2008 SANTE 210: 1.) Squeaking Noise from Engine 2.) Little Bit of White Smoke

Hello All,

Have a few maintenance issues with my "new to me" 2008 SANTE 210 (290 Hrs, bought it with 265 Hrs...have had it for about 3 months now) that I was hoping I could get a few ideas on before I ended up taking it to the stealer. From reading through previous posts, I think I might have a few ideas of what the culprit might be for some of my issues, but some of them I am completely clueless on. Any help would be greatly appreciated - thank you in advance.

PS: Since I am the 3rd owner (first owner had it for 15 hours - purchased new at Nautiques of Orlando), CC informed me my boat is no longer under warranty even though its only 3 years old and has 290 hours on it - next boat, I'm getting one under warranty...I didn't know any better this go around (only my 2nd boat):

1. Loud Squeaking/Squealing Noise coming from the engine - Just started noticing it about 6 weeks ago, it has progressively gotten louder. I use to only hear it when I opened the rear engine compartment and now I can hear it with everything closed up. Noticeable at idle, I think engine noise drowns it out once the boat is underway.

Possible Problems - Bearings gone bad on one of the pulleys, needs a new belt, and/or belt needs to be tightened??

2. Little Bit of White Smoke coming out from the exhaust when getting a rider up under load (ballast) - Just noticed this for the first time Sunday.

Possible Problems - Needs a new Impeller and/or Water Strainer needs to be cleaned??

3. Engine/Tranny Sounds Like a Can of Rocks - Have noticed a "Can of Rocks" noise when boat is put into gear and is moving very slowly in forward or reverse (very low rpm, just easing along). Once the gear shift is pushed up a bit where the boat is moving at 2.5-3.0 mph or faster, noise goes away.

Possible Problems - I have no clue, this one scares me more than the rest of my issues.

4. Howling Noise When Getting Rider Up if The Steering Wheel is Not Straight - When I go to get a rider up (under load, with ballast) and the steering wheel is not straight, then there is a pretty loud howl and the wheel is difficult to turn in order to get it back to a neutral position where the boat is tracking straight.

Possible Problems - Needs a new steering cable?


Thanks guys, really appreciate your help. I know that if I have to take it in, its going to hurt the wallet so would like to try do what repairs I can on my own.

My guesses:

1) Probably just needs a new belt - cheap and easy. Try it and if that doesnt fix it your not out much in replacing the belt and at 300 hrs it probably needs it anyway.
2) A little bit of white smoke is probabaly normal, but if the impeller hasnt been changed recently you should go ahead and do it for peace of mind. Check the strainer to be sure its clean.
3) Check the transmission fluid level. The fluid should probabaly be changed as well. (usually recommended every 100 hrs)
4) Shaft alignment would be my first guess. That may have something to do with the "can of rocks" sound of the tranny. If you havent done this before pay someone to teach you.

I had symtom #3 when I took possesion of my new '09 210. The dealer said it was the flex plate and he would replace it at the first 20 hour oil change. He did, the noise was gone and everything has been perfect since then.

Congrats on your boat purchase! With respect to #1, check the belt and the belt tensioner, and also make sure that the raw water pump and the alternator are bolted tightly to the block. My belt started making noise at idle, which got progressively louder over time, and when I checked I discovered that the bottom bolt holding my alternator to the block had broken off, which caused the alternator to shift over about an inch, which made the belt too loose, which caused vibration that ultimately ruined my alternator and my raw water pump. If I would've checked sooner I would've saved myself 650 bucks in parts. With respect to #3, it may be the transmission coupler. My boat (a 99 x star) has a bad transmission coupler and has been making that exact same noise for the past 400 engine hours. It's only noticeable at idle and at very low speeds, especially when I first start the boat. My dealer told me that it would run just fine (and he's been right for the past 400 hours) but I'd have to live with the noise. Since you have to pull the engine to change the coupler, I've just been living with it. Good luck!

#1: Never had this issue; is the boat running warm or hot? If so, maybe it’s the water pump impellor getting ready to take a crap.

#2: How cold was the water vs. air temp? All boats will smoke some in the water, it’s the cold water over hot exhaust = steam. You won't see it at idle, but once you take off you will see it.

#3: I have the same boat, #3 is a warranty item that should have been fixed. Your local deal should know about it; they have to replace something between the motor and tranny... I don't recall right off hand what the specifics are; just know its warranty from the motor company that has something to do with a plate.

#4: Don't take off until the boat is straight Seriously though, maybe you have the wake plate (lever on the right hand side) pulled to the back (I think its #3 for wakeboarding)? If so, don't take off with it pulled back, it is extra strain and there is no need until you are at speed to have this pulled back.

Sounds like everyone has a handle on it for you. I strongly recommend you do an annual service since the boat is new to you (will replace the belt, motor oil, trany oil, and impeller, a few other things including lube, and inspection...its a good way to level set your service so you know where you are at from here on out.

Just an fyi, PCM warranty and Nautique's boat warranty are different...I bought my boat used too, had a problem with the trany right off the bat and PCM sent the local dealer a brand new trany and paid for the install. If your local dealer is not helping you, call PCM yourself and talk to them directly about getting the warranty transferred into your name (they are very nice people)...since you are probably just tipping the 3 year marker they should hook you up with the transfer and mail you a new card to use at your local dealership -I think they only charged me 50 bucks to transfer the warranty -WAY better than 2500 for a new trany.

Hope that helps my man

Wow - tons of great info here, thank you very much for all of the responses guys. I think a full service at this point is a good idea to get the boat back to square-one so I know where it stands from here on out. I ordered a new Serp belt, a couple of new impellers, a few PCM oil filters, a new Strainer Screen, and new a Strainer O-ring from White Lake here in NC. Going to put all of this stuff on this weekend to see if it clears up some of my issues and if nothing else, hits the maintenance reset button 300 hours.

Also, it looks like the unanimous guess for my "can of rocks" noise is a bad damper plate. I got the engine serial number off of the boat last night and will be calling my local dealer this morning to see what can be done (I called PCM yesterday, they said to start with my dealer).

I'll keep you guys posted with how things turn out. Thanks again for all of the responses. I really like my new boat, just want it to run perfectly so I can focus more on trying to improve my boarding skills - got a long way to go on that front.

# 1 is probably the idler pully, ive changed mine twice in 6 years. grab the pully and try to rock it back and forth. If it moves a bit you need to change it. I waited to long once and the idler pully broke off while pulling a rider and threw the belt. needless to say, I overheated and had my engine hydrolock.

Thanks for the the help guys. This past weekend, I changed the Impeller, Serp Belt, Oil Filter and Oil. Then took it out for a test run. The Squeaking coming from the Engine Box is gone now, I was estatic when I backed it off the trailer and it was not there. I'm currently working with my local dealer and PCM to try to get the damper plate replaced under warranty - fingers crossed.

I have two more Nautique Owner 101 questions:

1. How do I remove the strainer bowl? Do I just untwist it? It has a little bit of junk in it, but I could not find a way to get it off.
2. What is my prop rotation and what side should I try to wake surf on? I just ordered a wakesurfer for this weekend. The rear of the boat pulls to the right when it is in reverse...is it LH rotation?

Thanks guys!

left hand rotation

Thank you, Migs. I appreciate it.