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new Malibu owner w/ several problems, pls help!


bimmerboy08

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Hello all, I just picked up a 95 malibu response and I love it, but it needs some things fixed before I can take it out and ski behind it without worry. I have searched on these problems and have some ideas on how to fix them, but figured I would post all in one topic and see what everyone thought I should do first.

1.) the boat is starting hard after it warms up, similar to if the battery is dying but the cranking always eventually picks up the boat starts. Once it starts the voltage on the battery is down, but as I run the boat the voltage comes back up. The battery is brand new.

2.) the boat it taking on a little water, I run the bilge every 15 minutes or so and it empties out in about 5-10 seconds. Both plugs are in, is there anywhere these boats commonly leak from?

3.) the speedos don't work. Both the sensors on the transom of the boat are down

4.) the nav light doesnt work. I think that may just be some bulbs, but I figured I would put that in here as well.

Sorry for the long post, but I am hoping that some of you will have gone through one or all of these problems and can help me get this boat into tip top shape!

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1) Could be the first signs of a dying starter

2) Adjust your packing gland, run a search and you will find plenty of info

3) Blow out the lines with some compressed air and they will hopefully work

4) Usually corroded contacts in the light or a blown bulb.

-Chris

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Speedo pick-ups are probably plugged. This happens to me all the time. Take a large needle or hat pin and insert in the pickup from the back (furthest away from the boat). Gently push all the way through and I'm pretty sure you'll be able to dislodge whatever is plugging them.

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i cant really help you to much... but your water intake is normal, nothing to worry about there

hhmmmm...not sure that taking on so much water that your bilge kicks on every 15 min is normal. I think the packing needs to be checked. (that is if it's kicking on automatically) JMHO.

Edited by gjsmith73
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thanks for the help so far guys, I am at work so I won't be able to work on the boat until later today but I will keep everyone posted on how it goes.

gjsmith, the bilge isn't kicking on automatically, I am turning it on manually every 15 mins or so. I will definietly check the packing though, and i searched how to adjust it; it seems pretty straightforward.

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I have a 92 sunsetter I bought recently and have had every problem you've described. Back the collar nut off the drive shaft and re tighten and I be you half as much water comes in. From what I understand you want a little water coming in to lube the shaft and keep it cool. The speedos are another pain. Sometimes they work sometimes they don't. Fairly consistent though. If you are having trouble starting your mercruiser so am I. I have replaced everything I can think of an it still has problems esp when its hot. Even had the carb rebuilt which helped but no cure. My timing was off a couple deg and that helped, but still doesn't crank easily. I would run 93 octane. Im begining to think that these older carb engines are finnicky. Replace plugs wires,cap rotor,timing and see where that gets you. My next thing is the shop at the end of the season. If somebody has some advice feel free to help

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thanks for the help so far guys, I am at work so I won't be able to work on the boat until later today but I will keep everyone posted on how it goes.

gjsmith, the bilge isn't kicking on automatically, I am turning it on manually every 15 mins or so. I will definietly check the packing though, and i searched how to adjust it; it seems pretty straightforward.

Should be 1 drip approx every 10 seconds...there should be water coming in. There are several threads about topic.

The speedos are easy maintenance (not a permanent fix, becasue it will always happen). Just check them each time and use a tiny drill bit to bore out the blockage (make sure notto make the water inlet bigger). There is even a little tool for this.

The nav light is probably burned out. Also an easy fix. Be sure to put your red/green lenses on the correct sides...or a fisherman will get mad at you and make fun of you (voice of experience on that one :blush: )

Have fun!

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Replace your choke and replace your points/condensor with an electronic pickup from Pertronix.

Make sure the belt for the alternator is tight. It's easy to remove the alternator and have it tested. It's also easy to replace the brushes and voltage regulator on the alternator if it's a Mando like mine.

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I have a 92 sunsetter I bought recently and have had every problem you've described. Back the collar nut off the drive shaft and re tighten and I be you half as much water comes in. From what I understand you want a little water coming in to lube the shaft and keep it cool. The speedos are another pain. Sometimes they work sometimes they don't. Fairly consistent though. If you are having trouble starting your mercruiser so am I. I have replaced everything I can think of an it still has problems esp when its hot. Even had the carb rebuilt which helped but no cure. My timing was off a couple deg and that helped, but still doesn't crank easily. I would run 93 octane. Im begining to think that these older carb engines are finnicky. Replace plugs wires,cap rotor,timing and see where that gets you. My next thing is the shop at the end of the season. If somebody has some advice feel free to help

Surg, does it always eventually start though? My fear is getting stranded out on the lake. Thanks for your help!

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Years ago I had a similar problem with a 94 MC 205. On a really hot day, when the engine was hot, if I killed the motor & then went to restart it, the engine would frequently turn over very slow, then fire up. Occasionally it would turn over so slow that it would not start. So we'd lift the engine cover, and sit & let it cool off. 30 or 40 minutes later, the engine would start like there had never been a problem at all. I thought it was the battery, or the starter but tests of both components ruled them out.

I read a lot about vapor lock. This boat was the throttle body injected Chevy 350 (the most basic EFI ever). Most mechanics will tell you that vapor lock cannot happen in a pressurized system. But I had all the symptoms.

I contacted the guys at SkiDim.com. They had a $13 fix for vapor lock. It was essentially about 5' of fuel line insulation. I pulled the fuel lines apart, put the insulation around them, reassembled everything, and never had the problem again.

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Clean all the connections. You may also have a bad cable. Also you can pull the starter bolts and clean them they are the ground for the starter along with the mating surface. I would look at the grounding for the starter.

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okay so i'm tackling this problem starting with the stuff that doesn't cost money first :)

today I cleaned all the electrical connections to the starter and ran the boat in the street using a hose. Although the connections were corroded and cleaning them seemed to help, it still hesitates sometimes when it is warm. I will take it out and ski behind it tomorrow to see how it does, but my father (also a Malibu owner...2001 Sunsetter LXi) and his engineer buddies predict it is vapor lock, so I will look into AirJunky's solution for that

As for the packing gland, I don't have the right wrench for that so I will need to find one...a pipe wrench is too big to fit around the nut and turn...any suggestions?

I will try and clean out the speedo tubes tomorrow before I go out, and I will check the lights with my voltmeter ASAP.

Thanks everyone so far for the help, I will keep you posted on how it goes :salute:

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okay so i'm tackling this problem starting with the stuff that doesn't cost money first :)

today I cleaned all the electrical connections to the starter and ran the boat in the street using a hose. Although the connections were corroded and cleaning them seemed to help, it still hesitates sometimes when it is warm. I will take it out and ski behind it tomorrow to see how it does, but my father (also a Malibu owner...2001 Sunsetter LXi) and his engineer buddies predict it is vapor lock, so I will look into AirJunky's solution for that

As for the packing gland, I don't have the right wrench for that so I will need to find one...a pipe wrench is too big to fit around the nut and turn...any suggestions?

I will try and clean out the speedo tubes tomorrow before I go out, and I will check the lights with my voltmeter ASAP.

Thanks everyone so far for the help, I will keep you posted on how it goes :salute:

if you try to start and get nothining then move shift lever back and forth and starts try cleaning nuetral switch on trans or replacing 15 bucks fixed my problem would be on lake and wouldnt start then it would somebody suggest checking nuetral switch it was rusted replace it no problems now

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just got in from my first ski session behind the new 'Bu, and cleaning the contacts to the starter did help, although it is not totally fixed. I also put some new high test gas in the tank (who knows how old the stuff in there is), and the boat seemed to like that too. I'll keep trying different suggestions until it is perfect, but for now it runs great and is a blast to ski behind!

I also cleaned out and blew into the speedos, and they work a little bit now, I think some compressed air will totally fix it.

Like I said I need to find a wrench to adjust the packing nut, but that will happen ASAP.

Thank so much for all the help everyone, you guys really came to the rescue!

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