Maintenance question for air Nautique

[Samples]

Recently purchased a new to me 09 air Nautique with 85hrs. Ran flawless for three months and now have 3 issues...

1. Found muffler is cracked and water is filling the bilge. What is the best way to remove muffler and replace with new one.?

2. Noticed yellow colored liquid leaking from transmission. Can’t see exactly where and trans fluid is full. Not sure what it is.

3.tried filling ballast tanks and it appears the pumps bypass the tanks and just pump overboard. Is there another valve I cannot see around the tanks? I also don’t hear a pump to make the tanks drain...

[Infinity]

Did you get boat last year and run it for 3 months then layup over winter and are now having issues getting it ready for summer.....or you have been using it for the last 3 months and now suddenly you have these issues?
What engine do you have in boat?

Did boat freeze over winter with water in it? That could crack muffler and potentially v-drive since water also flows thru to cool it.
You have 2 different fluids (besides engine oil)....one is the trans, which is usually red in color and is probably what you are checking and say its full.

The other is the v-drive and depending on which v-drive you have, it can be different colors, sometimes these are not a dipstick, they can also be a square looking plug....have you looked at your manual to see where it is so you can check? If liquid is leaking from it, then also very possible that water from bilge can also get in there (fluid will be milky when you check it and you will see water spots in it). I would be sure to check this out so you do not have bigger issues down the road.

On ballast, (this sounds pretty strange) follow the hose from the intake (which should be at bottom of hull) to the tank to check it out, there should be no other valve. Typically the only valve on ballast pump if you have one is at hull intake, mine have a shutoff valve. If you have reversible pumps....then water sucks in from under the boat AND also drains back out bottom of boat, so same pump is doing both. Usually when water is coming out side of boat, it is overflow indicating the tanks are full....and of course the bilge pumps out side.
This may sound like a stupid question, but are you sure that tanks are not already full and when you turn on the pump to "fill" them....they start to pump out of overflow cause they are already full?

You need to figure out that leak before you run boat any longer, it could be empty or close to it....and/or could have water mixed in the oil. Neither of these is good and will cause it to quit if not taken care of and fixed properly.

FYI.....NautiqueParts.com will carry the parts you end up needing and being a member of this forum gets you 10% discount. Use code PND

[Samples]

thanks for responding, I bought the boat in January of this year and since I live in florida and the boat stays on a lift freezing should not be a problem. I have put 25 hours on it since then, it ran perfect until last weekend, I have noticed a little water in the bilge, but last weekend it got bad that's when I noticed a crack in the muffler, when we found the leak I didn't turn the bilge pumps on so maybe that would explain why water got into the V drive. I will pump out the V drive and replace the lube, I ordered a new muffler and will have it installed. still need info on the ballast tanks. Billy

[Shawn Henderson]

If the ballast on your 09 is the same as my 06 sv211 then most likely what is happening is your ballast tanks are already full. Im guessing your gauges are showing empty and if thats the case the pumps will not come on in reverse to drain.

[Infinity]

^^That is also my guess on what is going on with the ballast. Run ballast while on lift and see what happens....can you "over ride" the pumps to put them in reverse/drain or somehow trick system into thinking they are full? Your sending unit or gauge may have gone bad...I have heard of sending unit becoming de-magnetized

Make sure you get the right v-drive fluid since depending on the v-drive you have there are different fluids out there. Also, if there is water in there you have to replace the fluid multiple times before all water gets out. Use suction pump to get it out (prob 1.5 quarts).....refill and run for few mins and then do it again. Will likely need to do that 2-3 times to clear all water.

[Samples]

Good advise on the V drive,not sure how to trick but will give it a try