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!

Old style wedge (not power wedge) difficult to move


astonmartini03

Recommended Posts

We have the old style wedge, not the power wedge, where you have to pinch the locking pins inward to engage and disengage the wedge. In the last couple years, it has become increasingly difficult to engage and disengage the wedge.

Does anyone know why this occurs and have suggestions for fixing it?

I think there may be a thin layer of corrosion that is causing this problem. I'm considering greasing the hinges, and possibly filing down the areas of the wedge that make up the hinge, i.e. the ends of the two arms. I have a feeling that the grease won't make a difference because the mount is either submerged in water or always getting bombarded with water when the boat is in motion. Therefore, grease wouldn't remain in the hinge for very long.

Thanks for any assistance!

Edited by astonmartini03
Link to comment

I used to hit mine with some WD 40 every couple of weeks. I'm not saying that is the best thing to do, but it worked for me. You may have to disassemble the slide barrels and remove the corrosion before the WD 40 treatment will be effective.

Link to comment

I use WD-40 or PB Blaster on mine ... but think grease might stick a little better.

Does it feel like it's corroded (not smooth) when you move it up and down? I'm surprised on a 2000 the opposite isn't true that it's worn and sloppy.

Maybe you need to use it more Biggrin.gif

Link to comment

I've heard that the barrels that have the slides in them are only press-fit into the gold arms. Over time, this barrels will tend to separate away from the gold arms and cause some binding. Take a good hard look at those 4 barrel to arm connections.

Otherwise, I use plumber's grease and a little compressed air to "shoot" the grease inside anything that is a moving part.

Link to comment

We have the old style wedge, not the power wedge, where you have to pinch the locking pins inward to engage and disengage the wedge. In the last couple years, it has become increasingly difficult to engage and disengage the wedge.

Does anyone know why this occurs and have suggestions for fixing it?

I think there may be a thin layer of corrosion that is causing this problem. I'm considering greasing the hinges, and possibly filing down the areas of the wedge that make up the hinge, i.e. the ends of the two arms. I have a feeling that the grease won't make a difference because the mount is either submerged in water or always getting bombarded with water when the boat is in motion. Therefore, grease wouldn't remain in the hinge for very long.

Thanks for any assistance!

I don't know if this is advised, but...

My Cousin's had the same exact issue on the SLXi. They ended up taking the wedge off and grinding it down some on the parts that were rubbing the most. It worked great.

Link to comment

I've heard that the barrels that have the slides in them are only press-fit into the gold arms. Over time, this barrels will tend to separate away from the gold arms and cause some binding. Take a good hard look at those 4 barrel to arm connections.

Otherwise, I use plumber's grease and a little compressed air to "shoot" the grease inside anything that is a moving part.

Yes, my barrels aren't even attached to the arms, I thought that was normal. I can turn them so the push tabs are in any position in order to get maximum leverage on them but maybe that is part of the problem :Doh: And Malibu might as well do away with the access door on the platforms!! Even if the wedge is swinging engaging/disengaging properly it's still a PITA!!

Link to comment

I had the same problem with my wedge. I used two hammers. Strike each of the side bars inward at the same time. This effectively represses the tubes onto the arms. Doesn't take that much force or that many strikes to get things back to where the wedge moves freely. Good luck.

Link to comment

thanks Pete, hey Ronnie, how do you do that?

That pretty much depends on why they are loose. Are the tubes out of the arms or just turning with the tubes still in the recess of the arms? If they are out of the arms it sounds like the arms are spread out a little. IMO, I would take the wedge off of the bracket and disassemble it. Make sure the arms are straight and not bowed out a bit. This will insure the tubes are held tight in the arms. While it's apart remove the thumbscrews from the sliding pins and clean the sliding pins and inside the tubes. Put it all back together with a good heavy marine grease on the sliding pins. I would run a tap inside the arms where the foil screws go to clean those holes. Make sure the foil mounting screws are clean too. With a few drops of Locktite on the screws, mount the arms back to the foil with the tubes in place and bolt it back up to the bracket. Make note of which direction the release pins need to be to raise & lower the wedge from the access door because when you put it back together they shouldn't be able to turn.

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...