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Madras Marine Warranty repair of leaking HDS?


CHEYNESPUB

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I have not confirmed it with a hose yet but I am assuming that with my luck the HDS is leaking. Would it leak if it needed to be repacked? Or has it failed if there is any water in the boat? Why do the starter and throttle cables go out?

Just bought the boat and did not know about this problem until after. If I have to get it redone what are the chances that Madras marine will take care of it under warranty?

Also, still cant get the speedos to function properly. Any ideas on how to rebuild them?

Thanks in advance.

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Did you get a new boat? not the 89 Euro?

I believe the HDS didn't get 'invented' until 93 with the Echelon. But the shaft seal can leak pretty good if it needs to be redone.

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Checked my HDS yesterday by the filling the bilge with water method. no problems found. went to the lake last night with extra time to find out how the water is getting into the boat and found water pouring through the shaft packing. It took about 5 minutes to fix and the bilge never tuned on the rest of the evening.

The water was glass by the way. we skied and boarded until dark.

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I did get a new boat. I will check for leaks when I put it in the water. Hoping that the case is a different area. Bottom of boat and stock prop look great so that leads me away from the HDS. I will follow up.

New boat is an 01 SSLXI, titan tower, JL tower speakers, etc, etc, 159 hours. I already put 9 on it in two weekends.

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Checked my HDS yesterday by the filling the bilge with water method. no problems found. went to the lake last night with extra time to find out how the water is getting into the boat and found water pouring through the shaft packing. It took about 5 minutes to fix and the bilge never tuned on the rest of the evening.

The water was glass by the way. we skied and boarded until dark.

^^ do this. If you wait to check for leaks when it's in the water, it's much harder to see where it's coming in. By doing it this way, you can actually see where it's coming out. You can almost always either confirm or eliminate the HDS question with this method.

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^^ do this. If you wait to check for leaks when it's in the water, it's much harder to see where it's coming in. By doing it this way, you can actually see where it's coming out.

I will do it with the hose. Boat level. water over the HDS box. Another question. On the boart that covers the HDS there is a finger handle to pick it up. Is that supposed to go under the seat? Mine is out where it gets stepped on and now the carpet is matted down on the handle side. Just something weird I noticed.

I was not able to find NauticLogic NL-2 with a google search. Any more info on that?

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I will do it with the hose. Boat level. water over the HDS box. Another question. On the boart that covers the HDS there is a finger handle to pick it up. Is that supposed to go under the seat? Mine is out where it gets stepped on and now the carpet is matted down on the handle side. Just something weird I noticed.

I was not able to find NauticLogic NL-2 with a google search. Any more info on that?

I'm guessing you're referring to the floor panel? I suppose it's personal preference.

Can't help on the gauge, sorry.

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I'm guessing you're referring to the floor panel? I suppose it's personal preference.

Can't help on the gauge, sorry.

Yes the floor pannel.

I am getting really close to pressure washing the carpet as well. Storage outside has really got everything dirty. As I take things apart I clean them but the carpet is going to need a really good clean. Anyone ever have a truck mounted cleaner do there carpets?

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You can use a pressure washer, it's actually the best way to "fluff" up the nap. Just don't use a fine point nozzle & don't get it too close to the carpet & you'll be fine.

Like the three stooges trying to get that persistant spot off the pants until they where a hole right through. Only to find out it was a reflection.

Im not that old, I dont know how I remember that episode.

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FWIW, Filling the bilge with water didn't work in troubleshooting the HDS leak on my '98 Sunsetter.

Edited by CTSunsetter
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FWIW, Filling the bilge with water didn't work in troubleshooting the HDS leak on my '98 Sunsetter.

??HUH??

How high did you fill it? I had to fill it almost to the floor level... Once it went inside the stringers at the louvered vents then it started leaking out at the driveshaft.

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Ok. Before we loaded the boat for the lake on firday I started filling the bilge with water. I didnt make it very far before the autobilge drained the boat. How do I disable it? After that failed attempt we went to the lake and checked for leaks as we put it into the water.

There was a solid drizzle of water coming out of the shaft nuts. Looks like the HDS is solid. Can someone point me to a link with pictures on how to re-do the shaft packing?

Thanks in advance and thanks for all the info on the HDS. its on my watch list now.

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Did you attempt to tighten the packing? It's possible it just needs to be re-tightened rather than completely replaced.

It wasnt bad enough to warrant heading to town for tools so I am going to try and retighten before repacking.

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Ok. Before we loaded the boat for the lake on firday I started filling the bilge with water. I didnt make it very far before the autobilge drained the boat. How do I disable it? After that failed attempt we went to the lake and checked for leaks as we put it into the water.

There was a solid drizzle of water coming out of the shaft nuts. Looks like the HDS is solid. Can someone point me to a link with pictures on how to re-do the shaft packing?

Thanks in advance and thanks for all the info on the HDS. its on my watch list now.

Disconnect the battery or if you have a Perko set it to off.

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This is the best tutorial on replacing the packing I've found.

I used the gore-tex virtually dripless packing when I replaced mine & have been very happy with it.

Only adjust the stuffing box one flat at a time & if the boat has been out of the water for a long time, wait about a day before you tighten. The flax stuffing will dry up & leak more for the first day it's back in the water. Otherwise, you'll need to tighten slightly & likely loosen & adjust again after having the boat in the water a time or two.

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How did you determine it was the HDS?

??HUH??

How high did you fill it? I had to fill it almost to the floor level... Once it went inside the stringers at the louvered vents then it started leaking out at the driveshaft.

Little late on a response but here we go. Prior to my CVP prop self destructing I'd been noticing more water when I pulled the drain plug at the end of the day. The way the boat shook after losing a blade is something I will never forget. We got a new prop that week and were back out on the water that weekend. Mrs. CT was first in and free skied for a long time. When I pulled back the throttle at the end of her run, my feet got wet. That is another boating memory I might never forget.

Water was working its way from the HDS up to the front of the insert that ends just past the ending compartment and before the bilge pump. I never had water coming out from the vents. There wasn't enough pressure from water in the bilge to work backwards. My dealer and I checked everything else and the only thing left was the HDS. We took the leap of faith and had the HDS re-glassed and the leak went away.

Unlike my VTX, there are only so many places for water to come in on a Sunsetter! Hmmm, no one is going to get that reference... Back story: my VTX has a leak. Two Malibu’s and they both leaked... Must be me.

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Wow! Really? Is the bilge water warm?

It's not warm. Almost wish it was warm because that would probably be an easy fix. Never leaks on the fake-a-lake. We’ve got the water cooled shaft so the bilge should be dry almost all the time! It's coming in via some thru hull fitting or bolt that wasn't caulked properly. I've just been lazy on getting the bottom of it myself and/or leaving it at the dealer to be looked at.

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In the above instruction he didnt mention what the replacement packing looks like? Is it a separated circle so you dont have remove the shaft? Or is it just a cotton like flax that you stuff in around the shaft into the nut?

I will try tightening first though.

Thanks for the responses. This is a malibu do it youself dream site.

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