I'll try to start this thread as succint as possible. I am very interested in knowing how many Tige owners out there have experienced transmission or engine failure...especially with low hours on the later-model boats. I have loved every aspect of our boat the few times I have taken it out but am becoming increasingly concerned about the integrity of the drive-train.
The background:
Purchased my 06 24ve from my brother with ~25 hours. He was the original owner - ordered it from the factory. Shortly after purchasing the boat with <10 hours he noticed the forward drive would engage a little harshly. He brought it to the attention of the Tige dealer in Mesa when he took it in for his first service and was told "the linkage just needed adjustment" but they could not take care of it at the time because they weren't able to "simulate the lake in their shop". ?????????
I bought the boat from my brother last fall and was told the "linkage still needed adjustment" so with our first service at the Las Vegas dealer I asked they take care of it. There was still a noticeable issue and after several attempts to fine-tune the adjustment we came to the conclusion it was an internal problem. By now we had about 70 hours. The Vegas dealer explained there was no warranty at this point and that Marine Power would do nothing despite the fact that the issue was there from the beginning. We tried to get the Mesa dealer to own up to the mistake but to no avail. We got a quote for rebuild and after 4 weeks in the shop and two consecutive attempts to repair the damaged transmission the dealer finally gave up and ordered a new transmission. To his credit he placed a temporary "used" transmission so we could take the boat to Powell last week for our yearly family reunion. The plan was to replace it with the new transmission when we got back this week.
It gets better:
We arrived at Lake Powell last Tuesday and launched the boat at Antelope. We were half way to Warm Creek cruising at an easy 40 mph feeling euphoric at the speed and beauty of our vessel... relieved that the transmission issue was nearly behind us when I started to lose power. After a few seconds I pulled back on the throttle and looked over my shoulder to see a billow of blue smoke coming out of the back of the boat. I shut her down and emptied the back lockers to pull all the plugs. To my utter dismay and astonishment the #4 cylinder was dead!! I stood there bobbing in the waves in complete awe! The temp gauge had been at 175, the oil gauge normal, oil level normal with no water contamination. We spent the rest of the week at Powell sharing my brother's 2000 vintage Mastercraft with over 700 hours. It ran like a dream and the motor has never given him a lick of trouble. I was also informed by the dealer that since I was not the original owner there would be no warranty for the motor either.
I don't believe in "bad luck", "bad Karma" or that a boat could be jinxed but how in the heck do I end up with a bad transmission from the factory followed by a bad motor at 75 hrs? I figured it would be 5-10 years before I would be sinking this kind of money into my boat. I expected $500 here or $1000 there but between the transmission and engine the dealer is quoting me between $8000-$9000!!!
I am working every possible angle at this point as far as my options are concerned but need to take a closer look at the reason for the dead cylinder. The biggest bummer is that we are now going on 5 weeks (some of the best of the summer) with the boat out of commission. Several members on this site are helping advise me right now which I appreciate.
Bottom line:
Am I experiencing an isolated anomaly or is there some greater issue with the Marine Power drive-train Tige has been using until the 2009 year? I would appreciate your feed-back. Thanks
The background:
Purchased my 06 24ve from my brother with ~25 hours. He was the original owner - ordered it from the factory. Shortly after purchasing the boat with <10 hours he noticed the forward drive would engage a little harshly. He brought it to the attention of the Tige dealer in Mesa when he took it in for his first service and was told "the linkage just needed adjustment" but they could not take care of it at the time because they weren't able to "simulate the lake in their shop". ?????????
I bought the boat from my brother last fall and was told the "linkage still needed adjustment" so with our first service at the Las Vegas dealer I asked they take care of it. There was still a noticeable issue and after several attempts to fine-tune the adjustment we came to the conclusion it was an internal problem. By now we had about 70 hours. The Vegas dealer explained there was no warranty at this point and that Marine Power would do nothing despite the fact that the issue was there from the beginning. We tried to get the Mesa dealer to own up to the mistake but to no avail. We got a quote for rebuild and after 4 weeks in the shop and two consecutive attempts to repair the damaged transmission the dealer finally gave up and ordered a new transmission. To his credit he placed a temporary "used" transmission so we could take the boat to Powell last week for our yearly family reunion. The plan was to replace it with the new transmission when we got back this week.
It gets better:
We arrived at Lake Powell last Tuesday and launched the boat at Antelope. We were half way to Warm Creek cruising at an easy 40 mph feeling euphoric at the speed and beauty of our vessel... relieved that the transmission issue was nearly behind us when I started to lose power. After a few seconds I pulled back on the throttle and looked over my shoulder to see a billow of blue smoke coming out of the back of the boat. I shut her down and emptied the back lockers to pull all the plugs. To my utter dismay and astonishment the #4 cylinder was dead!! I stood there bobbing in the waves in complete awe! The temp gauge had been at 175, the oil gauge normal, oil level normal with no water contamination. We spent the rest of the week at Powell sharing my brother's 2000 vintage Mastercraft with over 700 hours. It ran like a dream and the motor has never given him a lick of trouble. I was also informed by the dealer that since I was not the original owner there would be no warranty for the motor either.
I don't believe in "bad luck", "bad Karma" or that a boat could be jinxed but how in the heck do I end up with a bad transmission from the factory followed by a bad motor at 75 hrs? I figured it would be 5-10 years before I would be sinking this kind of money into my boat. I expected $500 here or $1000 there but between the transmission and engine the dealer is quoting me between $8000-$9000!!!
I am working every possible angle at this point as far as my options are concerned but need to take a closer look at the reason for the dead cylinder. The biggest bummer is that we are now going on 5 weeks (some of the best of the summer) with the boat out of commission. Several members on this site are helping advise me right now which I appreciate.
Bottom line:
Am I experiencing an isolated anomaly or is there some greater issue with the Marine Power drive-train Tige has been using until the 2009 year? I would appreciate your feed-back. Thanks
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