On 6/7/2024 at 4:20 PM, Bradley Thornton said:

Ok, lets talk how it works.

Once the hard tank fills the in the back you have a big hose that starts filling the soft bag. If this is plugged the water will go upfront to the drain smaller hose and run out the side of the boat. (This drain hose has a check valve that doesn't let it go into the soft bag) (See pic)

Now this is the tricky part If you have the soft bag and the bottom hose not plugged it will fill the bag with water then it will go out the drain passing the check valve.

((((BUT if the check valve is stuck it could possibly put air in the bag))))

Also if you look at my pics you will see that the hard tank drain hose goes way up to help with hydrostatic pressure. 

Make sure your check valve isn't upside down also. See my pics

I just looked into my boat and everything looks the same. Took the line off the top of the bag and blew through it to make sure the check valve was working and it seems to be fine. Seems like I might be chasing my tail with this issue. 

Make sure you are running premium.  IIRC the one-and-done marine power LS32 was tuned on 93 octane.  91 is acceptable, but 93 octane is better though hard to get.

You need to balance the boat... so more bow weight or less weight in the rear or a combo of both.  Lead is much more compact and less messy than sand (leadwake.com).  I'd think 4-500 between walkway and bow and then probably still dump a little weight in the rear to get bow rise under control.  Putting your crew in the bow will help too, but it's cold up there right now.  Wedge 2-3.  That will give you a long wave.  If you want a shorter steeper (taller but not much room to go back and forth), a bit more weight in the rear or wedge to 4 would be OK.  But the boat works super hard to push a wedge at 4.

And as @teamerickson points out... altitude is probably going to be your limiter.  Head down the hill and your boat will feel like a monster.

1 hour ago, RyanB said:

And rear diff replaced last year……

Are you using that thing to pull stumps when not towing a boat?  Jeez!

3 minutes ago, BlindSquirrel said:

Have you removed the starter and checked it on the bench? 

Actually yes, it's brand new and I did bench test it prior to install.  

I forgot to mention that I used a remote starter switch to jump the solenoid and the starter will spin but not fast enough to kick out the bendix, like it's not getting enough power, although I'm showing 12+v at the starter.  

I have a ‘96 Sunsetter LX with a Monsoon engine. The raw water pump has been dripping about one drop per second. I did as much web sleuthing as I could (including this site) and found that some folks have a lot of trouble replacing or repairing these pumps for various reasons.

As a result I tried to replace the seals with the pump in place on the front of the engine. I ordered a rebuild kit online (impeller, seal, o-ring, thin brass washer, bearings and gasket). Removing the old impeller was easy enough.

The hard part is getting the seal out. I ended up using two small screwdrivers and some spray lubricant and just kept working it until it loosened up enough to pull it out with some small needle nose pliers. Initially a couple of small bits tore off but the majority of it came out in tact.

My inner brass washer was missing (not sure why) and the o-ring was super easy to remove. I cleaned the area thoroughly, installed the new o-ring gently, then the brass washer, then the seal using a 13/16” deep walled socket  and just gently tapped it in flush.

Then a new impeller (lubed with Dawn dish detergent), new gasket and I reinstalled the cover and no more leaks!

In hindsight the drip on my pump was coming from behind the seal but exiting the pump before the bearings so it’s not likely that they are corroded, but I have 2 new bearings (came with the kit) if they are ever needed. I also think my pump wouldn’t be that hard to remove; it’s held on by 3 bolts to the harmonic balancer. But I read horror stories about snapped bolts and other issues so decided just to do it in place.

I have some photos but I’m not sure how to upload them to this site. Anyway, I’m glad I attempted this because it was a nagging leak and now it’s fixed. Not very hard to do either, just some patience is needed to get the old seal out with the pump in place on the engine.