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how to loosen stuck ski pylon on LSV


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The ski pylon on my 06 LSV is stuck, down of course. I know I have used, though if it has been in the last 5 years, I am not sure when. Sure enough, someone wants to go out and ski, and I feel obliging, except the pylon is completely seized in the shaft.

There is a bolt near the bottom of the shaft that slides in a slot on the sleeve, but it finger tight and I do not believe is the problem. The entire pylon appears to be stuck in the sleeve. Both look to be aluminum, and I am thinking possible corrosion.

Any suggestions on how to get the pylon removed and then a fix so this will not happen again?

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The ski pylon on my 06 LSV is stuck, down of course. I know I have used, though if it has been in the last 5 years, I am not sure when. Sure enough, someone wants to go out and ski, and I feel obliging, except the pylon is completely seized in the shaft.

There is a bolt near the bottom of the shaft that slides in a slot on the sleeve, but it finger tight and I do not believe is the problem. The entire pylon appears to be stuck in the sleeve. Both look to be aluminum, and I am thinking possible corrosion.

Any suggestions on how to get the pylon removed and then a fix so this will not happen again?

I was with you until you said the sleeve was aluminum. My only suggestion for getting it out is to remove the bolt completely (couldn't hurt) and than just yank as hard as you can, standing up on the sundeck with all your force. That is how I got mine out but it sounds like your more stuck. However after you get it out take a file and shave off the sleve all the way around. We did this and our pylon moves no probelm now. However our sleve is some form of hard plastic and not aluminum. Thats all I got but hope some of it helps.

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I was with you until you said the sleeve was aluminum. My only suggestion for getting it out is to remove the bolt completely (couldn't hurt) and than just yank as hard as you can, standing up on the sundeck with all your force. That is how I got mine out but it sounds like your more stuck. However after you get it out take a file and shave off the sleve all the way around. We did this and our pylon moves no probelm now. However our sleve is some form of hard plastic and not aluminum. Thats all I got but hope some of it helps.

...and make sure your forehead is right above the pylon while you do this :crazy: Leave the screw in!!

Take a rubber mallet hit it from all directions and get the corrosion broke loose. And then tap it from underneath with a small sledge. Once it breaks free, then remove the screw and sand down both surfaces.

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...and make sure your forehead is right above the pylon while you do this Crazy.gif Leave the screw in!!

Take a rubber mallet hit it from all directions and get the corrosion broke loose. And then tap it from underneath with a small sledge. Once it breaks free, then remove the screw and sand down both surfaces.

Good call/warning there Nate. Preciesely what happened to me, well not in the head but I took a small tumble. But if you look at me bolt it's all grindinded on the side from rubbing the 'track' so it wasn't goign to come up with the bolt in. Plus it's a PITA to try and line it up when it's stuck. Alot easier to unstick it by yanking up than trying to twist it if it's not alligned with the vertical track.

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In mine it really isn't corrosion that makes it stick. It is tiny pieces of dirt etc.. that get inside. I routinelly wipe it off in the up position and blow compressed air around the sleeve.

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Good call/warning there Nate. Preciesely what happened to me, well not in the head but I took a small tumble. But if you look at me bolt it's all grindinded on the side from rubbing the 'track' so it wasn't goign to come up with the bolt in. Plus it's a PITA to try and line it up when it's stuck. Alot easier to unstick it by yanking up than trying to twist it if it's not alligned with the vertical track.

Ha! I can picture a full grown man pulling on that pylon with all his might, it breaks free, doinks him in the forehead, and he does 3 back rolls off the deck and off the swim platform :rofl:

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Ha! I can picture a full grown man pulling on that pylon with all his might, it breaks free, doinks him in the forehead, and he does 3 back rolls off the deck and off the swim platform :rofl:

so apparently you have met me before... :whistle:

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just fixed mine last week for the 3 rd time but it is finally fixed. Start by taking that bolt out. It locks the pylon in the up position when you twist it plus it keeps it from coming all the way out.

Here is what the problem is, there is a plastic sleeve between the pylon and the bracket, the plastic warps, with age and heat. Also everyone uses some kind of oil product all it does is swells the plastic.

What I did was used a brass punch and tapped the pylon straight up it takes time you will never pull it up by yourself. Take your time it will come out.

When it is out take some 220 sand paper and take any burs or roughness off. The first time i did this I used a engine cylinder hone to square the hole up. That plastic is very tough the hone freed it up a bit when it was pushed down it got stuck. What I did that fixed it was used some graphite and coated the pylon, dropped it down into the plastic sleeve till it stopped. I used 150 grit on a 1 inch dowel rod and started to sand the black marks down it took a few hours but it is fixed now. I am not afraid to push it down for fear of never getting it back up.

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  • 1 year later...

I realize that this thread is a little old but I just had this happen and the info above was very helpful. Thanks!

For anyone facing this issue here is what I did:

I was able to get my pylon out by taking out the bolt at the bottom and prying it up from the top. I am not sure how rodman was able to use a punch from the bottom, on my boat the engine is very much in the way of doing anything from underneath. I did put WD-40 on it a couple of times and let it sit. In retrospect, I don't think it helped and from reading other threads it may have made it even more difficult to get it out. I probably wouldn't use that again. Also, you can hit it with a rubber mallet if you get so angry that you have to hit something but this won't do anything to help you get the pylon out. The cause of this problem is the plastic ring warping or shrinking like is mentioned above. The only thing I found that worked was brute force. I opened the 3 sundeck panels and put a 3 foot prybar on the frame and under the lip of the pylon. Use a rag or something else to protect the aluminum from getting scratched. I could only move the pylon about a half an inch at a time before I had to adjust the prybar and try again. Be sure to adjust it each time the pylon moves or the prybar may slip off and put a ding in the aluminum lip. I did this once on accident, and even though the rag was in place there is a small mark on the pylon. :( As the pylon kept moving up I thought it would get easier to take out but the entire process was just as difficult as the first time. As it got higher I placed a 2x4 below the prybar, then another, and another until it was all the way out.

Good luck to anyone with this problem. Once it is out follow the instructions above to sand down the plastic ring. (I may have over-sanded a little bit, I just never want to have this problem again.)

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  • 1 year later...

Just had the same problem with my 06 23LSV SKI PYLON. I used an 1 1/2 Piston Hone and sanding wheel. Clean the residue off both tools frequently. It worked great!!!! :tease2:

If your on the water and this happens, you can pour cold water from the ice chest on the ski pylon and sleeve. This will free it up.

photo_zpsb99ef04a.jpg

Edited by LUV2SKI
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i just did this on the gfs brothers bu anyone doing this in their garage could use a come along or ratchet strap to the rafters in the garage i have a engine hoist we used. just take a bit of tension and tap the pylon tube it will slide out nicely and slowly. work it out took maybe 10 minutes to get his out.

we had to lift a bit tap it lift a bit more and tap but it came out nice. used a hone on it for a bit and it slides nicely. you will need a corse hone clean its stones out frequently

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I can't emphasize enough how well the ICE COLD water works to raise the pylon up!!

Edited by LUV2SKI
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  • 7 years later...

Just used the ice water trick. Worked great! Still needed a bit of leverage with a block and pry bar but each time I poured ice water on it the pylon would give

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