As noted earlier here, our 24Ve with EX343 got a new factory-warranted transmission last fall immediately before winterization. Yesterday we dropped the boat in the water for the first time since the swapout.
All went well. The fluid level stayed correct, meaning that there were no air bubbles in the transmission or cooling system. Operation is smooth; shifting is silky in both forward and reverse. No weird hesitation going into reverse as on the previous tranny, no odd noises, etc.
Max hull speed is 40.1 MPH at 5200 engine RPM's. This is with TAPS at 1 (minimum wake), Acme 1235, ~2200 MSL, no wind, no current. PCM's preferred sustained engine RPM's for the EX343 is 5000 but this is close enough that a reprop isn't required. We very seldom run WOT anyway except about once a day during morning warmup.
Took several hours to redo those things the tech left unfinished from the swap. He had to remove a couple of the ballast inlet pumps, and when we reassembled them he didn't align them properly, left all of the hoses disconnected and just lying in the hull, etc. So I took it all apart again, cleaned and dressed everything, and then reassembled it properly.
After being in the water all day, with about half an hour of actual engine run time, the low spot in the hull had only a few drops of water. Those were likely from the new shaft seal, which the manufacturer says will spray a mist during its first hour or so while the new carbon and stainless mating surfaces "machine" each other.
Now for ongoing testing: 100+ hours during this summer season!
All went well. The fluid level stayed correct, meaning that there were no air bubbles in the transmission or cooling system. Operation is smooth; shifting is silky in both forward and reverse. No weird hesitation going into reverse as on the previous tranny, no odd noises, etc.
Max hull speed is 40.1 MPH at 5200 engine RPM's. This is with TAPS at 1 (minimum wake), Acme 1235, ~2200 MSL, no wind, no current. PCM's preferred sustained engine RPM's for the EX343 is 5000 but this is close enough that a reprop isn't required. We very seldom run WOT anyway except about once a day during morning warmup.
Took several hours to redo those things the tech left unfinished from the swap. He had to remove a couple of the ballast inlet pumps, and when we reassembled them he didn't align them properly, left all of the hoses disconnected and just lying in the hull, etc. So I took it all apart again, cleaned and dressed everything, and then reassembled it properly.
After being in the water all day, with about half an hour of actual engine run time, the low spot in the hull had only a few drops of water. Those were likely from the new shaft seal, which the manufacturer says will spray a mist during its first hour or so while the new carbon and stainless mating surfaces "machine" each other.
Now for ongoing testing: 100+ hours during this summer season!
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