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"Bouncing" Illusion X Tower


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I have done extensive searches but found no solutions to the problem I’m having with my illusion tower. This is on a 2005 Wakesetter 21 XTi.

My tower will “bounce” when a load is applied from the tow point (a wake boarder cuts to outside the wake, slack develops in the line reducing force on tower then cuts into the wake increasing the force on the tower and it will “bounce” from no force to heavy force).

In my searching I discovered the bushing issue on the front pivot bolt, so I ordered some from Metcraft and replaced them but I still have the “bounce”. When the tower is in the folded position and I place the rear bolt through the hole in the upper part of the tower (now exposed in the folded position) there is a considerable amount of play around the bolt. Initially I figured the bolt was worn down. So I went to a local shop and found an exact replacement bolt (standard ½” socket cap screw of matching length) I had them put digital calipers on the shaft to verify if mine had “worn down”. They were exactly the same size. So now I think the hole in the upper part of the tower has worn bigger or was drilled larger by mistake Dontknow.gif ; so here is what I’m thinking as a solution.

I’ll get a sleeve bearing with an inside diameter of ½” (so the bolt is snug inside it) and the outside diameter like 5/8” or so like this one...

SleeveBearing.jpg

Then I'll drill a larger hole in the upper part of the tower to accommodate the outside diameter of the bushing spacer (5/8”). What do you all think? Will I be able to drill out the existing hole larger to 5/8”? Do you think this will make my tower nice and tight like it’s supposed to be?

One concern I have with this solution is that I frequently have to raise and lower my tower, and I’m afraid the bushing spacer will fall down in the gunwale every time I remove the bolt. Any other viable solutions?

Edited by UteBu
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I have done extensive searches but found no solutions to the problem I'm having with my illusion tower. This is on a 2005 Wakesetter 21 XTi.

My tower will "bounce" when a load is applied from the tow point (a wake boarder cuts to outside the wake, slack develops in the line reducing force on tower then cuts into the wake increasing the force on the tower and it will "bounce" from no force to heavy force).

In my searching I discovered the bushing issue on the front pivot bolt, so I ordered some from Metcraft and replaced them but I still have the "bounce". When the tower is in the folded position and I place the rear bolt through the hole in the upper part of the tower (now exposed in the folded position) there is a considerable amount of play around the bolt. Initially I figured the bolt was worn down. So I went to a local shop and found an exact replacement bolt (standard ½" socket cap screw of matching length) I had them put digital calipers on the shaft to verify if mine had "worn down". They were exactly the same size. So now I think the hole in the upper part of the tower has worn bigger or was drilled larger by mistake Dontknow.gif ; so here is what I'm thinking as a solution.

I'll get a sleeve bearing with an inside diameter of ½" (so the bolt is snug inside it) and the outside diameter like 5/8" or so like this one...

SleeveBearing.jpg

Then I'll drill a larger hole in the upper part of the tower to accommodate the outside diameter of the bushing spacer (5/8"). What do you all think? Will I be able to drill out the existing hole larger to 5/8"? Do you think this will make my tower nice and tight like it's supposed to be?

One concern I have with this solution is that I frequently have to raise and lower my tower, and I'm afraid the bushing spacer will fall down in the gunwale every time I remove the bolt. Any other viable solutions?

malibu makes one that fits the tower its called a tower bushing and the are about 100 buck my dealer never put them in when i bought the boat or they were a fix after the fact for 05 towers no spring assist i have now had my tower complete replaced because of the bouncing and slack in the tower

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Sounds like a good solution. One extra idea is to get some precision shoulder cap screws (the diameter that goes through the bushing is the precision part) to get a real tight fit on the bushing.

Also drill that hole for the bushings a bit small and press them in. You can heat the tower and freeze the sleeve bearings to make it easier.

-Chris

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malibu makes one that fits the tower its called a tower bushing and the are about 100 buck my dealer never put them in when i bought the boat or they were a fix after the fact for 05 towers no spring assist i have now had my tower complete replaced because of the bouncing and slack in the tower

I wondered about this too, but I wrote a letter to metcraft explaining the problem and they sent be the "swivel bearing" that goes on the front (pivot) bolt. So are you saying they sent you some kind of sleeve bearing to fix the slack in the rear bolt? You mentioned that you had your tower completely replaced due to a similar problem... is that because they were unable to solve the problem? Did they replace it with a newer version? (spring assist, quick release pins, stern light). Thanks for your input.

Sounds like a good solution. One extra idea is to get some precision shoulder cap screws (the diameter that goes through the bushing is the precision part) to get a real tight fit on the bushing.

Also drill that hole for the bushings a bit small and press them in. You can heat the tower and freeze the sleeve bearings to make it easier.

-Chris

I thought about the precision shoulder cap screw method... there is a place here local that could make them special but they didn't have the right size combination in stock. It would have to have a standard 1/2" thread and head but the shoulder would be 5/8". Anyway that would be quite a bit more $$. I figured the sleeve bearing method would work just as well and be much cheaper. I like the heat / freeze method, I'll definitely give that a try Thumbup.gif

Edited by UteBu
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I have done extensive searches but found no solutions to the problem I’m having with my illusion tower. This is on a 2005 Wakesetter 21 XTi.

My tower will “bounce” when a load is applied from the tow point (a wake boarder cuts to outside the wake, slack develops in the line reducing force on tower then cuts into the wake increasing the force on the tower and it will “bounce” from no force to heavy force).

In my searching I discovered the bushing issue on the front pivot bolt, so I ordered some from Metcraft and replaced them but I still have the “bounce”. When the tower is in the folded position and I place the rear bolt through the hole in the upper part of the tower (now exposed in the folded position) there is a considerable amount of play around the bolt. Initially I figured the bolt was worn down. So I went to a local shop and found an exact replacement bolt (standard ½” socket cap screw of matching length) I had them put digital calipers on the shaft to verify if mine had “worn down”. They were exactly the same size. So now I think the hole in the upper part of the tower has worn bigger or was drilled larger by mistake Dontknow.gif ; so here is what I’m thinking as a solution.

I’ll get a sleeve bearing with an inside diameter of ½” (so the bolt is snug inside it) and the outside diameter like 5/8” or so like this one...

Then I'll drill a larger hole in the upper part of the tower to accommodate the outside diameter of the bushing spacer (5/8”). What do you all think? Will I be able to drill out the existing hole larger to 5/8”? Do you think this will make my tower nice and tight like it’s supposed to be?

One concern I have with this solution is that I frequently have to raise and lower my tower, and I’m afraid the bushing spacer will fall down in the gunwale every time I remove the bolt. Any other viable solutions?

I think this is going to be a dangerous piece of work. I don't mean getting hurt, but danger of messing up your tower worse. Only because drilling from 1/2" to 5/8" you are likely to get a fair amound of movement on the drill bit = not a nice tight fit, but risk of the bit moving around and ending up with a ever-so-slightlyout of round, or out of square (not perfectly 5/8" all the way through) It doesn't take mutch for a bushing to fit kinda sloppy. I have also seen a post that the tower is cast with a fairly hard alloy and is difficult to drill, so I do not know this firsthand, but could be a factor making drilling cleanly difficult.

I have a similar problem, maybe 3/32" of bounce at the rear of the tower where it meets the feet. I added some 1/8" rubber pads and this quiets down the chatter. The whole tower, or the tower feet will be replaced under warranty in the fall - what ever is needed to fix it. Dealer said they have not seen a tower with that much movement.

Also, you may want to see if you can stuff something in the hole - a plug - then wedge your tower in the upright position and with a very fine, sharp scribe, scribe the "plug" since is it larger than the hole in the feet for the pin, and make sure your problem is exaclty centered. If you add a bushing, centered on the expanded hole, and it tightens things up to exactly 1/2", but is off-center then you won't be getting that pin into there.

Edited by TheBlackPearl
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Yes they replaced it with a spring assit base it was braking throught the gelcoat and causing spidercrack in the gunnels they said it was the worst tower install they had ever seen love my bu!! love my dealer even more THANK YOU TODD!!!!

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I have done extensive searches but found no solutions to the problem I'm having with my illusion tower. This is on a 2005 Wakesetter 21 XTi.

My tower will "bounce" when a load is applied from the tow point (a wake boarder cuts to outside the wake, slack develops in the line reducing force on tower then cuts into the wake increasing the force on the tower and it will "bounce" from no force to heavy force).

In my searching I discovered the bushing issue on the front pivot bolt, so I ordered some from Metcraft and replaced them but I still have the "bounce". When the tower is in the folded position and I place the rear bolt through the hole in the upper part of the tower (now exposed in the folded position) there is a considerable amount of play around the bolt. Initially I figured the bolt was worn down. So I went to a local shop and found an exact replacement bolt (standard ½" socket cap screw of matching length) I had them put digital calipers on the shaft to verify if mine had "worn down". They were exactly the same size. So now I think the hole in the upper part of the tower has worn bigger or was drilled larger by mistake Dontknow.gif ; so here is what I'm thinking as a solution.

I'll get a sleeve bearing with an inside diameter of ½" (so the bolt is snug inside it) and the outside diameter like 5/8" or so like this one...

SleeveBearing.jpg

Then I'll drill a larger hole in the upper part of the tower to accommodate the outside diameter of the bushing spacer (5/8"). What do you all think? Will I be able to drill out the existing hole larger to 5/8"? Do you think this will make my tower nice and tight like it's supposed to be?

One concern I have with this solution is that I frequently have to raise and lower my tower, and I'm afraid the bushing spacer will fall down in the gunwale every time I remove the bolt. Any other viable solutions?

I had the same problem about a year ago and did exactly what you want to do. You can order the parts from mcmaster-Carr MUCH cheaper than $100.00, think $3 bucks, and the towers do drill like butter. It is some of the softest AL I have ever drilled. I did not go the precision shoulder bolt method and have no regrets just make sure that you have no threads riding in the bushing or you will destroy it quickly. I did not do the press fit as I wanted them easy to change in the future. I drilled the holes with a 5/8" bit with my cordless 14.4v drill.

You can also order the front swivel bearings from mcmaster-carr too. I am considering changing those from plastic to metal as I think they will last longer. The early design on these tower hinge points was really really poor.

One other point worth noting is the side to side play in the hinge which also allows the tower to move. I bought 1/2" fender washers, stainless and sanded them down to fit and it took the rest of the play out.

If you have any questions pm me and I would be happy to talk to you about it.

-Dave

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