Last weekend I removed the S/T box on my 2003 FT, and found quite the surprise: At least 2 handfulls of seashells, some as big as a quarter , along with a few cups of sand.

The sand I can understand - easy to suck up, sure. But I have a hard time believing the shells could have made it through the impellers, water pump, passages, etc., and been dumped into the S/T box via exhaust.

Anyone else seen this when they removed their S/T, or have a theory on how those quarter-sized shells got in the box?

Maybe they got sucked up when they were really small, and grew in the box....sort of like barnacles do.

try living with zebra mussels...

YOU MIGHT HAVE PICKED THEM UP WHILE BACKING THRU THE WATER?

sounds like a mini-eco system in there was there any crabs?

No crabs, and no gold. Don't think it would have been backing up, and I've personally never beached her, but it could have been from the previous owner.

But from now on the S/T will only collect dust and spiders, as it is in the garage.

Had our best weather in a while so I ran around the Sacramento Delta on Sunday...Nice improvement in sound without the box (added external flappers) and I picked up .5-1.0 MPH - I'm at 72 GPS now.

I was a little concerned it might be too loud, but I think the small blocks are OK unmuffled. We'll see what happens when I bolt on Imco Powerflows later this year.

Now to be sure do not post that anything was growing there. Never use the word "ecosystem". You may hear from"save the snails" and have your silent thunder boxes declared an endangered species critical habitat. Soon you will have to hire a bioligist to present an argument in court to defend your freedom to remove the boxes.....it never ends.

Good point, 382.

btw, I think if I picked up any top-end mph from the S/T removal it was due to weight reduction over the drives, not necessarily via better exhaust flow.

Maybe the previous owner landed the thing on it's tail in shallow water?

true especially in Cali