Transmission gone? Any ideas 2012 VTX 41hrs!

[BurkeandWills]

Hi All,

I have a 2012 VTX (ZF 451Vdrive) and went to back it off the trailer, moved 2 inchs and then seemed to free rev (no bang or noise) and now no drive! Forward or reverse both just rev the engine, checked the prop and prop shaft all seems normal, flange bolts all good. The only movement I get is after I rev the engine as the revs drop it seems to rotate the prop half a turn (Prop rotates same way for both forward and reverse).

Checked the solenoids (as electronic shift) and they seem to be working tried manual overide and still no joy...Oil levels look good, oil color looks good.

I am wondering if either the Transission has gone or maye the Flex plate has let go...

My local dealer is going to check with Malibu on Tuesday though just wondering if anyone had any ideas.

Thanks in advance

Regards,

David

Edited November 5, 2012 by BurkeandWills

[REW]

The only thing I can think of is the disenguage switch, but I dont see how that can be the issue if you got it to move before it quite. Hope it is something simpe.

[BurkeandWills]

I am hoping it is too, not sure what a disengauge switch is, unless you mean where you push in a button (usally at the base of the Shifter) to place the shifter in Neutral so you can rev the engine without gear....I wasted 30mins looking for this button to push in (As noted in the manual) for Neutral only to discover it doesnt have this option anymore...seems you have to remove the plug into either forward or reverse electric soleniod. I was hoping I had maybe pushed it in and now stuck in Neutral...no luck there.

David

[nyryan2001]

David, looks like you are a candidate for a new tranny. Indmar can have it to your dealer in about 48hrs, and it takes 1 day/8hrs to swap out. Major undertaking... they have to remove the engine. tranny and vdrive as a whole unit, demate and swap the tranny, reinstall. At the onset of most tranny trouble this is the route they like to take, rarely do dealers go inside the trannys to fix/diagnose. They just ship over a new/reconditioned one and swap it out.

If you have a good dealer and everything lines up, you could be back on the water by Saturday.

[WTF]

Is your boat still under warranty? 41 hours and losing a tranny does'nt sound right. If it turns out to be the tranny, I would like to know what went wrong. I have an 03 Malibu and never had a problem with it.

[Fman]

Its a 2012, definitely still under warranty.

[BlastRlxi]

David, looks like you are a candidate for a new tranny. Indmar can have it to your dealer in about 48hrs, and it takes 1 day/8hrs to swap out. Major undertaking... they have to remove the engine. tranny and vdrive as a whole unit, demate and swap the tranny, reinstall. At the onset of most tranny trouble this is the route they like to take, rarely do dealers go inside the trannys to fix/diagnose. They just ship over a new/reconditioned one and swap it out.

If you have a good dealer and everything lines up, you could be back on the water by Saturday.

This is spot on. There was a 2012 LSV at my dealer last spring with the same transmission problem and they knew how to fix it but Indmar prefered that they just change out the transmission. That is what they ended up doing and 8 hours is a pretty good estimate.

[BurkeandWills]

Thanks for all the replies, I will let you know how it pans out!

[fastmcars]

The Dealer replaced my tranny in a new 2012 vtx before delivery. I called indmar and hey said they had a problem with them(zf trans made in italy) and are just replacing them. Dealer did a nice job of replacement and all is good. I guess better now than out of warranty.