Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

Screw loosening on pivot point of XS tower. Anyone else?


djheywood

Recommended Posts

I have an 08 LSV with the illusion XS tower. I just got it this year and it was new so it only has 40 hours on it. Pretty much every time I go out now either after some runs or after trailering the boat home I notice the large screw that sits opposite the removable pin is loosening up. (The screw is on the pivot point of the tower, but the tower is in the up position the entire time.) Usually it is at least several full rotations of the screw loose. It has happened on both sides. I just bought a large flathead screwdriver and keep tightening them up till I get a chance to bring the boat in. Has this happened to anyone else? Should I put some loc-tite on the screws?

Thanks.

Brian

Link to comment
I have an 08 LSV with the illusion XS tower. I just got it this year and it was new so it only has 40 hours on it. Pretty much every time I go out now either after some runs or after trailering the boat home I notice the large screw that sits opposite the removable pin is loosening up. (The screw is on the pivot point of the tower, but the tower is in the up position the entire time.) Usually it is at least several full rotations of the screw loose. It has happened on both sides. I just bought a large flathead screwdriver and keep tightening them up till I get a chance to bring the boat in. Has this happened to anyone else? Should I put some loc-tite on the screws?

Thanks.

Brian

I would put some of the blue (serviceable) lock-tite on it.

Link to comment
I have an 08 LSV with the illusion XS tower. I just got it this year and it was new so it only has 40 hours on it. Pretty much every time I go out now either after some runs or after trailering the boat home I notice the large screw that sits opposite the removable pin is loosening up. (The screw is on the pivot point of the tower, but the tower is in the up position the entire time.) Usually it is at least several full rotations of the screw loose. It has happened on both sides. I just bought a large flathead screwdriver and keep tightening them up till I get a chance to bring the boat in. Has this happened to anyone else? Should I put some loc-tite on the screws?

Thanks.

Brian

I would put some of the blue (serviceable) lock-tite on it.

I agree. Don't use the Red stuff because you need to heat it up to remove the screw.

Link to comment

I believe there is more to it than lock tite. Have you had the bushings serviced as part of the Metcraft recall or the Malibu make it right thing? My tower had a lot of slop and movement at the pin bushings before the service was done. That meant the tower rocked and sawed back and forth on the pivot bolt and caused it to loosen as you describe. My first clue that something was wrong was when my spotter tapped me on the shoulder and said "Hey, the tower is not connected to the boat anymore". Yep, the pin and pivot bolt were laying on the floor and the tower was hovering 2"-4" off the tower base. My dealer serviced the tower and adjusted the bushings and pins for a super tight fit. No more issues, but I still check the bolts and pins as often as paranoia dictates.

Link to comment

Fairly common issue. Recently I had an Illusion owner tell me the old bushings they pulled out were plastic. He was hoping they would replace them with some brass bushings but no luck. He has been in the habit of carrying the necessary screwdriver & allen key to keep it all tight.

Link to comment

I never paid attention to the original bushings. The replacements were not plastic for sure. I think this problem is limited to the Illusion XS only. I could easily be wrong about that. I have put around 50 hours on the boat since the fix and have had no problems at all.

Link to comment

Ok, after a re read, Bill and I are talking about two different towers. The Illusion X tower on my 2004 used two bolts with allen heads. Is that the one you are talking about Bill?

The problem I am talking about is with the 2008 Illusion XS with the removable pin in the rear position and the slotted head pivot bolt in the front position.

Link to comment

I know I've seen it on the older Illusions (the X?) and recently a friend of mine is having the same issue on the newer one (XS). He just had the bushing replaced last Monday. His VTX only has like 90 hrs on it.

The allen heads are on the Illusion X for sure, one allen head bolt & a quick release pin on each side. I havent' looked at the newer towers that close yet.

Link to comment

MY boat was serviced with the make it right program, but I took a look at the bushings. Are these bushings on the removable pin side or the slotted screw side? On the removable pin side I have two plastic bushings, one of which is white and is sitting on the bottom inside the tower on both sides. It clearly has fallen off and is just sitting there. How are these normally affixed to the tower so they stay in place when the tower is lowered?

I'll try to take a pic.

Link to comment

This weekend my Illusion XS tower came loose where the base actually attaches to the boat itself. We had to use a socket and reach way up behind a panel to tighten it back up. It was just hanging on by a thread. Have no idea why locknuts or just lockwashers were not used. My boat now has 26 hours on it and I've had to tighten at least 6 different things now. I love the boat but not impressed with things coming loose like that. Windshield bracket was another that came loose and loctite took care of that.

Link to comment

On a side note...Can you only include one picture per post? My subsequent pics dont want to upload even through they are small, 65k...

Link to comment
post-8687-1248838592_thumb.jpg

Here is the busing on the bottom inside of the tower just sitting there...

That bushing is supposed to be fitted into the tower where the removable pin passes through. Press fit installation would be my guess. I am hoping the bushing in the photo is an old bushing that was accidentally dropped into the tower base when the service was done. Is there a bushing in the tower, or just a 1" hole where the bushing should be? Don't even think about moving your boat (land or water) without both bushings in place. As a point of reference, if the bushings are adjusted properly you should have very close to zero play if you push up and down on the tower.

Bottom line.................based on my experience, if your 2008 Illusion XS tower has any play at all, you need to get it serviced.

Link to comment

did it on my 08, same thing on my 09. I keep a screwdriver on the boat..have to tighten it every 10 hours or so. pain in the @ss

Link to comment
  • 4 weeks later...

Mine is a little loose and the same screw works itself out from time to time so I also have to tighten it down with my "on board" screw driver. We ride mostly when it is calm water but when we take the boat out on the rougher weekends for a cruise the tower squeaks terribly on the starboard side mostly - at least that's where it seems to come from, maybe because I'm driving all the time.

We had the Malibu service done at the start of the season but there does seem to be a very small amount of play in the tower if I stand in the center of the boat and push up slightly. Should there be no movement at all? I'd say maybe 1/16" but definitely not rock solid fit from the pivot points. Are the bushings easy enough to change out if they are the problem? I'd prefer not to have to take the boat out for service before the end of the season if they can just give me the parts to repair the problem ... assuming they are the issue here?

Link to comment

I have the XS tower also when Malibu came out to the house they replaced 4 bushings. Tower was tight as hell. After this season it has losened up a bit. I think it should be re-bushed every year before it's used and Malibu should make sure the dealers know this.

Morry

Link to comment

Bushings on the pin side seem easy enough to replace and I did not look too closely at the screw pivot point bushings but the dealer says it is a real pain to replace those. Anyone done that and if so how big of a deal was it to do? I'd just assume do it myself to avoid the hassle of bringing it in, etc., if it's not that tough.

Link to comment
  • 3 weeks later...

Finally got new set of bushings from the dealer. Put the one in on the driver's side where the screw goes through and really seems to help stiffen the tower overall. The others all seem ok so I'll just see how it is with what I have now. Need to take it out over the weekend on some choppy water to gauge the improvement. Very easy to swap as long as you have some help.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...