Eliminating my money

[50onRED]

Ok so I took the top and front caps off of my upper to make sure there wasn’t any material from broken gears up in there. Is this thick grease normal?

 

[mattyc]

Ok so I took the top and front caps off of my upper to make sure there wasn’t any material from broken gears up in there. Is this thick grease normal?
View attachment 1236528 View attachment 1236529

I believe it is

 

[Nanu/Nanu]

Ok so I took the top and front caps off of my upper to make sure there wasn’t any material from broken gears up in there. Is this thick grease normal?
View attachment 1236528 View attachment 1236529

Yeah it is. I had issues with shifting it was very hard. So i cleaned all the old out and lubed up that ball and cup and all that in there with 2-4-C and it has been good to go.

 

[50onRED]

Yeah it is. I had issues with shifting it was very hard. So i cleaned all the old out and lubed up that ball and cup and all that in there with 2-4-C and it has been good to go.

That’s great news. I was ready to light this pig on fire…

 

[Nanu/Nanu]

That’s great news. I was ready to light this pig on fire…

It was weird i thought there really wasnt anything wrong with the grease in there but yeah for whatever reason after cleaning and reapplying grease shifts nicely now.

 

[50onRED]

It was weird i thought there really wasnt anything wrong with the grease in there but yeah for whatever reason after cleaning and reapplying grease shifts nicely now.

One thing I was told many years ago by a long time eliminator employee and offshore racer. He told me to make sure I hit it hard into and out of gear. He said that for some reason the bravo 1xr can’t be “eased” into gear. So that’s kind of how I do it and mine seems to shift easy. I guess now I’ll be able to tell a difference of it shifts better or not.

 

[Nanu/Nanu]

One thing I was told many years ago by a long time eliminator employee and offshore racer. He told me to make sure I hit it hard into and out of gear. He said that for some reason the bravo 1xr can’t be “eased” into gear. So that’s kind of how I do it and mine seems to shift easy. I guess now I’ll be able to tell a difference of it shifts better or not.

Yes you dont want to feather. Shift with a purpose, i was just shy of throwing a foot up in the dash trying to get it to go through the gears (and momma didnt raise no pussy). My drive is very similar to yours if not the same. After changing my cable out and not getting a difference that ball detent clean and regrease was my next move and was what changed it.

Fingers crossed for you brother!

 

[50onRED]

Ok so at this point Im throwing in the towel and turning it over to the capable hands at Pfaff Baca. They are going to put it on the prop dyno and get her dialed in for 4th of July. In the meantime I’m going to get the engine harness dialed in and I’ll install the new stealth foot shower I put together for the bow. Stay tuned.

 

[50onRED]

Ok the saga continues. So while putting my prop on I noticed a drop of oil hanging from the bolt that holds this trim manifold to the bottom of the gimbal housing? Whatever. So I decided to pop it off and have a look. As soon as I had it loose a small amount of water poured out and when I pulled it down a little I noticed there was this zirc fitting just laying on top of it. It’s definitely been snapped off of something but WHAT? Like where would this have come from? And why would there be oil leaking from this housing? After cleaning i can’t see a point where it coulee leak other than way up inside the housing. HELP

 

[Nanu/Nanu]

I can't offer any advice here for you.

 

[02HoWaRd26]

Ok the saga continues. So while putting my prop on I noticed a drop of oil hanging from the bolt that holds this trim manifold to the bottom of the gimbal housing? Whatever. So I decided to pop it off and have a look. As soon as I had it loose a small amount of water poured out and when I pulled it down a little I noticed there was this zirc fitting just laying on top of it. It’s definitely been snapped off of something but WHAT? Like where would this have come from? And why would there be oil leaking from this housing? After cleaning i can’t see a point where it coulee leak other than way up inside the housing. HELP
View attachment 1238765 View attachment 1238766 View attachment 1238767

That’s your trim manifold right? Hard to tell from pic, but the trim is oil. Check all lines are tight.

 

[mattyc]

Ok the saga continues. So while putting my prop on I noticed a drop of oil hanging from the bolt that holds this trim manifold to the bottom of the gimbal housing? Whatever. So I decided to pop it off and have a look. As soon as I had it loose a small amount of water poured out and when I pulled it down a little I noticed there was this zirc fitting just laying on top of it. It’s definitely been snapped off of something but WHAT? Like where would this have come from? And why would there be oil leaking from this housing? After cleaning i can’t see a point where it coulee leak other than way up inside the housing. HELP
View attachment 1238765 View attachment 1238766 View attachment 1238767

The grease fitting looks like it could be from the drive coupler. Doesnt look like the fitting for the gimble bearing. You should be able to look at the couoler with a mirror or reach back and feel around. As far as the leak, I believe the gasket on the manifold just keeps water out of the gimble. Possible line or fitting leak. I would put it back together, clean it and run the drive up and down, reinspect

 

[50onRED]

That’s your trim manifold right? Hard to tell from pic, but the trim is oil. Check all lines are tight.

Yeah it’s the trim manifold. I think the residual oil might be from the reservoir that was leaking directly above the drive on the inside of the bilge. My concern is more about where this zirc fitting came from and all that grease was full of metal shavings.

 

[50onRED]

The grease fitting looks like it could be from the drive coupler. Doesnt look like the fitting for the gimble bearing. You should be able to look at the couoler with a mirror or reach back and feel around. As far as the leak, I believe the gasket on the manifold just keeps water out of the gimble. Possible line or fitting leak. I would put it back together, clean it and run the drive up and down, reinspect

That’s what I was thinking. I’m concerned about the zirc fitting and the metal shavings that were all over the inside of this thing. I think the oil was just residual from when the drive oil reservoir was leaking.

 

[50onRED]

Ok, two months and another almost 9 grand later and I’ve got my boat back. Ended up replacing all of the internals in my upper IE gears, clutch, gimbal bearing and coupler. Then Pfaff/Baca put her on the prop dyno and set the timing and had to make some adjustments to the carbs secondary because she was running out of fuel on the top end. But she is dialed now and only needs me to throw a new ignition switch which will arrive tomorrow.

Here’s a quick fire up. No water so I didn’t run her long. She sounds healthy!
(Sound up for a good ear bonering)

 

[ChrisV]

badass. Season still young! Time to enjoy!

 

[v6toy4x]

I love the cockpit dash tooling

 

[hallett21]

Beautiful boat

Ok, two months and another almost 9 grand later and I’ve got my boat back. Ended up replacing all of the internals in my upper IE gears, clutch, gimbal bearing and coupler. Then Pfaff/Baca put her on the prop dyno and set the timing and had to make some adjustments to the carbs secondary because she was running out of fuel on the top end. But she is dialed now and only needs me to throw a new ignition switch which will arrive tomorrow. View attachment 1270813
View attachment 1270813
View attachment 1270814
Here’s a quick fire up. No water so I didn’t run her long. She sounds healthy!
(Sound up for a good ear bonering)
View attachment 1270812

 

[Joe mama]

Looks great, hope it doesn’t disappoint.

 

[50onRED]

Beautiful boat

Thank you kind sir!

 

[hallett21]

Thank you kind sir!

Now stop fucking breaking it!!!

 

[50onRED]

Looks great, hope it doesn’t disappoint.

Me 2, probably the most nervous I’ve ever been putting her into the water. We shall see

 

[50onRED]

Now stop fucking breaking it!!!

Right! Hey what’s the fun if we’re not pushing the limits?!?

 

[50onRED]

I love the cockpit dash tooling

Bob Leach gets credit for that one!

 

[Joe mama]

Me 2, probably the most nervous I’ve ever been putting her into the water. We shall see

If you know chad you must know Mark

 

[Nanu/Nanu]

Thanks for the update on progress. My wife caught me with a mop in my hands cleaning up my drool....

Your boat is absolutely stunning!

 

[50onRED]

Thanks for the update on progress. My wife caught me with a mop in my hands cleaning up my drool....

Your boat is absolutely stunning!

I appreciate that. My wife is the one who found this one for me!

 

[50onRED]

If you know chad you must know Mark

 

[Dcb.blake]

What numbers did it end up putting down on the prop dyno?

Sounds damn good

 

[50onRED]

What numbers did it end up putting down on the prop dyno?

Sounds damn good

The prop dyno doesnt test horsepower, its to put a realistic load on it so they can test and tune the timing and Air Fuel Ratios. the consensus is that it makes somewhere in the 7-800 horspower range. Im nervous putting her back into the water and i will probably take it easy on her with a fresh rebuild and drive. if all goes well i will push her a little for the Eliminator Regatta and see if all of this work paid off.

 

[50onRED]

If you know chad you must know Mark

I know Chad very well, He is actually the one who saved my ass when this boat shit the bed. He drove to Pirates at 10pm and picked my entire family up and saved our asses. I dont think ive ever met Mark.

 

[50onRED]

Labor Day Weekend Update...
SATURDAY- Boat went in the water for the first time in almost a year. She fired up (something didnt sound right when cranking) but nonetheless she fired and was idling nice. Oil pressure good, Water pressure (Almost zero at idle) but there was water coming out the exhaust so thats good, Water temp good, oil temp good, Idle (a little low but manageable) LOOKS GOOD so Lets go....
I put her in gear and she backs off the trailer no problem. I spin her around and put her in forward and the idle is so low she dies. I fire her back up and just bump the throttle a tiny bit to keep her at a decent idle. No biggie, I can manage and adjust the carb later.
She idles out of the marina and I drop the throttle to get her on plane. Time to plane is different now, my new -2 lower is going to take some getting used to. I never had cavitation before now so im going to have to figure that out (Ideas?).
She finall planes out and starts packing air. She sounds smooth and my throttle response is snappy and my RPM's look perfect. My goal was to head to the Channel and feel her out to see if i want to attempt the up-river haul to Pirates. Idling through the channel I open the hatch to take a look. NOTHING, no water, no oil, no smoke, no ticking, no squealing, no Fuel leaks NOTHING.... Im smiling! Im happy enought to turn on the stereo and crank it up during the short cruise through a PACKED Channel.
Exiting the north side of the channel we make the decision to head north and stretch her legs a little. I get her on plane and head toward the delta all is good, im just cruising at 60 with my rpms at about 4500 all good. I rip her by the sandbar trim up high and can really feel the shorter lower now. She feels like she is skating, i love it! heading through the canyon towards the no wake zone. everything is good. another short rip to topoc bridge still good. Coming out of the Topoc no wake zone is where i have my first issue...
As i get on plane she coughs and sputters and nearly shuts down, it stays running but barely. My gauges are all reading perfect but she isnt running well at all. Ive got a heavy misfire and cannot give her anything more than about 1500 rpm without bogging down so i idle her into Pirates and park. I shut her down and let her cool off a little before hopping into the engine bay. Nothink looks out of place, plug wires are all good, wiring all good, the Engine battery ground was loose so i tightened it thinking that maybe the bad ground was shutting down my ignition box.
We hang out for a couple hours and decide to head back to the trailer just incase. She fires right up and seems to be totally fine. We cruise back south and make it through the narrows and through the No wake zone before she starts acting up again. Same as before, as soon as i try to get her on plane she coughs and sputters and shuts down. I fire her back up and try again but nope... i fire her up a second time and start to idle at about 2000 to try to get her to smooth out. Eventually she stops misfiring and i can get enough throttle to get her on plane. Now were cruising and my main goal is to just get back to the trailer. She makes it all the way to Riviera and bakc on the trailer. I was spent, burnt out and my anxiety took its toll on me that day. I didnt even look at the boat when we got back to the house. Instead, i hopped in the jacuzzi and relaxed. It can wait untill tomorrow...

SUNDAY- I get up early and am determined to figure out what happened. I hop into the engine bay and start poking around. First thing i find is an incorrectly wired neutral safety switch. This one was my bad, I wired it like the Merc manual but Eliminator wired the NSS to my throttle so the Merc harness just needed to be grounded. That fixed my starting issue from yesterday.
I pulled the battery cables off and gave them a good cleaning and made sure they were tight. I checked the fuel pump and everything seemed fine. my ignition seemed to be working fine and i found no loose wires. I decide to put her back into the water. So we load her up and head to the ramp. Once at the ramp I back her into the water and she fires right up like a champ! .... one problem...No water..FUCK
I pull the intake hose and what do you know, the pump impeller has grenaded. WONDERFULL , and of course its sunday so this should be fun. West marine is open and they have impellers! Yay so i haul over there and grab TWO. I pull the pump and Find the housing is broken FUCK FUCK! West marine doesnt have a housing or even a complete pump so im screwed..... We phone a friend and HE HAS ONE! SWEET so i run to his pad and grab his and throw it in ( i also flushed out the grenaded parts)
We head to the lake and throw her in the water. Ive got pressure and good flow so were back in business. This time I threw a new 30p 5 blade prop on her to see how it runs. getting on plane is borderline impossible and im full throttle to get her to flatten out and it takes an eternity!!! SHIT.... Keep in mind, this prop has been on this boat before and didnt have this issue. Last time i had it on the boat my on plane time was maybe 1 second more and needed no extra throttle to work so now im concerned. I have a clear lack of power.
I manage to get her on plane and we start to cruise. I love this prop once im cruising because im doing 60 mph at only 3600 rpm but the afternoon chop is rough so i dont stretch her out at all. We find a cove to hang out in and all seems good. At this point im thinking my loose ground was the cuplprit so im happy again. we hang out for a couple hours and decide to get off the water.
As we leave the cove I drop the throttle slowly to get her to plane out. as she flattens out i get a cough and she shuts down AGAIN...
this time i cant even get her to stay running at anything over 1500 rpm so i limp her across the lake to the Riviera and pull her out of the water. At this point im done...
its back to the drawing board, a couple things im going to do is put a new better Water pump and a new sea strainer.
second, im going to rebuild the engine wiring harness and make it bulletproof. I honestly threw this one together just to get her running and im not happy about it. Third im going to wire my fuel pump to an oil pressure switch. and last im going to take her back to Pfaff for another round of tuning. I need them to figure out this issue before i put her back into the water.
MONDAY- I towed her back home tail between legs. I need a couple days to think about this thing and try to figure it out in my head. Im open for all advice....

 

[69hondo]

Labor Day Weekend Update...
SATURDAY- Boat went in the water for the first time in almost a year. She fired up (something didnt sound right when cranking) but nonetheless she fired and was idling nice. Oil pressure good, Water pressure (Almost zero at idle) but there was water coming out the exhaust so thats good, Water temp good, oil temp good, Idle (a little low but manageable) LOOKS GOOD so Lets go....
I put her in gear and she backs off the trailer no problem. I spin her around and put her in forward and the idle is so low she dies. I fire her back up and just bump the throttle a tiny bit to keep her at a decent idle. No biggie, I can manage and adjust the carb later.
She idles out of the marina and I drop the throttle to get her on plane. Time to plane is different now, my new -2 lower is going to take some getting used to. I never had cavitation before now so im going to have to figure that out (Ideas?).
She finall planes out and starts packing air. She sounds smooth and my throttle response is snappy and my RPM's look perfect. My goal was to head to the Channel and feel her out to see if i want to attempt the up-river haul to Pirates. Idling through the channel I open the hatch to take a look. NOTHING, no water, no oil, no smoke, no ticking, no squealing, no Fuel leaks NOTHING.... Im smiling! Im happy enought to turn on the stereo and crank it up during the short cruise through a PACKED Channel.
Exiting the north side of the channel we make the decision to head north and stretch her legs a little. I get her on plane and head toward the delta all is good, im just cruising at 60 with my rpms at about 4500 all good. I rip her by the sandbar trim up high and can really feel the shorter lower now. She feels like she is skating, i love it! heading through the canyon towards the no wake zone. everything is good. another short rip to topoc bridge still good. Coming out of the Topoc no wake zone is where i have my first issue...
As i get on plane she coughs and sputters and nearly shuts down, it stays running but barely. My gauges are all reading perfect but she isnt running well at all. Ive got a heavy misfire and cannot give her anything more than about 1500 rpm without bogging down so i idle her into Pirates and park. I shut her down and let her cool off a little before hopping into the engine bay. Nothink looks out of place, plug wires are all good, wiring all good, the Engine battery ground was loose so i tightened it thinking that maybe the bad ground was shutting down my ignition box.
We hang out for a couple hours and decide to head back to the trailer just incase. She fires right up and seems to be totally fine. We cruise back south and make it through the narrows and through the No wake zone before she starts acting up again. Same as before, as soon as i try to get her on plane she coughs and sputters and shuts down. I fire her back up and try again but nope... i fire her up a second time and start to idle at about 2000 to try to get her to smooth out. Eventually she stops misfiring and i can get enough throttle to get her on plane. Now were cruising and my main goal is to just get back to the trailer. She makes it all the way to Riviera and bakc on the trailer. I was spent, burnt out and my anxiety took its toll on me that day. I didnt even look at the boat when we got back to the house. Instead, i hopped in the jacuzzi and relaxed. It can wait untill tomorrow...

SUNDAY- I get up early and am determined to figure out what happened. I hop into the engine bay and start poking around. First thing i find is an incorrectly wired neutral safety switch. This one was my bad, I wired it like the Merc manual but Eliminator wired the NSS to my throttle so the Merc harness just needed to be grounded. That fixed my starting issue from yesterday.
I pulled the battery cables off and gave them a good cleaning and made sure they were tight. I checked the fuel pump and everything seemed fine. my ignition seemed to be working fine and i found no loose wires. I decide to put her back into the water. So we load her up and head to the ramp. Once at the ramp I back her into the water and she fires right up like a champ! .... one problem...No water..FUCK
I pull the intake hose and what do you know, the pump impeller has grenaded. WONDERFULL , and of course its sunday so this should be fun. West marine is open and they have impellers! Yay so i haul over there and grab TWO. I pull the pump and Find the housing is broken FUCK FUCK! West marine doesnt have a housing or even a complete pump so im screwed..... We phone a friend and HE HAS ONE! SWEET so i run to his pad and grab his and throw it in ( i also flushed out the grenaded parts)
We head to the lake and throw her in the water. Ive got pressure and good flow so were back in business. This time I threw a new 30p 5 blade prop on her to see how it runs. getting on plane is borderline impossible and im full throttle to get her to flatten out and it takes an eternity!!! SHIT.... Keep in mind, this prop has been on this boat before and didnt have this issue. Last time i had it on the boat my on plane time was maybe 1 second more and needed no extra throttle to work so now im concerned. I have a clear lack of power.
I manage to get her on plane and we start to cruise. I love this prop once im cruising because im doing 60 mph at only 3600 rpm but the afternoon chop is rough so i dont stretch her out at all. We find a cove to hang out in and all seems good. At this point im thinking my loose ground was the cuplprit so im happy again. we hang out for a couple hours and decide to get off the water.
As we leave the cove I drop the throttle slowly to get her to plane out. as she flattens out i get a cough and she shuts down AGAIN...
this time i cant even get her to stay running at anything over 1500 rpm so i limp her across the lake to the Riviera and pull her out of the water. At this point im done...
its back to the drawing board, a couple things im going to do is put a new better Water pump and a new sea strainer.
second, im going to rebuild the engine wiring harness and make it bulletproof. I honestly threw this one together just to get her running and im not happy about it. Third im going to wire my fuel pump to an oil pressure switch. and last im going to take her back to Pfaff for another round of tuning. I need them to figure out this issue before i put her back into the water.
MONDAY- I towed her back home tail between legs. I need a couple days to think about this thing and try to figure it out in my head. Im open for all advice....

I feel your pain. I ma back to the drawing board with mine as well.

 

[Backlash]

Damn!! I was so happy to read you guys were out enjoying it!! Especially after all the time, money and other unfortunate setbacks you've encountered and overcome! Hang in there!!

 

[Mcob25rg]

Vapor lock?

 

[wet hull]

Damn, that sucks. Water pressure typically doesn't read on my gauge at idle. Only when I bump it or get moving. Obviously you had a hurt impeller and housing. Check your ignition switch, had this happen and kinda same as you described. Wire had separated inside the connector and was making intermediate contact. Motor acted funny, drive shifting was off and bogged out in gear and died. Fixed connector and all good. Fingers crossed its something dumb like that!

 

[50onRED]

Vapor lock?

No it’s carbureted. It’s definitely an ignition/electrical problem

 

[50onRED]

Damn, that sucks. Water pressure typically doesn't read on my gauge at idle. Only when I bump it or get moving. Obviously you had a hurt impeller and housing. Check your ignition switch, had this happen and kinda same as you described. Wire had separated inside the connector and was making intermediate contact. Motor acted funny, drive shifting was off and bogged out in gear and died. Fixed connector and all good. Fingers crossed its something dumb like that!

Same for me regarding water pressure. zero at idle but its all good now with the new pump. As for my electrical gremlin, i replaced the Ignition key the night before this trip. The boat is with Joe Baca now and he is certain its a bad coil (out of the box)

 

[50onRED]

Damn!! I was so happy to read you guys were out enjoying it!! Especially after all the time, money and other unfortunate setbacks you've encountered and overcome! Hang in there!!

thanks man! its stressfull to have a broken boat considering i rely on the boat to lower my stress levels HA! it will all be worked out and she will be back on the lake in no time.

 

[50onRED]

I feel your pain. I ma back to the drawing board with mine as well.

you have a fundeck right? whats wrong with it?

 

[69hondo]

you have a fundeck right? whats wrong with it?

Yeah.
Not sure. Will start and has oil pressure but making some good noise.
I am going to bail on this engine and start over

 

[50onRED]

Yeah.
Not sure. Will start and has oil pressure but making some good noise.
I am going to bail on this engine and start over

Get it to Pfaff/Baca and let joe get it worked out. If it hasn’t spit parts out yet it’s still saveable

 

[Duramax]

thanks man! its stressfull to have a broken boat considering i rely on the boat to lower my stress levels HA! it will all be worked out and she will be back on the lake in no time.

Nicely written!

Man........I would tell you first, like another member, focus on just getting in running before any prop testing. High performance outboards cavitate a bunch. I nail it for that first bite, and then it has enough to roll over while it cavitates.
Find a decent prop you can live with and get at least 5-6 uneventful lake trips with it so you know it's solid, then you can play with props. I also agree with the member who has that bad ass pro charged 26. I would rather have a great working all around boat and sacrafice 4-6mph up top, then constantly struggle to get on plane for that big number.

Good luck man!

 

[50onRED]

Well the past year has been wild and I didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time in the boat because it’s been in the shop since Labor Day. I just got her back. Not fixed…Yet!
She still has an electrical gremlin. Lots of pulls on the prop dyno and Joe Baca couldn’t get it to replicate my issue. We’ve narrowed it down to either some bad wiring or a bad coil. So I pulled her home and decided to tackle the engine harness myself.
While it was at Pfaff Baca I had them put in a sea strainer and a new Water pump. I also had them install a food shower for the bow (got tired of filling a bucket for people to was their feet) plus the kids will no doubt enjoy making a mess with it.

The boat is a mess so that’s going to be a project but first I’m gonna build a new harness from scratch. Just putting together the parts and getting some guru information before I dig in. While I’m in there I will also be re-wiring my fuel pump so that it turns on once the motor is running and not before because it’s strong enough to push past the carb jets and flood the engine. Main priority is get her running reliably then I’ll tear back into my laundry list of other projects.

 

[papabear639]

Out of curiosity, what is the ball valve for on the sea strainer?

 

[50onRED]

Out of curiosity, what is the ball valve for on the sea strainer?

If i need to work on the system while its in the water i can shut it off, its low enough in the hull that it would just fill with water if i were to take the lid off.

 

[papabear639]

If i need to work on the system while its in the water i can shut it off, its low enough in the hull that it would just fill with water if i were to take the lid off.

ah that makes total sense.