V-Drive locked up! Low hours 07 Super Air Nautique 210

[tomld]

So the boat is a 07 super air nautique 210, 180 hours. Always dealer serviced. Was out surfing today, 10mph and boat makes a wierd sound, loses drive and dies. Starts up fine, but dies when shifting into forward and shifts into reverse but goes no where. Open the compartment to look at the transmission/gearbox/whatever you want to call it and when you shift into gear, it tries to spin, but is definitely locked. Also can't spin the prop by hand. She appears to be locked up tight.

What could it be? Are these prone to this? Anyone?

[horkn]

Sounds like a tranny issue.

I'm hoping the tranny is included in the 5 yr warranty.

[tomld]

So, the boat is at a dealer and they have told me the v-drive is seized up because it's full of water. From what I understand the vdrive is vented inside the engine compartment and at some point the water level got above the vent line, filling it with water. Water displaces oil, vdrive loses lubrication, and you get a seized v-drive.

My question is what possible scenarios could fill the vdrive with water? We never had issues last year, had it winter/summerized at the same dealer and first time out this year it fails.

One thing I noticed the first time we used it this year (the first and only time) there was significant water underneath the engine. I turned on the real bilge, pumped it out, and shortly after there was water again. Where could this be coming from?

ANY ideas are appreciated. Not looking forward to the $7000 repair bill (if the trans is bad too).

[tomld]

Also the dealer says there is no way to find the source of the water with the boat not in running condition. So they want to replace the vdrive, check/repair the tranny (if needed), then find the source of water.

My question is, with the vdrive disconnected, is it not possible to start the engine and check if the transmission will shift into gear? And is it not possible to start the engine to check for leaks?

[core-rider]

Well the bilge being full of water answers the question of how water got into the v-drive. If you look on top of the v-drive unit you will see the vent they are talking about. It is just a tube covered with a loose fitting metal cap. Assuming you don't have a dripless packing gland on the prop shaft that would be the first place to look for water coming in, especially if the water is coming in without the engine running. If it only leaks with the engine running then it could be any number of hoses that have come loose, cracked, etc.

The way you describe the water in the bilge the first time you took out the boat I would say you had it sitting in water for a period of time without the bilge turned on. Something caused the bilge to fill to the point where water got into the v-drive. When you notice the water you emptied the bilge but the damage had already been done without draining the water out of the v-drive.

Just a note for the future... If you keep your boat in the water keep the bilge on to avoid problems like these or worse. Sounds like the boat could have continued to fill up until it sank. If you keep the boat outside and rain water filled it up, pull the plug to allow any rain water to drain out while on the trailer.

[ers906]

Do all SAN V-drives have the vent? I have taken on a decent amount of water while wake surfing and now worry about others driving my boat taking rollers over the bow or stern. I always run the bilge pumps while surfing to minimize the water in the bilge. Has anyone else had this problem?

[tomld]

Jason,

When I first noticed the water, it looked very old & scummy like it had definitely been in there a while. Since this was the first time the boat had been used since last season. Where did that water come from? Shouldn't part of a standard dealer winterize service include removing ALL water from the bilge area? I'm not familar with what exactly they do in a winterize that could have got water in the bilge area.

The boat did sit outside for a few weeks prior to being stored indoors for the winter, but it has a complete custom made snap cover that prevents any water from getting in the boat.

So it does appear there was significant water in the bilge since last winter. So the question is how did it get in there and why was there ANY water in there after a dealer winterize service.

Anybody know what a new V-Drive does for? My dealer is quoting $3400 in parts $4500 installed.

[tomld]

Is my dealer accurate in saying there's no way to know if the transmission was damaged when the v-drive seized without first fixing the v-drive? Meaning is it not possible to start/test the trans with the v-drive unhooked?

[teamseal]

Has the dealer tore down the unit and shown you the broken parts?
I think before I shelled out $4K I would at least tell the dealer to tear it down it only takes about 30 min to have it all apart on the bench once it is out of the boat. the unit may be repairable.

[tomld]

No, from what I understand (haven't seen it), they disconnected it and removed/pulled something on the vdrive and water shot out of it. And they said it's completely seized up tight. I'm not familar with how the vdrive works, wish there was an online parts fiche to see the breakdown.

But I agree, I'm not shelling any money without see exactly what broke.

[migs]

soooo this is not being covered by warranty????

[tomld]

No it's a couple weeks out of PCM's 3 year warranty and the dealer has said they don't cover water damage such as this regardless.

[core-rider]

Thee will always be a little bit of water in the bilge unless you pull there plug and get the bow of the boat up high enough to let all the water drain out. The bow sit slightly lower than the stern making water get stuck about mid-boat. I drain the bilge on the ramp every so often to keep water out. The water could be from last few times out, water drained from the engine during winterization, rain, etc.

I've never seen a dealer drain excess water out of the bilge as part of the winterization process, but then again all the dealers around me suck which is why I do my own service work. There really is no way to place blame towards anyone event of thing it sounds like. Unfortunately this will be an expensive lesson. I can't see where this would be covered under warranty unless the cooler on the v-drive had leaked water into the unit causing this. That might be worth looking into. I would definitely make them tear down the v-drive before condemning it.

Good luck with it...

[tomld]

Who makes the v-drive on this boat (07 nautique, ZR6 engine)?

[core-rider]

who makes the v-drive on this boat (07 nautique, zr6 engine)?

pcm... Iirc