very expensive design mistake on my tige v-drive

[LovinPowell]

Looking forward to hearing about the final resolution.

[lethalwillie]

ok. no help. really didn't know what to expect but had heard tige sometimes helps with things that could be prevented. i am not going to go on some kind of vendetta but i would like other people and other sites to get a chance to prevent this from happening to them.

long story short, water down in the hull, when the boat surged forward, splased against the forward sloping back hull wall and was sucked into the motor intake(which is only covered by a metal screen type spark arrestor that faces rearward-no filter), hydrolocking the motor. bilge does work so not the problem. when i get my boat back i will make some sort of modification to prevent this, either install some sort of filter, or route the intake around forward of the motor, as long as pcm ok's it for me. i do encourage anyone with this configuration to check into it and consider doing something. how many times has your boat run rough and you blame it on bad gas, yet your truck runs fine? how many motors have gone bad from no apparent reason way short of their expected life? could water be getting in there a little at a time? i cannot be comfortable knowing the only thing between a four inch port sucking air into my motor that close to splashing water, is a double screen wire cover, sorry. to me, that is a design flaw.

i didn't initially decide to contact tige. i talked to a pcm authorized mechanic in starkville, ms about doing the repairs for me. he said he has seen this before in tige's and suggested i talked with them about it. the more i think about this and about my conversation with mr. smith, the more disappointed i am becoming. i will try to elaborate tommorrow. i am wiped out.

[loudelectronics]

I would just buy an outerwears for your airfilter. These are water resistant so no water will get into your engine.

[DieselPWR]

No offense, but you are an idiot for wasting everybody's time without giving everyone an explanation from the get go. Don't start a thread on a forum where people go for help and then say 'oh I'll get back to you on what my problem is'. I'm not sure how there could be thousands of satisfied owners on this site, but you some how have it ALL figure out and your problem is a tige "design flaw".

[mneal]

I am not sure how the engine compartment of your boat is shaped but enough water to travel all the way to the water intake and hydrolock a motor is not a normal amount of water in the bilge. Every marine engine I can think has a simple backfire screen, the intake of a marine engine is not meant to eliminate water intrusion. I am not being a jerk, I feel badly for your expensive repairs, but there was other circumstances, not a really a design flaw, but that is just my totally unbiased opinion. (not a Tige' owner)

[Razzman]

If you have that much water that it is splashing up and into the flame arrestor and into the intake then you have a lot more issues than you think and it's not Tigé fault nor is it a design flaw.

And just for the record, the mechanic you took it to that made that statement should immediately leave the boating industry and sell foreclosed real estate if you bought that line!

[zad0030]

so when your steering cable goes out from all the water in your bilge, are you going to say that's a design flaw too?

[lethalwillie]

I would just buy an outerwears for your airfilter. These are water resistant so no water will get into your engine.

thanks loud. thought about a k & n filter as well. will check into it.

[da.bell]

See, I don't understand why some express their feelings after someone tells them the issue that was wrong. IMO, get off lethal's arse and help a fellow tige member out. He isn't close to doing a Wake Havasu on us...

On a side note, you might want to check the bilge pump to see if it is working. From the sound of it, you had a ton of water in the hull and the bilge should have taken care of it.

[LovinPowell]

No offense, but you are an idiot for wasting everybody's time without giving everyone an explanation from the get go. Don't start a thread on a forum where people go for help and then say 'oh I'll get back to you on what my problem is'. I'm not sure how there could be thousands of satisfied owners on this site, but you some how have it ALL figure out and your problem is a tige "design flaw".

Wow Diesel, that's harsh.

[da.bell]

Wow Diesel, that's harsh.

X2

[dogbert]

No offense, but you are an idiot for wasting everybody's time without giving everyone an explanation from the get go. Don't start a thread on a forum where people go for help and then say 'oh I'll get back to you on what my problem is'. I'm not sure how there could be thousands of satisfied owners on this site, but you some how have it ALL figure out and your problem is a tige "design flaw".

Wow! Now that's uncalled for. Here he is trying to do the right thing and you blast him.

BTW, I have similar issues on my boat, except it flows into my bilge through my blower vent. It's really bad when we're surfing. My hull slants such that the transom actually assists this process. I think it's a dumb design. It actually caused my alternator to fail prematurely because of all the water I was taking on. It's even worse when wakesurfing. I actually had to move my bilge pump to suck out while underway.

I did notice on they 2002 21vs that they have the same design. Older Tiges (than mine) had intakes on the windshield. Same on some of the newer ons.

[rogersbm82]

Like said before, that would have to be a lot of water in the bilge to splash up into the intake. I am almost OCD about water in my bilge. I turn on my bilge pump just about evertime I am an idle. That sucks that all this happened but I am gonna have to say that is your fault for keeping all that water in the bilge. They make these things now called ballast sacs, that is how you properly keep water in the hull. ................sorry had to through that in there.

[samw]

Wow! Now that's uncalled for. Here he is trying to do the right thing and you blast him.

BTW, I have similar issues on my boat, except it flows into my bilge through my blower vent. It's really bad when we're surfing. My hull slants such that the transom actually assists this process. I think it's a dumb design. It actually caused my alternator to fail prematurely because of all the water I was taking on. It's even worse when wakesurfing. I actually had to move my bilge pump to suck out while underway.

I did notice on they 2002 21vs that they have the same design. Older Tiges (than mine) had intakes on the windshield. Same on some of the newer ons.

Mine is just like your's Dog, I have to bilge way more often when surfing it's like a funnel. If I forget about holy crap my bilge pumps for like 10 mins. I need to install a auto bilge.
Also not sure why some of you need get all over his case? One thing that is nice about this site that I like is being able to post questions and getting help. If we keep getting all over someone for question or a statement this site will head south in a hurry, then it will be like WW just my 2

[chadster2]

so when your steering cable goes out from all the water in your bilge, are you going to say that's a design flaw too?

Flaw? No! Poor design? Yes!
Small difference!
Same as old gas tank. Having gas spew is less than coool. (simple vent fix?)
Could you see a lawyer go after Tige if someone caught fire from gas
burping out on them head to toe.
Ya can't do it all, all the time, just do what ya can when ya can.
I'll be happy.