XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

Coming back from diner tonight the top cap on the port drive "blowed-up", all four screws are still there with little chucks of the top cap that were left. Everything else from the top cap I imagine is at the bottom of lake Champlain!!!

Made a nice mess on the swim platform but while idling in we had plenty of time to use the transom shower to clean everything up (of course we had the haz mat spill protection condom around the boat so as not to contaminate anything). Nice smell by the way! Could see what looked like the top of the shaft and all. Dropped of the rig at the shop they are getting on it first thing. Clean the transom once on the trailer with simple green and water now it's go time for the guys at Vermont Home and Marine!

Anyone done this and what should I expect??? Those guys are proficient and know what they are doing so I am just asking for more information regarding this top cap "cato".

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

Going Cato! Rocketry term !

Cato
Main Entry: Ca·to
Pronunciation: 'kA-(")tO
Function: name
CATO: A catastrophic failure, generally explosive, where all the propellant is burned in a much shorter time than planned. This can be a nozzle blow-out (loud, but basically harmless), an end-cap blow-out (where all of the pyrotechnic force blows FORWARD which usually does a pretty good job of removing any internal structure including the recovery system) or a casing rupture which has unpredictable, but usually devastating, effects.

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

Sorry to hear about that...hope its not a total loss.
Good luck, let us know.

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

Good luck with her GLH. You need to get it right back together since it seems to be your main form of transportation! I love seeing guys that actually use thier boats a lot, and I think you fit the bill. :)

Like I say, if you ain't breakin', you ain't boatin'.

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

GL ... Hope they're working shifts on that cato .. NY/NJ will not accept this as a no show. We're expecting you this w/e ... and you heard from DaveP who'll be attending :D Good luck getting her back together quick and relatively cheap LOL :eek: :D

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

Aftermarket billet caps. Don't put cheap weak brittle castings back on that important part.

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

Some times the tower in the cap will break and bust the cap.But never heard anything that severe.

or It broke a tooth off a gear and a tooth stacked in between the pinion gear and forward gear and pushed the top gear up sheering off the top cap.

I have seen a bunch of pinion gears the first to go. Knocking out teeth like a Mississippi redneck in a bar fight drinking old Milwaukee best draft.His girl friend is the same way [Toothless]and she is from Arkansas ,She's the one he was in the fight with when he lost his front teeth :D :D

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

I beleive 27Fountain/Will also had this happen on his drive. Basically the bolts backed out/sheared off and the top cap was no more.

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

GLH,

Extended use causes tons of pressure on the upper cap, especially on the counter rotating drive. This is very common on XR's. Upgrade to the Max Machine works billet cap w/ stud kit. This is the best on the market, and should definetely solve your problem.

Steve

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

A friend had this happen to him in his 25 AT w/1100hp.
It happened at around 5800rpms which I think was somewhere in the 90's.
That boat no longer has that motor in it.

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

Sorry to hear that GL. :( Good luck on getting her back together!! :)

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

Getting a liittle off track SP? !!

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

Sorry to hear that GL. Still gonna make it to NY? Those guys at Vt Home are the best from what i've seen so far. Good luck

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

G.L. called me last night and the crew is going to get at it this morning and have it ready for the run barring some unforscene damage

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

sounds like another version of POP GOES THE BRAVO. Go billet young man, go billet.

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

Sorry to hear about your trouble!
The way the drive is designed, whichever rotation uses the upper clutch/gear in the upper housing is much weaker than the one that uses the lower clutch/gear. The driving gear on the primary shaft from the engine and the driven gear in the drive are trying to push each other apart. The lower gear in the drive has the entire drive housing to support it and resist downward force. The upper gear has only the top cap to resist being forced up. Which is which depends on engine rotation and prop rotation.
My Ford/Volvo setup runs lefty. Is is not uncommon to blow the tops off these setups when run with right hand props (much easier to find) and a few extra ponies.

Good luck and hope to see ya on the water soon!
Frank

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

Been there, Done That,
I won't go in to all the gorry details but both times I was running in flat water and the Cap just "Blew Off".
First incident I was starting to throttle up to get on plane and the Cap Blew off just as you describe. Left the corners and the bolts and the rest was just MIA. I was in The intercoastal south of Key largo at the time.
The second time I was in fresh water and the same thing. Just starting to throttle up to get on plane and the otherside blew.
My suggestion is to go to some sort of Billet Cap and fix it once and for all.
Best,
Rie Hauler.

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

GL, We are sorry to hear of your misfortune, We saw you leaving the turtle and you sounded soooo good heading home. Good luck with repairs.

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

GLH, sorry for your troubles!!!! Enough of that..........break out the plastic and get that fixed for this weekend!! No Excuses!! (All this from a guy thats not even bringing his boat with him!!! :rolleyes:) See you up there! :drink:

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

GL,

I noticed on "out of Control" I have 7/16 studs for the top caps. They have to be machined to accomodate the larger stud. I am having lunch with Philly tomorrow I wil ask him if this is why they went larger.

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

My top cap blew also, in salt water!!! Needed new housing. I put on Billet caps from Billet Marine, it even has a drive shower built in. If you need the nimber let me know.

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

Here is the scoop of my experience for so it's documented for further cap blowers!!! ;
- My mech said it looked like the cap might of started loosening-- entirely possible and my bad for not checking and retorquing them. He will utilize loctite and verify the other.
- The loosening resulted in movement in the assembly and broke the shaft when I was getting on plane after going thru a "no wake" exactly like RiceHauler described and experienced.
-All the parts are ordered to be overnighted and will be here tomorrow by 10 AM.
- There was one part that was backordered nationally and I found it have it coming.
- Also for the record I would venture it was a 2.5 to 3 "t"'s event for those of you who know what "B.O.A.T." stands for.
-Looks like we will be on the road tomorrow a little later but should still be at the NYC Poker Run.
-Now I have to clean the rest of the stern of that boat, man that 90 weight oil really makes a mess!!!

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

Thanks Heather at BAM Marine
Heather was instrumental in finding and shipping ASAP the one part that was missing and back-ordered nationally at Mercury...in the whole soup of parts I blowed up last night.

So Marc if you read this commend her on her effectiveness. These guys are the most reliable outfit. Last year I blew a coupler before a run and I had the thing in my hand 20 hours after the thing went belly up after cell-phoning for the part put-putting back to the ramp.

Thanks again.

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

For boating I try to keep the plastic use to a minimum but I should be there, just look for the guy that looks like he just "blew" a few grand literally, that should shave it down to 70-80 people if there are 150 rigs there ! :D:D:D

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

Man that blows. Sorry to hear about that:( Good thing it didnt happen on the run in NY, but then again there is no good time for that.

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

Call me and I’ll give you a deal on a billet cap. 805-968-6122

You can buy the “Original” or a knock-off.


www.getrealperformance.com

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

Been there and done it, our cap didn't blow totally off but same result, but then again I only have a 500efi. Anyway it was 8 days before the warranty ran up so merc covered it, they didn't even contest it.

Also this past week my friends 3 month old 25 Outlaw it doing the same thing, boat dealer ship has fixed it but his still is not right.

Glad to hear you are back in action,

WILL :drink:

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

Glad you got it back together G.L. We were out last night and didn't see you (or the oil slick). Good thing that you didn't buzz the Ethan Allen last night, it was full of National guard brass and the CG was clearing all boats out of it's path with shotguns out.

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

Take a look at the GetReal Billet Cap. Water cooling built in, ARP hardware...none better. Friend has been running on his supercharged Formula Bravo drive which is running a LH prop for 3 seasons with no cap issues.

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

That sounds like an Insurance claim to me. Mfg defect...loose cap bolts. :) Here is what you need to do GL. Buy another complete drive and have it on hand. I bet if you look hard you could find one for $5,000....real hard. :) It was a good thing the case was intact, that would have been a horrible setback. I am going out right now and checking mine. Thanks for the heads up. Another TSB for the SD Ford owners. Watch the front tie rod, tech the inner right and left bar. The one with the turn buckle for alignment. My long end bar pulled out of the turn buckle. The threads were gone on the bar and what they call the tube (turnbuckle). 47,000 miles. This after a 1000 mile trip to MO and back. I was lucky and was going slow, the wheel turned like the alignment was out, it was fine a minute ago so I thought it was a flat. Turned the wheel and found one turned and the other didn't :( This could have been my life at 80. With the boat at 70 it would have closed the highway for a day. There was no warning either and I am totally in tune to my truck. Turn lock to lock hard and listen for a clunk, that would indicate a slip. See GL, we all have ISSUES. :cool:

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

You can have something fixed on a boat for a couple a G's ? :eek: What the hell am I doing wrong ! Sorry about your luck brother but it's time you snagged a spare ;) AIN'T BOAT'N GREAT !!!!!!

JD

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

My mechanic said that if I would of been driving a yellow boat he would of charged me $12G's to fix the same thing.

Re: XR Top Cap goes Kaboom Anyone been thru this?
 

GL we went to the Turtle tonight, got that route mapped in. Saw Matt and Doc John and filled them in on what happened. They send their condolences.
Best of luck getting set up tomorrow and the NY run, wish we could be there.