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I wish Malibu would do a better job of encasing the engine compartment in sound dampening materials and blocking off areas where noise can get out. They don't really do anything. For me, these engine noises are very irritating on those Fords--I think it would be a deal breaker for me. This is one area where Nautiques outshine Malibus. They are far quieter boats. Of the three Malibu's I have owned, my 2008 vRide with base engine and STE's has been the quietest. My 2013 VLX w/ Monsoon was by far the nosiest. My 2015 VLX with LS3 is pretty close to my 2008 vRide, but it's hard to say since so much time has passed.

I replaced mine with 3/4" Hdpe, had extra carpet around that matched for the most part, and just put heat/sound dampening mat on the bottom to protect from any heat issues...

Since you have indicated that you have a packing nut, you likely don't have a dripless seal but have a conventional rope packing type of seal. I like to pull the clamped hose off as you described just to make sure that the hose hasn't been installed 'cocked over' a bit and is not pushing the log assembly hard against one side of the shaft and maybe deflecting the shaft from proper concentricity while you align the engine. It may be that the mis-alignment you have has resulted in wearing an oval hole in the bore of the log. You should easily see it if so. There's no need to break the seal on the 'black box' (HDS - 'Hydrophonic Damping System' I think) lid or log mount flange.

HDS = Hydrophonic Dampening System Lot's of threads about it if you do a search. Here is one

Hydrophonic Dampening System. It's on Direct Drives only. If you open the area behind the engine box between the mufflers (usually) you will see a box. When you are in the water, this box fills with water (hypdrophonic). It's stated purpose is to reduce vibration and noise (dampening). The purpose and existence of the box is open for much debate.

The solution is build a box and replace the factory playoff with a piece of plexiglass. Cut the plexiglass to shape and voila, decent sub. This also requires you to relocate 2 heater vents, but they are positioned poorly as well, so win win. For the sub i chose a Rockford P3D2 15. I know rockford dies not get much love here but sounds quality is decent and price is right. I built a sealed enclosure to Rockford's specifications. I then wrapped 5 sides in dynamat, this provides additional dampening and provides some water protection. I will also say in 110 AZ heat, it gets REALLY sticky. So dynamat is not coming off anytime soon. The 6th side outs plexiglass, so water resistance is inherent. When mounting this way the sub sits at a slight upward angle, so back edge only touches floor. So i am not planning spacers at this point. I accidentally got a bit of glue on the front of the box that i will have to sand off, but here is where it is in progression now. Power for SUB is Rockford p500x1 which is exactly what it wants

Not sure if you've checked this out - http://www.themalibu...ions/specs_main - there is some good info available for comparison of different Sunsetter models. If you click on 1999 you will see the Sunsetter LXi vs. the Sunsetter LX. The HDS is Malibu's lame hydrophonic dampening system that supposedly reduces vibration by having the shaft run through a water-filled box. They are prone to leaking - lots of info on the site if you search "HDS".

Congrats! I purchased my 2000 SLXI new and have loved it ever since! Some ideas from a long time owner... Search under my name..mayfike... I posted a very long/comprehensive part and tool listing a while back for mine. My mods: Add a third set of pull up cleats near the drivers right elbow(and passenger side)---One of the best mods I have made--I use mine all the time in that location. But drilling into my boat was the hardest thing I've ever done (very simple to do, just mentally challenging) :-) --- Upon further review--it looks like yours already has this. Line the engine box with sound dampening material. (dynamat type stuff). Perfect Pass is awesome! It's a true "friend saver" that makes it much easier for others to drive the boat. I added a "round clear plastic deck plate" in the wall under my back middle seat so I could visually see the lower half of the gas tank-- That way I only have me to blame (not the seldom accurate instruments) when I run outta gas. Happy Skiing!

I kicked those ideas around too Woodski, and I even mapped it all out with parts based on what you did with yours. Then I found a steal on some regular 3.5" hose with the blue stripe on it and everything, so I grabbed two 6' lengths, back over a year ago. The more I thought about it I was concerned about the PVC being louder than the rubber, I'm sure there is some dampening with the rubber that would hold back noise from transferring to the hull. Having stared at the boat for a bit longer, I think the silencer does it's best job being elevated off of the floor, rather than mufflers laying flat and bouncing those sound waves off of the fiberglass. Just a guess, but it makes sense to me. So, I think I'm leaning towards doing the fiberglass work and picking up some elbows so that I can use my factory silencer. In the end, if I do it right, it should provide the best sound reduction, provide decent performance, and look professional.

Or, at the least, checked the fluid level? The 'cavity' that you refer to is the Hydrophonic Dampening System (HDS). Is the sound you hear only in neutral, only in gear, only in reverse, or all of the above? Does your shaft packing drip? When and how much?

HDS stands for "Hydrophonic Dampening System" It is the "box" that is formed as part of the engine chassis system (fiberglass floor system: the entire black fiberglass portion of the boat that is the stringers and floor of the engine compartment) This entire system is glued into the hull of the boat. The idea of the HDS is that water fills the box through the prop shaft opening to "absorb energy generated by prop thrust vibration, creating comfortable, vibration-free boats." The HDS leak (if one occurs) is not a leak between the silicone sealed and screwed down lid (this would be real easy to fix) but rather a void in the adhesive, bonding the chassis system to the hull. If such a void develops, water will push its way from within the HDS box, between the hull and chassis, until it shows up inside the boat. The most common test to see if this is the source of a water leak, is to (with the boat out of water) disconnect the battery so the bilge pump does not run, put water in the boat (often suggested to a depth equal to the top of the HDS box). If water eventually drips out the shaft opening in the hull bottom, an HDS leak is assumed. I would think that the prop shaft seal shoul be tightened prio to the test, other wise, water passing thru the packing would give a false test for an HDS leak. If dripping water does suggest and HDS leak, I would remove the box lid and repeat the test to verify that the water was not simply coming through the stuffing box hardware or the lid itself. Repairs for true HDS leaks in the bonding vary. Malibu reccommend grinding the seam between the chassis and hull and adding more of the bonding adhesive used for the original bond. Others have installed shaft logs thus eliminating the water in the HDS system alltogether.

Thanks, the build quality on this tower is insane. I'm new to Malibu, I switched over from a Mastercraft X-45. My boat is due here at the end of the month, and I've been dealing with Simon at Wetsounds. He's awesome. I'm putting 2 pairs of REV-10s on the G4 so they have been helping me with engineering questions. Things to be aware of: if you don't order tower speakers from Malibu on the G4, PTM is instructed to put strut packge one in (this has to do with how strong the dampening is on the tower fold down) If speakers are ordered strut package two is installed by PTM. The problem is if you don't order speakers and plan on installing them on your own (my case) you'll have the wrong strut package installed. Most sales reps are unaware of this because Malibu doen't pass that info along and it's not on the configuration page of the boat builds. This is my case now, we're tring to rectify. I gave PTM my HID # and said it shipped with strut one option. My boat has not left the factory so I'm trying to have this fixed before it ships. Stay tuned.

I assume the 2015 VLX will have all the features of the 2014 LSV, but here are a few additional things I'd like to see in the 2015 VLX: 1) Increase the freeboard, but don't increase the garage clearance at all. The tow hoop clears my garage door by less than 1" on my 2013 VLX. Possible Solution for #1 above: Replace the four allen bolts that connect the tow hoop to the G3 tower with rotating mounts with some sort of locking push pin. The tow hoop could quickly and easly be rotated clockwise by 90 degrees when the tower is collapsed and solve many garage clearance issues without having to break out tools, remove and store the hoop somewhere. I will not upgrade to a new boat if I have to dismantle the tower and store the hoop everytime I put the boat in my garage. This is a big deal issue for me. 2) provide an easy collapse mechanism for the whole G3 tower (like on the SAN 210) so can drop my tower easily without an allen wrench. I have the G3 knobs, but still have to use an allan wrench to tighten them up. 3) provide a transmission option so I can choose the regular side to be the better surf side. My whole family is regular foot, but we are forced to purchase a boat that is optimal on the goofy side. Lame!!! 4) if you remove the analog gauges, then please add another gauge screen option to the maliview (simple S/W upgrade), that provides the following information all on one screen: RPM (digital), SPEED (digital), engine temperture, oil pressure, depth, fuel, and battery voltage. Just add more options for guage layouts to choose from. Make sure engine hours are easy to find in the menus also. 5) Add better sound dampening in the back bench area to block more engine/transmission noise. The current generation VLX is fairly noisy. (newly added with edit)

Are you asking seriously? If the search function did 3 letters, HDS would get you 150 threads. . . Hydrophonic Dampening System supposedly quiets the boat by surrounding the drive shaft with water. Supposedly is a (perhaps) stronger design than others use. Historically, if HDS is going to present a problem, it does so early in the boat's use. This occurs, as I understand it, due to the fiberglass not being laid up correctly in this area. If it presents a problem in later years, such as the OP, it's usually a result of hitting something. Pete, didn't you have this problem once upon a time, or was that someone else?

Hydrophonic Dampening System...Basically it is a box that allows water to surround the prop shaft and dampen vibration/noise. Malibu DDs have them. They are visible underneath the access hattch in the floor behind the motorbox. They have been know to leak in the past (leak into the boat). Someone used to have a video of the HDS in action..they replaced the top with clear plexiglass. It looks like and sounds like it is the HDS draining as it normally should. No worries. Nice looking ride by the way!

That is the Hydroponic Dampening System (HDS) box that sits between the mufflers. It fills with water & is supposed to help dampen vibrations/noise I've never changed the packing nut...but wouldn't the packing nut put water in the bilge? This water is seeping up from the fiberglass between the center locker and the hull.

HDS = Hydrophonic damping system, it was an innovative idea by Malibu to dampen any prop shaft vibrations. Responses had it from ~'96-'98 not exactly sure. As noted, they had a tendency to develop a leak and needed some repair to cure. this particular leak is more significant than the traditional direct drive (this type of inboard tournament ski boat) "drip" from the prop shaft seal which is normal and expected. The owner can run you through and point to all those details. Sling Blades: sorry for the slang term, the CVP (brand) stainless steel propellors used by Malibu from ~'95-'99 had a tendency to crack at the hub to blade interface and eventually throw the blade off. The newer CNC cut Nibral (nickel/brass/aluminum) propellors from Acme and OJ are a recommended replacement. The Acme 515 is a standard replacement prop for that boat at sea level. The SV23 hull was brought out in '93 and is what, as noted, put Malibu on the map as a top level slalom or three event (slalom/jump/trick) tournament ski boat. It also was the first fully fiberglass (no wood to rot) hull and the Malibu Echelon/Response won numerous boat of the year awards over the next 10 years. The SV23 hull has received subtle design upgrades over the years and added terminology to designate the differences. Just for clarity, the Echelon / Response (same hull) series riding on the original SV23 hull were not primarily designed as wakeboard boats but as slalom specialty boats. The Wedge, a patented Malibu innovation, was introduced to alter the wake to assist the wakeboarding wake needs. As noted above, a closed bow tournament boat will not be ideal for multiple passengers but will offer a lot of storage under the bow and will be much better at staying dry as you go through rollers or operate on rough water (these boats are poor on rough water, just a byproduct of a nice flat slalom wake). When you are pulling a skier/boarder/footer due to the rope hooked to the pylon, you will not be able to have your passengers in the back seat. As I do, most hard core slalom junkies simply remove the back seat as that also helps the slalom and barefoot wake. So when pulling there is only seating for three (or 4 small) total people on seats in the boat, others will end up on the floor unless you buy some jump seats.

Your boat should not be taking on enough water in just two weeks to kill the battery. Hydrophonic Dampening System (or something like that). It's the box built into the floor of the bilge that the driveshaft exits through. There is great debate as to whether or not it actually does anything beyond cause headaches. The drip rate of the packing should have been checked when the dealer discovered and corrected the driveshaft coupling bolt issue. With the drive shaft vibrating as much as it would with only one bolt in it it had to have beat the snot out of the packing material in the shaft log. The packing material wears slowly over time requiring occasional tightening of the shaft log nuts. Eventually the material needs to be replaced but just to give you an idea, my 2000 (with ~500 hours on it) still has the OE packing material. The shaft log is the piece that seals the hole that the driveshaft goes through. Traditional shaft logs have the replacable material in them and typically have a drip rate of 1 drip every five to ten seconds. The dripless is a newer design and obviously by their name they don't drip but I have to think that a wobble/vibration like what you are talking about would have destroyed the entire unit. End result - you need to identify where the water is coming from. If it is coming from the shaft log (around the drive shaft) that's an easy fix, just tighten the nuts. Worse case...replace the packing material. If the HDS is leaking, that is definitely a more intricate repair and probably not a DIY.

That's basically what I was trying to get at, politely, when I said: If you're planning on sticking around awhile, be a good idea to chill. Hey, just out of curiosity, in your conversations with the engineers, did they happen to tell you the purpose of the HDS (hydrophonic dampening system) in the DDs? George at Malibu gave me the info, he didn't refer to it as such, but is it the same thing as the lining foam he referred to(the allegations of his that everyone is laughing at and not believing)? Thanks for the advice, fyi I have learned a lot from these posts from guys like you that keep it respectful, and I don't want to get kicked off or be responsible for closing the thread.

That's basically what I was trying to get at, politely, when I said: If you're planning on sticking around awhile, be a good idea to chill. Hey, just out of curiosity, in your conversations with the engineers, did they happen to tell you the purpose of the HDS (hydrophonic dampening system) in the DDs?

If I remember this correctly... HDS = Hydrophonic Dampening System. It's a box that fills with water that surrounds the prop shaft. Malibu used to use it as a marketing tool stating that it provided a smoother ride, etc... Doing a search on HDS will provide a bunch of hits. Below is just one of them. http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index....6496&hl=HDS When an HDS failure occurs it is generaly early in the life of a boat rather than 8 years later. The only reason I brought it up was because you stated it appeared to be coming in around the rudder, which the HDS box is just in front of, and it is a new boat to you, so you wouldn't know the history of the boat, etc... Mike

I let the stereo control get away from me the other night, somebody ( who shall remain nameless) cranked the sub level from my setting of 3 to an 8. well it didnt take long to stretch the voice coil and now its done. The question is: Replacement Subwoofer? I want to use the JL cause I run two of them in parallel for a 2 ohm load. I took out the original M10WIB5 - which is the infinite baffle sister to the M10W5B (meant for enclosed use). -Do you think that the IB will be able to work in the enclosure? In parallel with the enclosed type sub. -Is it possible that the IB could be more resistant to overloading due to its construction to survive in an open air environment? (an enclosure may provide more dampening to excursion due to the air cushion inside the enclosure)

Actually I have one more BIG request. Add better sound dampening in the back bench area to block more engine/transmission noise. I think a lot of noise comes through the cracks around the center seat cushion above the v-drive. I think the rear speakers in the seat back of the rear bench also allow a lot of engine noise out. Move the speakers to the side like on the LSV. There is a 2013 LSV on our lake that I test drove and it is definitely quieter than my VLX. I also think it would be easy to line the inside of the rear carpeted bench risers (below the rear bench) with noise dampening foam/rubber.

Just bought a 2003 Sunsetter LXI, only has 151hrs on it. Had it out yesterday for the first time. Runs great but noticed that the steering wheel is off 90 degrees when running straight. Tried to adjust like my 94' Nautique that has a splined steering wheel. This one is woodruff keyed and cannot adjust this way. Looked at the steering cable in back and saw that the housing has a threaded adjustment. I could not get the fwd nut loose. Did not want to break the plastic bracket that mount to the hydro dampening box. Does anybody know how to adjust and do you have thoughts on how I can get this nut loose? I assume sliding the cable housing fwd or back to adjust steering wheel center? Is the Bracket threaded or can the housing slide in the bracket once both nuts are loose? Also have a question on Cutlass bearing. Mine has a slight amount of play and the shaft turns extremely loose. My nautique is not that loose and My brothers 2004 Sunsetter LXi with 300hrs does not have any play and is not as loose either. Do I need to look at replacing the bushing? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Kerry

My thinking exactly. More than one person has spent $$$ fixing the darn thing. If nothing else, its peace of mind. What is HDS? Off the top of my head, I think it means hydrophonic dampening system. It's that box the shaft goes into just behind the engine. It is unique to Malibus. It was originally touted as a sound/vibration dampening device. I'm not sure if they even mention it anymore, but it is still part of every DD they build.