98 Mastercraft 205 .... Something slipping...HELP

Background:
I have had this boat about 2 months, has 350 hours on it.

The day before this started happening, I noticed when I pulled the plug and drained the water that there was a white tent to it...didnt think much b/c I did not know anything that could have leaked out that would have been white...(maybe grease?)

The next day when I would really get on it or pull someone up something would slip...The prop would not spin, and RPMs would jump up and then you would feel it catch again and pull for a second and then slip again. It would not do it at just normal cruising speed or if I babied it a little getting out of the hole.

As anyone heard of this or have any idea what would cause this?

Artie,

It sounds like you may have a problem with your transmission. I just had the same sort of problem with my 02 X-Star that I bought two months ago - it also has 350 hours on it.

I think your seals might have gone bad and the transmission oil is leaking out, and that is probably why there was a white tint that leaked out the drain plug.

Since the seals have gone bad you most likely have water in the transmission, and that may be what is causing the slipping.

Don't run it anymore until you have it looked at, or else you may have to have the entire transmission sent off and rebuilt like I did.

Good luck.

OK thanks for advice. I was confused a bit b/c I thought transmission fluid was kinda red tint? But that is in a car I guess.

How expensive do you think I am looking at?

Does have a transmision or just belt driven? Sounds like dumb question but I have never really looked and never feel it click into gear like i/o boats have done that I have owned in past. If so, where is it located at? behind the motor toward the back of the boat?

Thanks,
Artie

I am not sure. You might want to talk to the mechanic at your local dealer. I just saw your post and it sounded sort of like the problem I experienced, so I thought I would add my two sense.

If it just needs the seals replaced, probably between $800 and $1000. That is an estimate. My dealer told me that it would take them 8 or 9 hours to do that and they charge around $98/hr labor.

However, if they have to rebuild the transmission I would probably guess around $2000. I am still weighting to get mine back.

If this is your problem, hopefully all you need is new seals. If it isn't making any bad noises then replacing the seals is probably all it needs. Mine, however, was making some god awful noises whenever you got on the throttle - like something was getting ready to break off inside the engine. If this sounds like you, you will probably need to have it sent off to the manufacturer to get it rebuilt. That's where it really gets expensive because you have to pay the dealer to pull the transmission out and put it back in, the shipping costs, and you have to pay whatever the manufacturer charges to rebuild it.

Once again, Good luck.

Thanks for helping man, I appreciate it.

If anyone else can add anything, I would also appreciate it!

Also, can you start these boats out of the water with out any damage? On all the I/O boats I have had in the past I always hooked up water to the lower unit, but unsure about this...

Thanks!

see if the transmission fluid is low, if it is top it off and see if the problem is gone.
if trans feels ok, check and replace any offending seals or lines that might be leaking, if you can replace the leaking seal or line without removing the trans I recomend doing that.
if the box has to come out consider resealing the whole thing or maybe a complete rebuild.

Don't start that boat dry unless you have a water supply to the water intake on the bottom of the boat. If the impeller is dry, it won't take long to destroy it and that can lead to other problems. I start mine dry using a fake-a-lake unit that you can get at any marine store.

Thanks for response guys...anyone know where to check transmission fluid. I have not looked maybe obvious, not sure. Is there a dip stick? if so, is it located behind the motor toward the back of the boat?

I'm having nearly the exact same problem with my inboard/outboard. My dad, knowing not much about boats, had ran it dry for no longer than a minute the other night. The next day it was slipping often. So it may be the impeller? Is it the only possible problem? I was wanting to pick up a new impeller tomorrow if this is so.

open your engine cover all the way and right behind the engine you will see the transmission. It almost looks like a car transmission. Somewhere there should be a sticker that says something like "atf only" or something to that effect. the dip stick will be somewhere close to that sticker. The transmission fluid is supposed to be red, but when a lot of water mixes in it will turn milky. Good luck and email me if you have any other questions, i have a '97 205 so i can possibly answer any other questions if you have them.