to having a damaged HDS with a bunch of gooped up sealant in there. I'm not going to take it back to First Class Fiberglass in St Louis. I'd probably end up in Jail if I go there. Mad.gif

I'm going to call a few places and see if I can find someone to just cut the HDS out and put a shaft log assembly in like every other manufacture does in their boats. I read on one thread on here some guy had done it too a sportster and it worked great. So I'm going to try it too.

I have a real sour taste in my mouth with Malibu boats for ever putting such a piece of crap design in a boat in the first place. Not like Malibu gives a crap if I do or not, but I'll never own another one.

I'll let you all know what I find out about the shaft log and if it can be done.

Bob -

I had the same problems with my 2001 and with the same establishment.....coincidence? I think not! They took several unsuccessful shots at repairing my HDS. Your story sure does sound familiar...it would be a bit better after getting the boat back, but would eventually get worse until the bilge pump would run continuously. Even though I'm sure they contracted through the shop you refer to, in my case it was Dan's Boats who was responsible for the repair(s) The guy who eventually got the boat sent me pictures of all the 5200 he had to dig out of the HDS box before he could make a proper repair. What a mess.

I contacted Malibu several times about not being able to get my HDS repaired...they wouldn't give me the time of day. I hear you on the fear of jail...Dan doesn't want to run into me if he knows what's good for him. Mad.gif

Same here on the story, I thought Dan's was the place since they were the dealer. And They'd know the proper procedure to repair it. Come to find out, Dans didn't even have anything to do with it. He had sold the repair shop to this mark guy.

So I called him this morning just to see what he'd say.....He denied even putting 5200 in there!!! But I know the guy who was working for them at the time and he said he was told to to put the 5200 in the box. Mark said, "Well you must have hit it again!!!" I started getting mad again and told him he did fix it right the first time or it wouldn't have had 5200 in there to start with. After a little arguing he finally did say to bring it back and he'd try to seal it up, But I'm not taking it back. I called another place in East St Louis and the guy there said he would just put a shaft log in the boat like any other boat has. He says he's never had a problem with that. And the cost will be about $500. Or he could completely remove the HDS buy cutting around it, reseal it back and then glass it back to the liner. They have been in the business since 1972.

I am going to put 5200 it back for now and next month take it to Farmers in East St Louis to fix like it should have been from the factory. Mad.gif

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the guy there said he would just put a shaft log in the boat like any other boat has. He says he's never had a problem with that. And the cost will be about $500. Or he could completely remove the HDS buy cutting around it, reseal it back and then glass it back to the liner. They have been in the business since 1972.

I am going to put 5200 it back for now and next month take it to Farmers in East St Louis to fix like it should have been from the factory. Mad.gif

oh M A L I B U . . . Whistling.gif

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Your boat has the much touted-yet useless-Hydraponic Dampening System. ...

Do the current direct drives still have this? If not, when did they phase it out?

It's still in all direct drive Malibus. Fortunately they never found a good way to put it in their vdrives.

what year did they start using the HDS in the malibu?

I believe that it was introduced with the Echelon in '93, although it's possible that it came a year or 2 after that.

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Your boat has the much touted-yet useless-Hydraponic Dampening System. ...

Do the current direct drives still have this? If not, when did they phase it out?

It's still in all direct drive Malibus. Fortunately they never found a good way to put it in their vdrives.

what year did they start using the HDS in the malibu?

I believe that it was introduced with the Echelon in '93, although it's possible that it came a year or 2 after that.

Unfortunately, they never found a good way to put it in their direct drives either. :(

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Your boat has the much touted-yet useless-Hydraponic Dampening System. ...

Do the current direct drives still have this? If not, when did they phase it out?

It's still in all direct drive Malibus. Fortunately they never found a good way to put it in their vdrives.

what year did they start using the HDS in the malibu?

I believe that it was introduced with the Echelon in '93, although it's possible that it came a year or 2 after that.

Unfortunately, they never found a good way to put it in their direct drives either. :(

My neighbor was the guy that had his HDS cut out and and a shaft log put in instead. It cost him around $2000, but he is very happy with the results. The place is called Fountain of Youth for Boats in North Prairie, WI. It sucks because I have the same problem with mine, just don't know if I want to spend the $.

Scott

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Your boat has the much touted-yet useless-Hydraponic Dampening System. ...

Do the current direct drives still have this? If not, when did they phase it out?

It's still in all direct drive Malibus. Fortunately they never found a good way to put it in their vdrives.

what year did they start using the HDS in the malibu?

I believe that it was introduced with the Echelon in '93, although it's possible that it came a year or 2 after that.

Unfortunately, they never found a good way to put it in their direct drives either. :(

Touchè. :)

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Your boat has the much touted-yet useless-Hydraponic Dampening System. ...

Do the current direct drives still have this? If not, when did they phase it out?

It's still in all direct drive Malibus. Fortunately they never found a good way to put it in their vdrives.

what year did they start using the HDS in the malibu?

I believe that it was introduced with the Echelon in '93, although it's possible that it came a year or 2 after that.

Unfortunately, they never found a good way to put it in their direct drives either. :(

My neighbor was the guy that had his HDS cut out and and a shaft log put in instead. It cost him around $2000, but he is very happy with the results. The place is called Fountain of Youth for Boats in North Prairie, WI. It sucks because I have the same problem with mine, just don't know if I want to spend the $.

Scott

My guy says it will be less than $1000 to replace the HDS with a shaft log. I'll try to get him to take some pic's of the process, or at least I'll give you a before and after pic's. My plan is to dope it up with some 5200 for now, and pray it will give me another month or so of boating. Then take it too him for the fix. I have alot of confidence in it after talking to him. Unlike the temporary repairs my insurance and myself paid for 2 year ago. I had a bad feeling it would leak again, and it did.

I'm no engineer, but I am a ASE certified Master Technician. And a pretty good at figuring out how thing should operate. I've thought about this and

I think if the HDS original seal is never comprimized, it will probably be fine the life of the boat. But if that original plexus seal is ever broken, it can never be fixed bad to the original condition due to the design of the liner and the hull assembly. Some may be temporarily fixed, but sooner or later it will leak again. Most sooner.

Any repair facility, good or bad, will agree and don't mind telling you, it is a piss poor design.

Reminds me alot of the 5.7 liter Oldmobile Diesel General motors built back in the 80's. It was a piss poor design. Basically converted gas engine with diesel heads. Crazy.gif

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