Trouble getting the boat out of the hole.

I went out yesterday and at the end of the day the boat suddenly wouldn't go faster than 15 mph. When we got the wakeboarder back in the boat and emptied the tanks it had no problem doing 40mph.

Any hints about what I should look at first? The engine sounds normal. I'm worried that the transmission is slipping. One thing I noticed is that the throttle lever seems to move very far forward before it engages.

I'd appreciate any help I can get. Thanks

its a 2001 ski supreeme

if its just too much weight new prop is the only answer.... but that sounds like something a little more

Since you mentioned the throttle lever...mine got loose once and rotated forward and wouldnt work right...dont know if this is the case. Mine was practically falling off too though...

Its not the weight because we were using it for a couple of hours before there was an issue.

And I doubt that it is just the throttle lever because the boat worked fine once we took off the weight.

Keep the suggestions coming...

Is there an easy way to see if the tranny has any damage?

I am sure you allready did but is your prop ok. I was on powell last year and my boat started acting like that. I thought I was having tranny problems but when I pulled the boat out all four blades on the prop were bent back equally basicaly making it a smaller prop. When I asked the guy at the prop repair shop what would have done that he said a piece of rope just under the water or a small branch.

There are two parts to the throttle, one that engages the tranny (F or R) and one that controls the throttle. Like SEAN said, simply check to see if your actual throttle lever is loose. Mine did the same as his did, it's very deceptive and can work here and there, then mess up again. There should simply be a set screw on the bottom, make sure it's tight.

Check the linkages at both the tranny and the throttle just to see if they are tight before you worry about other stuff. If this was a sudden problem, like it happened on your last set after the boat was working fine, then I would bet it's the throttle thing.

If you truly had tranny damage you most likely would not have done 40 mph. Check the fluid color and level anyway. I think a mechanic would see if there is metal in the bottom of the tranny or the fluid color is really dark. That boat is not that old, how many hours??

I would first check the fluid level in the tranny.

Do you have Perfect Pass? My last boat's PP was sensitive to the acceleration pullout. If you jammed the throttle lever too hard it would pull the string from the servo motor and basically do what you are explaining. When I turned the boat off and the PP reset itself, it would work fine. Bottom line was to accelerate smoothly.
Also, is there any chance you had seaweed type growth in your prop?

It doesn't really sound like a trans slipping problem to me . . . I would definitely check Prop, Throttle lever and cable, and your shaft <---- Hee Hee

by the way does it have a wake plate ?

My 02 Cents Sean & Flux are on it. The throttle lever is more than likely loose or has shifted. My has came apart,a few times....
G

OK I got around to checking out my boat and here's what I found:
I checked the throttle lever and found nothing. I'm far from an expert but the cables all seem to move as I'd expect them too and nothing seems loose.

I don't have perfect pass.

The transmission fluid is a little high. (I probably screwed that up. Could that be causing my problems? If so how?

There is a nothing wrong with the prop.
I haven't checked the hours in a while but I figure I only have around 400 hours on it.

Again, I really appreciate any help I can get.

I pulled out some tranny fluid and it was pretty dark colored. I did change the fluid this season so... any advice?

Dark fluid is from heat or long use so you may be slipping. I changed mine after 100 hours use near the end of this season and it was fairly bright colored still. On my first change the fluid looked good, too.
You've got to check the fluid level immediately after turning off the boat. If it's high then you might be frothing the oil in the tranny some and making it less effective.
The fluid will always be darker than new but when it starts to look like engine oil it has been baked.

had the bilge been on?? sounds like too much weight with a bilge full of water!!

had the bilge been on?? sounds like too much weight with a bilge full of water!!

The bilge wasn't on.

There is one more symptom I forgot to mention:

The tranny slips whenever I do a power turn. Since I try not to do that I don't notice it much.

The boat did get swamped 3 years ago but its been working relativly fine since then (after a whole lot of work).

I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to pull the transmission and do a rebuild but I thought I'd ask if there was anything I should check out first.
I've never looked at a boat transmission before but it seems pretty simple compared to car transmissions.

I don't think you can rebuild any of the transmissions on mercruisers. They've got to be taken to a service location. I don't think you can even get any parts for them.

Do you have perfect pass? If you do check the knob on the servo to make sure its not loose

No perfect pass.

bump.

Anything I should check before pulling the transmission?

Is Art right about there not being any available parts for a velvet transmission?

Hey plhorn. I looked and found that go2marine has parts and there were a couple of places that had overhaul kits and manuals so I guess I was wrong before. Mercruiser just doesn't sell any and does not recommend doing anything with them.

Make sure the transmission lines and cooler are really clean before you reinstall the tranny.

Thanks Art.