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Engine trouble


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Well I finally managed to coincide a nice day and a day off and get the boat out for the first time this season. It started off well with a launch onto a beautiful river with sun and very little traffic. The engine started right up and we idled for a few minutes getting the first rider ready. Everything was running fine for the first 2 or 3 minutes pulling a boarder when the engine didn't sound quite right and then I started losing power. I put the engine into neutral and the engine died. When I took a look I couldn't see anything leaking, but there was a small amount of wispy smoke coming from the area of the flame arrestor, but no smell. We got everybody back on board and I tried to restart the engine, and it reluctantly did start up, but didn't sound right at all, so I shut it down again. We waved down another boat and got a tow back to the launch ramp. While there we managed to get a few good scratches into the gelcoat from a pretty good current running and a wally we had to help get going out of the way.

I dropped the boat off at the dealer where the winterization and summerization were done and they said they would look at it in the morning. I have never had a single problem with the engine. The drive shaft, yes, but not the engine. It has always been flawless. I suspect there is a problem with either oil or cooling. I didn't notice if the engine was overheating or not. Maybe a bad impeller? I just hope I didn't do any serious damage if that is the case. The gelcoat is not a big deal. I had other areas I needed to get to anyway.

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Maybe a bad impeller?
Ding, ding, ding. We have a winnah. Crazy.gif Atleast, that would be my guess. That's how my sporty behaved when it had an impellor go south. Shame on the mechanic who did the de-winterization/summerization for not putting in a new impellor. Fingerwag.gif
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How could you not notice if the gauges were normal or not?

I'm sure you must have been watching them like a hawk on your first time out for the season.

And I'm sure you were watching for water entering the bilge before the boat left the trailer. Never know when a plug or hose didn't seal properly.

Everyone makes mistakes, even the mechanics working on your boat.

Maybe I'm just too used to older boats. :(

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Sounds like a temperature related shutdown. Best case they have to turn on the petcock and replace the impeller. I'll bet it's something simple.

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With my 01 I had a very similar problem twice but it was electrical in nature. First was a broken wire off the alternator that prevented charging and the second was a broken alternator belt. Every time the engine went under load, it shuttered and hesitated once there wasn't sufficient charge.

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Looks like it was the impeller.

The dealer is making a very nice offer to trade in the boat and get a new one. We had talked about this a few months ago, and this time I think I will take him up on the offer. I just need to decide between a vRide and a Wakesetter VLX and the $10K that seperate the two.

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Looks like it was the impeller.

The dealer is making a very nice offer to trade in the boat and get a new one. We had talked about this a few months ago, and this time I think I will take him up on the offer. I just need to decide between a vRide and a Wakesetter VLX and the $10K that seperate the two.

That has to be the most expensive impeller that I have ever heard of.... Surprised.gif

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Maybe a bad impeller?
Ding, ding, ding. We have a winnah. Crazy.gif Atleast, that would be my guess.
Looks like it was the impeller.

Whistling.gif - - - - - - Biggrin.gif - - - - - - :lol:

Congrats on the prospect of a new sled. Thumbup.gif

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Looks like it was the impeller.

The dealer is making a very nice offer to trade in the boat and get a new one. We had talked about this a few months ago, and this time I think I will take him up on the offer. I just need to decide between a vRide and a Wakesetter VLX and the $10K that seperate the two.

Oh man, that's not good news. How bad was the damage?

Oh & David, if Gunther doesn't have a VLX to demo, you're more than welcome to come over & meet us at the Cove for the day. You can put the blue boat through its paces. :)

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Looks like it was the impeller.

The dealer is making a very nice offer to trade in the boat and get a new one. We had talked about this a few months ago, and this time I think I will take him up on the offer. I just need to decide between a vRide and a Wakesetter VLX and the $10K that seperate the two.

Oh man, that's not good news. How bad was the damage?

They said when the impeller was replaced it idled just fine, but lost power when put to the test out on the river. It will need some time and work. They are being very generous with me, offering me really just what I paid for the boat almost 3 years ago, which is what I was being offered several months ago. I came close to biting on a change then, so this just makes it easier. I'm going to go down and check out what they have in stock and on order in both vrides and vlx's. I'll probably go with the vride unless I can justify the extra cash. The one thing I will miss though is the ski wake on my boat, although in reality we do 90% boarding anymore and I have plenty of friends with nice slalom wakes.

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I labeled this as not being a good start to the season, but now I am pretty excited about picking out a new boat. Like I said, we had been considering this for some time, so this should work out pretty well. We're going to check out the vride and the vlx and then decide what would work best for us. Hopefully we will have time tomorrow to take a look.

Looks like I will need to get a different attachment for my new tower mirror.

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Looks like it was the impeller.

The dealer is making a very nice offer to trade in the boat and get a new one. We had talked about this a few months ago, and this time I think I will take him up on the offer. I just need to decide between a vRide and a Wakesetter VLX and the $10K that seperate the two.

That has to be the most expensive impeller that I have ever heard of.... Surprised.gif

ROFL.gif

I just can't help but wonder if obski has pulled off the ultimate 'Honey, we have no choice but to spend the extra $$' scam:

1. He engineers the failure, framing the dealer so he has someone to blame.

2. Not wanting the CFO to be upset with the dealer (after all, he wants to go back there to get his new 'Bu), he conveniently floats out there that the dealer is 'making a very nice offer to trade in the boat' - an offer he actually secured months ago but probably didn't tell the CFO about.

How can she refuse? The current boat is damaged, heck it is probably even a safety issue, and the dealer is going to make good on it so they can slip into a new boat.

That is beautiful man. In fact, you've got my vote for a life-long Man Card! Clap.gifClap.gifClap.gif

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Might be different circumstances with different results, but my brother and I owned a boat that fried the impeller during a trip. We weren't paying attention to the engine temperature until it started smoking. Killed the overheated engine which promptly filled up with water and hydrolocked. Thought that motor was a goner when we pulled a spark plug and lake water poured out! But the repair shop backflushed the engine to remove stray impeller pieces, changed the oil/filter and plugs and started it up. Ran it for 30 minutes or so, changed the oil/filter again and sent us on our way. Seven years later (and approx 900 hours) my brother still has the boat and it runs as good as ever. Hard to imagine the scenario you described could result in such serious damage, but maybe there is more to the story and cause for the dealer's generous offer to you.

In any case, enjoy shopping for your new toy! Yahoo.gif

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Looks like it was the impeller.

The dealer is making a very nice offer to trade in the boat and get a new one. We had talked about this a few months ago, and this time I think I will take him up on the offer. I just need to decide between a vRide and a Wakesetter VLX and the $10K that seperate the two.

That has to be the most expensive impeller that I have ever heard of.... Surprised.gif

ROFL.gif

I just can't help but wonder if obski has pulled off the ultimate 'Honey, we have no choice but to spend the extra $$' scam:

1. He engineers the failure, framing the dealer so he has someone to blame.

2. Not wanting the CFO to be upset with the dealer (after all, he wants to go back there to get his new 'Bu), he conveniently floats out there that the dealer is 'making a very nice offer to trade in the boat' - an offer he actually secured months ago but probably didn't tell the CFO about.

How can she refuse? The current boat is damaged, heck it is probably even a safety issue, and the dealer is going to make good on it so they can slip into a new boat.

That is beautiful man. In fact, you've got my vote for a life-long Man Card! Clap.gifClap.gifClap.gif

:Doh: Now it all makes sense!! Genius...pure genius! Notworthy.gifNotworthy.gif

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If you go with a T3, you'll just need a different clamp. Scott may trade you straight across since yours has little if any time on it.

It will almost surely be the Illusion tower. Should I give Scott a call?

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So obski, what were you saying a while back about a new person running the shop there thats making some good changes Tease2.gif Good of them to take care of you though!!! What was the damage to the engine once the impeller failed?

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