2004 Sport 216 - various items

[bionaraq]

first up: leaking water line:
Excalibur 330, looks to be the rear line after a filter? (black piece that has G03 on it) on the passenger side.
Most likely the hose is loose, but it's also most likely original so I am leaning towards complete replacement. Is this just generic hose I can purchase at the autoparts store?
Or are they specific Marine parts?



Second:
my fuel pump squeals and if i go from gentle forward to gentle reverse, it almost sounds like the motor stalls. [edit: the squeal is from under the passenger seats. i had assumed this is the low pressure fuel pump location. turns out it's not]

Third:
Steering is extremely light, as in I can take the wheel and with a gentle shove, spin it. Does this mean my steering cables are super stretched?

Fourth:
belt squeal up front. going to have to dig into this, on cold start it's there, goes away after some use. So most likely a tensioner? will replace the belt just in case for surety (since I do not know when it was replaced last).

Fifth:
the transmission seems noisy, what is the recommended fluid/level for these? I"m finding so many different references on searching.

Faria Gauges:
-I've read the How to, will pull it apart.
-The speedo is super inaccurate according to the Perfect pass. (optimistic by 10 mph) so I'm considering blocking off the pitot, and maybe re-placing the 5" speedo with something that can give me depth?
-My tach is not working (reads 1200 all the time) but the hours are ticking. However I see in the how to that there was a way to get depth and other information on the gauge? how? I do not have any buttons to change it.
-I thought the alternator was failing or broken because of how low the volts were reading, but when i turned the key to on, not running. It shows 10v, running is 12v and if i turn the bilge or blower on it draws down to indicated 11v or so. This leads me to believe when combined with the how to, that the gauge is just super inaccurate. I've found some references on the board to adding a second ground to the gauge cluster in order to help relieve this?



Stereo:
Boat has a clarion Head Unit without Bluetooth and a Clarion remote to the far right (looks to be the size of the voltmeter) Has anyone done a DIY on replacement? I.e. is there a stereo/remote that fits in the locations without me having to drill new holes in the binnacle?

[Skidave]

Nautique Parts and Discount Inboard Marine are going to become your best friends for filters, hoses, fuel pumps, etc. Discount Inboard Marine has amazing tech support. We have a 10% discount code for Nautique Parts. I forget off the tip of my fingers, but others will chime in.

I would recommend a full fluid change on engine oil, trans fluid and then check cap and rotor, drain the fuel control cell (FCC) and replace any hoses that look aged. Also replace your water pump impeller for peace of mind.

Stereo and gauges can come later.

If you have the 2 inch clarion remote, I would be interested if you replace it. My remote is slowly dying and I'm not interested in replacing the whole head unit and remote.

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[MN Ryan]

We have a 10% discount code for Nautique Parts. I forget off the tip of my fingers, but others will chime in.

Coupon code PND.

[Skidave]

Thanks MN Ryan. I guess it is good I dont have to use the code too often. Now I probably jinxed myself, lol.

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[Lakejackson]

The G03 part is your transmission cooler. The leak is probably due to the connection at the hose being bent (out of round) from the clamp being over tightened. Ron Tanis has a YouTube video for correcting this but I couldn't find a link for you. Basically take a socket that is just barely to big to fit in the hole. Gently tap it in to start rounding out the opening. Continue using slightly larger sockets each time until the opening is back to original round shape.


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[jpwhit]

That part of the cooling system is at a negative pressure. So that's a steel reinforced hose to keep it from collapsing. It's marine specific. And I can tell from the hose clamp that Lakejackson is right, someone overtightened the clamp and collapsed the flange on the transmission cooler.

[jpwhit]

I'm not sure I fully understand your description of the steering. Really easy to turn is a good thing and what you expect on a boat with a rudder. It's very different from an outboard or inboard-outboard where you're moving something heavy with the steering. It's also normal for the boat to turn one way by itself if you let go of the steering wheel. That's called rudder pre-load and it's to keep the slack out of the steering system to give you precise steering control. Precise steering control is important in the slalom course. And that's the heritage for direct-drive boats.

Typically, the steering cable start to build up a lot of drag as they age. Then the steering gets harder to turn. That's when you know it's time for a new steering cable. You can also get excess slack or play in the steering. That's typically caused by wear of the rudder port or some other part of the linkage at either end of the cable.

[bionaraq]

I'm not sure I fully understand your description of the steering. Really easy to turn is a good thing and what you expect on a boat with a rudder. It's very different from an outboard or inboard-outboard where you're moving something heavy with the steering. It's also normal for the boat to turn one way by itself if you let go of the steering wheel. That's called rudder pre-load and it's to keep the slack out of the steering system to give you precise steering control. Precise steering control is important in the slalom course. And that's the heritage for direct-drive boats.

Typically, the steering cable start to build up a lot of drag as they age. Then the steering gets harder to turn. That's when you know it's time for a new steering cable. You can also get excess slack or play in the steering. That's typically caused by wear of the rudder port or some other part of the linkage at either end of the cable.

Thanks for your response on this. My jet boat has vague as **** steering at low speed, but I was not prepared for completely effortless steering. To be honest, it has me hesitant at the dock. Also, my FIL's 1996 nautique pulls to driver side in reverse. The 216 pulls to passenger side. I'm assuming this is part of the swap from ford to chevy power? some kind of different crank direction? The rudder has some kind of bolted on piece that has two screws and appears to be "kicking" the rudder to one side more than the other.

[MN Ryan]

In regards to the pulling in reverse, the two boats likely have opposite prop rotations (LH vs. RH). The tab on the rudder can be used to adjust how mugh the boat pulls. If it's not significantly pulling one direction or another when under way, I would leave it alone.

I'm not sure about the "looseness" of your steering. That issue is beyond my pay grade.

[jmo]

My guess is your FIL’s Nautique is a v-drive, which means the motor’s orientation is flipped 180 degrees, hence it’s rotation is opposite of your direct drive, and pulls in the opposite direction in reverse.

the trim tab on the rudder is to create “load” in the steering wheel as this makes it easier to drive in a straight line in the slalom course. How much load you like is a personal preference. With a loaded rudder, you have a better feel for holding the wheel straight as you have to resist the boats subtle desire to turn. Without it, you get a kind of ambiguity or looseness feeling in the steering while going straight ahead.

[bionaraq]

{edit} removed my quote for Admin.

it's a 1996 Ski Nautique Body Glove. DD. GT40 Boss. Thanks for the responses on the steering though.

[bionaraq]

I talked to my Father-in-law. Apparently i'm just used to being in the spotter seat, his boat does indeed go to the same direction as my 2004. DOH.

[kylant]

i am pretty sure the GT40 is a left hand rotation motor and the GMs are right hand rotation. But as the motors sit in a direct drive boat, they end up making the prop rotation the opposite (when looking from the stern).
The GT 40 has a right rotation prop, and the GM has a left rotation. This will cause the boats to pull in opposite directions when backing up.

[Wkebrdr]

As others have said, it's your transmission cooler leaking. It appears the end cap of the cooler is loose. you can see a line were the end cap appears to be coming off. I used to see these on boats that have freeze damage to the cooler. best bet replace. Used to be able to get a radiator shop to repair them. After replaced, do a fluid change on transmission.
Sometimes it is the hose fitting being out of round as Lakejackson stated, but you can see if water is coming out from around hose, or from the end cap seam.

Sometimes trans excess noise was from wrong fluid being used.

[bionaraq]

Wkebrdr
thanks, i've actually tackled this one recently. The end was completely gnarled up and folded over to the point where the hose formed into the deformed "slot". I had to heat (dip it in boiling water for a minute) the hose up to get it to reform and fit back over. It's still got a slow drip. so new cooler is on the spring list for me.


How it started:



I was worried about damaging it by moving it too much, but i got this far and tried it. No leak underway, but sitting on the lake it slowly leaks.


a new one is 110 bucks right now, so most likely just replace it when i change the transmission oil.