2002 SANTE - Leak on the underside of the v-drive unit

[youngunz]

Hey Everybody,

As the title states, as I was preparing to winterize my boat for the season, which might I add couldn't have been any worse of timing because of the beautiful weather we are now having, I noticed a small leak on the underside of the v-drive unit.

The v-drive oil is slightly down, but not to the point where it might have been harmful. Transmission oil was checked and it to is okay. While riding the week before we did not notice anything out of the norm. No issues. All of the temperature gauges were where they should be, wake was strong, engine sounded normal, idled as it should.

I have reviewed a few posts and there was some mention to the oil pan and or pressure sensor leak. With it being fairly tight, are there any other suggestions on what I should look for before starting to worry?

On another note, while I was preparing to winterize my boat I also stripped the interior leaving just the carpet so I can do a speaker upgrade..what a pain in the ***!!

Does anyone know if I will have any trouble installing wet sounds cabin speakers (XS-650/SW-650)..Have anyone done this on an older style SAN?

Thanks,
Brandon

[ski4evr]

I finally got tired of the oil in the bilge and replaced the vdrive gasket this summer. What a PITA! definitely doable in an evening, make sure you have a mixed gasket set from the zone to match up the type and thickness of the old one. Bolts are not impossible to reach, but definitely not easy. After a few weekends with dawn in bilge, draining in parking lot, clean as a whistle in there now! Funny seeing suds coming out though.

[obd666]

Does anyone know if I will have any trouble installing wet sounds cabin speakers (XS-650/SW-650)..Have anyone done this on an older style SAN?

I have replaced the four cabin speakers on mine. Once you have taken off all the nuts on the side panel backs (pain in the @ss like you said), you can take them out of the boat and top mount your speakers, is easy at that point. Then just put them back in and hook up. I haven't changed out the bow speakers yet though, which i know is going to be even a bigger pain.

[BrickBrock]

Read this thread for the leaky v-drive. http://www.planetnautique.com/vb3/sh...t=v-drive+leak
I did mine last year and I used gasket material from Napa (referenced further down in the string) traced the old gasket and cut the new gasket material to match. No leaks since. The new gasket material is thicker. I also added some v-drive gasket changes tips at the end of this thread http://www.planetnautique.com/vb3/sh...=shopping+list

It is not too bad a job if you have a vacuum extractor.

[youngunz]

I have replaced the four cabin speakers on mine. Once you have taken off all the nuts on the side panel backs (pain in the @ss like you said), you can take them out of the boat and top mount your speakers, is easy at that point. Then just put them back in and hook up. I haven't changed out the bow speakers yet though, which i know is going to be even a bigger pain.

Not to sound like a newb but when you say "top mount" what do you exactly mean. When I look at my cabin speakers after removing the side panels, the old speakers look to be countersunk in an additional speaker cup that is then fastened to the fiber glass. I am guessing with the new speakers this will be scrap and the speakers will simply mount on the fiberglass??

The rear side panels were simple compared to the bow. I am not sure who had the job of mounting the bow side panels but it couldn't hand been fun. At times I wish I had a little brother with smaller arms that could reach up behind and loosen off the nuts. Some were even hard to locate. I will post some pics in a few days of where the nuts are located if you like.

With regards to the leak, the plan is to disassemble in the next week to inspect the gasket and pressure sensor.

[obd666]

Not to sound like a newb but when you say "top mount" what do you exactly mean. When I look at my cabin speakers after removing the side panels, the old speakers look to be countersunk in an additional speaker cup that is then fastened to the fiber glass. I am guessing with the new speakers this will be scrap and the speakers will simply mount on the fiberglass??

i mean going from the rear mounted speakers with the mesh covering them like they came from the factory, to a top mounted setup like in the pic below. I think i kept the round pvc rings that the old speakers were mounted to and used them for mounting my new ones.

[seth]

obd666- Sweet Dazed and Confused poster!!! And exactly what he said on the top mounts. Keep the PVC ring and use small "L" brackets to make a new mount. Screw the L bracket into the PVC and either drill holes or holes match up (I cant remember) to your bigger 6.5" speaker mounts.

[youngunz]

Definitely some good news...As we were about to begin disassembling the v-drive, my father and I noticed that 2 of the 4 bolts that hold the bottom plate tight, were slightly loose. One was about a full turn plus some loose, and the other was similar. For now we tightened the bolts, added additional fluid and will monitor over the next little while.

After roughly 5 days there has been no sign of any oil leaking so we will hope this continues, and the problem is resolved.

Also, thanks for the additional information regarding how the new speakers will be top mounted..