Strawberry Milshake?

[Bawshogg]

I was just out sitting in the boat, missing summer and decided I was just gonna poke around and check stuff and guess what I found? When I was checking the trans fluid and v-drive fluids, I noticed that the v-drive fluid was the color of a pink milshake. Trans fluid was the normal red color. Now knowing what I know, It seems to me as if water has somehow found it's way into the v-drive unit. Looking at the setup, raw water comes right from the lake, through the v-drive( I suspect the cooler) and then to the raw water impeller and to the engine water pump. I am suspecting that this cooler, wich looks like it is part of thje v-drive unit somehow has allowed water to enter the unit. I don't thiink this is normal. Anybody else had this concern, and what was the outcome. Also I am very leary of my dealer, would really prefer to do the work myself, just would like to know what is involved in with this type of issue?

[Woodski]

It does sound like there is a leak in the cooler. If you can remove the cooler, you might try pressurizing it a bit to see if you can hear / see a leak.

[Chia]

an '07 would still be under warranty, why would you not take it to the dealer?

[Bawshogg]

an '07 would still be under warranty, why would you not take it to the dealer?

This is not the first Bu' I have owned. The last one I had went to the dealer for a list of minor stuff, 6 months later I got the boat back, it was in wrose shape than I took it there in, was left out in the rain for several months and had about 3-4 inches of water in it. Let alone this was not for major repair like removing the v-drive. Carpet got stained. All my gear that was stowed in the boat got misplaced when they decided to remove it and not put it back in. Just a nightmare. I vowed to never go to them for service again. So far everthing I have need to do to the boat under warranty I have done and they supplied the parts. I just am not sure how complicated this may be.

Edited December 15, 2007 by Bawshogg

[skicrave]

Was the boat winterized? Has it been in below freezing temps? Is there any chance there was a lot of water in the bilge?

Pulling the vdrive is a bit of a chore. If it were my boat I would change the fluid so it sits with clean fluid in it all winter and then monitor it next spring constantly to see if it gets contaminated again. It may be a leak, but I had something like happen on a boat once that turned out to be a total fluke.

[Bawshogg]

Was the boat winterized? Has it been in below freezing temps? Is there any chance there was a lot of water in the bilge?

Pulling the vdrive is a bit of a chore. If it were my boat I would change the fluid so it sits with clean fluid in it all winter and then monitor it next spring constantly to see if it gets contaminated again. It may be a leak, but I had something like happen on a boat once that turned out to be a total fluke.

Yes, the boat was winterized, I didn't have the fluids in the trans or v-drive changed, it has just under 20 hrs on it and I figured I would haver the 20 hr service done before the spring season. It has not been that cold here yet, the boat is garaged at my home anyways, and it never really gets lower than about 50 in the garage as the GFA heater is in there and creates alot of heat in the garage. I know that the boat has never had enough water in it, or in the bilge to find a way in. The other interesting thing was that when I unscrewed the level indicator a loud hiss sound occured as if the unit was undere pressure, like the vent was restricted. I looked the vent on the top of the unit and it appears ok?

[vette-ski]

Maybe I'm all washed up here but I'm confused. Maybe they changed fluid requirements in newer boats. My v-drive calls for 30 weight oil. What oil is the factory installing that would be red or pink? At least I'm assuming this is factory fill on an 07 with 20 hours...or has it already been changed by someone? Are you supposed to install trans fluid to the gear box on the newer boats?

[Bawshogg]

Maybe I'm all washed up here but I'm confused. Maybe they changed fluid requirements in newer boats. My v-drive calls for 30 weight oil. What oil is the factory installing that would be red or pink? At least I'm assuming this is factory fill on an 07 with 20 hours...or has it already been changed by someone? Are you supposed to install trans fluid to the gear box on the newer boats?

I am not familiar with the older malibu's, but the newer v-drives have a sticker on them that says ,"ATF FILL". The v-drive unit has a seperte sump. and transmission portion has it's own. The fluid has never been changed to my knowledge. I am the only owner.

Edited December 15, 2007 by Bawshogg

[skicrave]

Malibu changed to a new v-drive in '06 (I think) that calls for ATF, just like the transmission. Prior years did in fact use SAE30.

Hmm, well its obvious it isn't freeze damage. Like I said, I probably wouldn't go all out just yet because of the amount of work involved. Then again, if you wait until the spring and it turns out you do need to have it replaced, you're going to lose some time on the water.

Either way, if something is ultimately wrong, the dealer will have to get involved. There's just no way Indmar will release the parts for the warranty any other way.

[WakeGirl]

Yes, it was in '06 that they went to the new Ski Vee tranny/Vdrive, & like skicrave said it does require Dexron 3 just like the tranny. I believe that both are part of the same housing (I could be wrong on that) & in that case it would be a major hassle to pull it.

I would think that changing the fluid & making sure that it looked good, then running it on a fake a lake in the driveway would be able to tell you whether or not it was a fluke.