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Infamous HDS leak


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My 2000 Sunsetter suffers from the infamous HDS leak that many other have. I just bought the boat in July of this year and decided to just use it as is until the off season. Well the off season is here and I took the cover off the HDS box. It appears that some sloppy individual already attempted to fix this problem and caked some type of epoxy all over the corners of the box. My plan was to try and chip it away and sand it down to re apply some type of bonding material. After trying to chip at it a little bit I am worried that I will do more harm than good to the box. I tried to search what other people were doing to fix this but the search feature of this board does not let me search on terms w/ less than 4 letters. I remember running across a thread that someone made a permanant fix by installing a shaft log and no longer allowing the water to enter the HDS box. This idea seems like the most desirable. I was looking for some advice on which route to take. I was also wondering if anyone knew how to install a shaft log.( what types of materials do I use to secure it) In any event I plan on attempting to fix this issue myself. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

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Three words, lifetime hull warrenty, have the dealer fix it.

If not get a die grinder and hit the inside of the box then fill with plexus. Make sure you use a silicon good for underwater service when you put the lid back on.

-Chris

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Three words, lifetime hull warrenty, have the dealer fix it.

If not get a die grinder and hit the inside of the box then fill with plexus. Make sure you use a silicon good for underwater service when you put the lid back on.

-Chris

The problem with the warranty is that I am not the original owner. Also from what I have read the only way for this to fail is by hitting something which I dont think is covered by warranty.

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Yeah, warranty "schmoranty". Malibu will most likely not stand behind an HDS leak - they will claim you hit something with shaft, strut, prop, etc. I am the original owner of my 99 and they gave me the run-around. I am glad I fixed mine myself. It should be easier to fix the next go around :unsure:

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The problem with the warranty is that I am not the original owner. Also from what I have read the only way for this to fail is by hitting something which I dont think is covered by warranty.

The HDS sometimes failed due to improper construction/improper lay-up. Did you buy this boat from an individual or a dealer?

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I would suggest sidestepping the speculation and contact Peter @ Smooth Water Sports, the Malibu dealer in Gansevoort (Albany area). He will know the warranty answer and can fix it right once and for all. IMHO it is worth the 3 hour drive.

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Three words, lifetime hull warrenty, have the dealer fix it.

If not get a die grinder and hit the inside of the box then fill with plexus. Make sure you use a silicon good for underwater service when you put the lid back on.

-Chris

The problem with the warranty is that I am not the original owner. Also from what I have read the only way for this to fail is by hitting something which I dont think is covered by warranty.

The HDS has been known to fail without the help of an impact.

I would suggest sidestepping the speculation and contact Peter @ Smooth Water Sports, the Malibu dealer in Gansevoort (Albany area). He will know the warranty answer and can fix it right once and for all. IMHO it is worth the 3 hour drive.

Peter is the man, but he'll be of little help (under warranty anyway) if the op is not the original owner and the warranty wasn't transferred to him at the time of sale.

bradfr- If you like the boat and intend to keep it for a while, do yourself a favor and find someone who will do the shaft log install as discussed in the other thread. I'd be surprised if you find a dealer willing to make this modification, as it would be my bet that Malibu would frown upon it....it would be kind of like admitting the flaw in their design.

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The problem with the warranty is that I am not the original owner. Also from what I have read the only way for this to fail is by hitting something which I dont think is covered by warranty.

The HDS sometimes failed due to improper construction/improper lay-up. Did you buy this boat from an individual or a dealer?

I bought the boat from an individual. I know he was not the original owner either.

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I would suggest sidestepping the speculation and contact Peter @ Smooth Water Sports, the Malibu dealer in Gansevoort (Albany area). He will know the warranty answer and can fix it right once and for all. IMHO it is worth the 3 hour drive.

Thanks for the tip. There is a malibu dealer on Conesus lake by me, but I have tried to deal with them for simple things and it seems as though they are not very knowledgeable. I will give him a call.

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The problem with the warranty is that I am not the original owner. Also from what I have read the only way for this to fail is by hitting something which I dont think is covered by warranty.

The HDS sometimes failed due to improper construction/improper lay-up. Did you buy this boat from an individual or a dealer?

I bought the boat from an individual. I know he was not the original owner either.

Then there isn't a warrenty policy to invoke, to bad as this is covered under the warrenty.

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Brad,

We can go either route, but the cost to swap to a "shaft log" would be far greater than repairing the existing box, unless it's worse than I've ever seen.

Peter

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Brad,

We can go either route, but the cost to swap to a "shaft log" would be far greater than repairing the existing box, unless it's worse than I've ever seen.

Peter

Peter,

I will keep you in mind as an option. Do you have any type of a ballpark figure to a typical HDS fix? I want to weigh the options of adding a shaft log myself or having your marina fix the hds box for me. Also, is there any type of warranty on the repair work that you provide?

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Thats strange that it just now showed up. I thought that the leaks showed up within a year or two of the boat leaving the dealership. Kind of makes me cringe. I bought my boat from an individual but paid the bucks to have the hull warranty transfered. I assume the HDS would be covered? I know in the dealer inspection for the warranty transfer they had to check and sign off the HDS for leaks.

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Brad,

We can go either route, but the cost to swap to a "shaft log" would be far greater than repairing the existing box, unless it's worse than I've ever seen.

Peter

I had a shaft log installed for $625 parts and labor and I'll never have to worry about the friggin thing leaking again. Any well respected fiberglass repair facility will tell him it is a poor design and once the original seal is broken, any other attempt to seal it is only a temporary fix.

Like someone else said, I'm sure Malibu frowns on shaft log installs because it would be a admittance on their part of a bad design. Go with a shaft log install and forget the thing..... Rockon.gif

PS: I'm going to the lake next weekend to winterize the BU. I'll take some pics of mine after the log install, All you see is the packing nut and hose sticking thru the front of the box. I'll try to pull the lid and take some inside pics.

Edited by Sunset_Bob
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Brad,

We can go either route, but the cost to swap to a "shaft log" would be far greater than repairing the existing box, unless it's worse than I've ever seen.

Peter

I had a shaft log installed for $625 parts and labor and I'll never have to worry about the friggin thing leaking again. Any well respected fiberglass repair facility will tell him it is a poor design and once the original seal is broken, any other attempt to seal it is only a temporary fix.

Like someone else said, I'm sure Malibu frowns on shaft log installs because it would be a admittance on their part of a bad design. Go with a shaft log install and forget the thing..... Rockon.gif

PS: I'm going to the lake next weekend to winterize the BU. I'll take some pics of mine after the log install, All you see is the packing nut and hose sticking thru the front of the box. I'll try to pull the lid and take some inside pics.

That would be awesome. If you could take the cover off your HDS box to show underneath that it would really help me out a lot. I would imagine that you dont need to worry about breaking that seal seeing that you now have a shaft log installed. Thanks in advance for taking the time to do this for me.

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Brad,

We can go either route, but the cost to swap to a "shaft log" would be far greater than repairing the existing box, unless it's worse than I've ever seen.

Peter

I had a shaft log installed for $625 parts and labor and I'll never have to worry about the friggin thing leaking again. Any well respected fiberglass repair facility will tell him it is a poor design and once the original seal is broken, any other attempt to seal it is only a temporary fix.

Like someone else said, I'm sure Malibu frowns on shaft log installs because it would be a admittance on their part of a bad design. Go with a shaft log install and forget the thing..... Rockon.gif

PS: I'm going to the lake next weekend to winterize the BU. I'll take some pics of mine after the log install, All you see is the packing nut and hose sticking thru the front of the box. I'll try to pull the lid and take some inside pics.

That would be awesome. If you could take the cover off your HDS box to show underneath that it would really help me out a lot. I would imagine that you dont need to worry about breaking that seal seeing that you now have a shaft log installed. Thanks in advance for taking the time to do this for me.

Will do...... ;)

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Hey Bob- your initial impression after the repair was that the boat was smoother w/o the HDS...still the case? The repair looks great!

I think it is, and the wife says it is quieter also. I think they did a GREAT JOB on it. I would reconmend this to anyone who has the Hydrophonicboatfillerupper System. Visit Farmers Fiberglass Rockon.gif

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