1986 ski nautique transmission problem

[Aussie Andy]

Hey knowledgeable people,
I have an 86 ski nautique with a Chevy v8. Recently when we were heading out for a ski I noticed that under low revs/low speed the boat seemed to slide in and out of “neutral “. This seemed to go away as I sped up. The next time we went out it seemed a little worse and made a sort of crunching noise as I sped up but ran perfectly at wakeboard speed. I have read through quite a few threads and found similar problems but nothing the same. Any suggestions?
cheers Andy.

[mpost]

Sliding in and out of neutral might be due to the transmision being low on fluid. Have you checked the level? when is the last time you changed the fluid? Any signs of fluid in the bilge?
However your comment,
"The next time we went out it seemed a little worse and made a sort of crunching noise as I sped up " sounds like it could be the Damper plate going bad.

[Aussie Andy]

Thanks for you reply.
there is no sign of oil in the bilge. The level is a low but still on the stick. Could the dampener cause the problem?

[mpost]

I would try topping off the transmission to the full mark first. I have never dealt with a damper failure myself. My 84 SN used to rattle a lot when idling in gear due to a sloppy damper plate, and the noise would go away with a little more power. But it never failed.
Youo may want to post over on CCF, (correct craft fan.com) There is a lot of knowledge over there on the older Nautiques, and some discussions about damper plates lately.

[Aussie Andy]

Thanks a lot. I’ll give that a try.