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Broken illusion tower. What do I do?


Dirtdust

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I have an 08 vride with the illusion x tower. I was wake boarding last night and I crashed. When I crashed it pulled the rope hard and broke the bar on the tower. WTF. I'm not a big guy 190 lbs. Malibu said the wouldn't warranty it because I wasn't the original owner. Anyone else had this problem? I have had the boat for a year. Probably my last Malibu. My profile pic is what it looks like

Edited by Dirtdust
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Plenty of illusion towers have cracked. Mine cracked when the previous owner had it and Malibu replaced it. It's overall a combination of poor design and poor supplier. Yet it's popular because it looks cool.

In your situtatuon I'd say your best bet is to pull off the upper part at the hinge, and has someone tig weld the crack and then powder coat it again.

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Your last Malibu because a tower cracked? About every manufacturer out there has had a model at one time or another with a troublesome tower...this is Malibu's. Get it TIG welded and repaint the repair, probably a couple hundred bucks.

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That sucks to hear, but things break. Indy is most likely right - weld it and powdercoat it. You should be able to get everything done for $750 or less. (If you just took it to the shop - $300 if you do a lot of the leg work.) Although getting the tower off will be a 4 person job.

Replaced my Illusion with a G3 this summer and the cost was crazy. $8k for tower and labor and even now I can't fold my tower past the windshield. But...I love the boat even more now.

Edited by tjklein
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Has anyone ever had it done? I'm sure it would be almost impossible for it to look right. Can I do anything to make sure the other side won't break? Was it worth the 8k? Is the g3 taller.

Edited by Dirtdust
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If you have them "just weld" it it is likely to fail again. The repair won't likely be as strong as the tower was originally. Take it to a good shop, have them gusset it and then powder coat it. I bet a good shop will make it stronger and it will look professional. Then when you sell you can advertise it as a "custom illusion" ;)

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If you have them "just weld" it it is likely to fail again. The repair won't likely be as strong as the tower was originally. Take it to a good shop, have them gusset it and then powder coat it. I bet a good shop will make it stronger and it will look professional. Then when you sell you can advertise it as a "custom illusion" ;)

If done well, the weld itself will be stronger than the porous cast al tower. :/

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We have personally seen/ known of 3 Illusion towers that have been damaged, one is on a 247 boat for sale in our area that has been for sale all year and the repair is quite obvious. The other 2 we know of were repaired and broke again in different places. One was replaced with an Illusion tower from a boat junk yard in Texas, the other person changed over to the G3 tower.

Given this very small sample of break fix break failures, and agreeing that when it is repaired it will be stronger (at the repair point), it leads me to think because it is my family in the boat, I would rather replace the tower. Cast Aluminum is an interesting beast, if you repair the obvious without being aware of other micro cracks or stress points, it may be you end up chasing the stress points. It also may work just fine with the fix for years.

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If done well, the weld itself will be stronger than the porous cast al tower. :/

The weld is typically stronger, depending which type of welding and or what type opf rod used. The adjacent areas on either side of the weld will be weaker though due to the heat required to generate the weld and that will be where it would break again....unless done by someone who knows what they are doing...not even sure what material the tower is made of?? aluminum or some kinda pot/cast metal??

  • Like 2
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And jk is right. The parent metal around the weld will be weaker. This combined with the fact that there will be stress fractures in this area..... But aparently gusseting is a bad idea :/. Hmmm

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Who said a gusset is a bad idea? Sure it's a good idea, but that is up to the guy to decide.

I agree the haz around the weld will be essentially heat treated and brittle but have you ever looked at a illusion tower without powder coat and before polish? I saw some pictures of a rough casting of the legs and the Process they used made the aluminum porous, inconsistent and thin. So even if it's welded still may not be the next weakest link.

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Who said a gusset is a bad idea? Sure it's a good idea, but that is up to the guy to decide.

I agree the haz around the weld will be essentially heat treated and brittle but have you ever looked at a illusion tower without powder coat and before polish? I saw some pictures of a rough casting of the legs and the Process they used made the aluminum porous, inconsistent and thin. So even if it's welded still may not be the next weakest link.

I guess I just don't follow the intent of your post.#7. Oh well.

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I have an 08 vride with the illusion x tower. I was wake boarding last night and I crashed. When I crashed it pulled the rope hard and broke the bar on the tower. WTF. I'm not a big guy 190 lbs. Malibu said the wouldn't warranty it because I wasn't the original owner. Anyone else had this problem? I have had the boat for a year. Probably my last Malibu. My profile pic is what it looks like

" Malibu said the wouldn't warranty it because I wasn't the original owner" Just curious, so does this imply that Malibu would cover the tower if it were and issue with the original owner and they had not done any ill-advised activities which led to the tower failure?

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Insurance won't cover it. And when they find out the cost they most likely for sure won't cover it! :-)

They cover accidents and total loss, but not broken parts. If you're driving your car and the tranny blows up, would your insurance cover it? Nope. Same deal with the tower.

Now if you sink the boat or get in a car accident they will cover that. Make sense?

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I am located in Columbia south carolina. We have done nothing but wakeboard behind it. And most the guys I wakeboard with don't even jump so it was hardly abused. I can't say anything about the previous owners

Edited by Dirtdust
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Add it to the list of failed Metcraft towers. Malibu let the company die for a reason....

G3 is the strongest option out there. Or we see Illusions for sales occasionally, guys who are upgrading their boats to a better quality tower. Won't be the best option but should be a lot less expensive. And you'll maintain that "Malibu look" :rofl:

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Are they ever going to make the Titan 3 again?!?!?! I thought there was some talk about it being made again. Maybe not. I would go that route if it were an option.

$8k for a G3? Does that include new bimini, racks, etc? That sounds ridiculously ridiculous. You would think they'd cut you some slack for putting you through the inconvenience of having your tower crack...

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Heck, go get a 5 gallon bucket of JB Weld..that stuff works great on alum. and no heat....just a thought....I have used it many a time on aluminum motor cycle parts and even cast iron engine parts and it has never failed me yet...just a thought

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