Reverse control cable ball joint assembly failure

[Damsroy]

Both reverse control cable ball joint assembly failed two weeks apart on my 2016 AR240.

Was leaving the dock two weeks ago and had no or very poor steering going forward. Went back to my slip and figured out very quickly that the starboard reverse bucket was not attached to the reverse control cable anymore and that the ball joint assembly was still on the bucket. Cable was fine but the thread on the ball joint assembly was eaten halfway. See pics below. With no ball joint assy replacement in hand I simply screwed the one i had all the way (there is still some thread left at the end) as a temporary fix. Still like this on the boat two weeks later.

Two weeks later (this weekend) same exact thing happened on the port side. Same symptoms and exact same issue. Looks like the salt water is deteriorating the thread inside the joint ball assy.

In the meantime I ordered replacement ball joint assy but ordered 2019 parts # (F2C-U1460-00-00) instead of 2016 (EU0-61461-30-00).
2019 ($12 a piece) won't fit on 2016 reverse control cables. The thread size is bigger on the 2019 cable/ball joint assy
As an FYI 2016 are $40 a piece. Those two parts seems totally similar except for the thread size so not sure why such a price difference.

Question: Would the 2019 reverse control cables fit the 2016 remocon control assy at the helm? The parts number for the 2016 remocon control assy (F2J-U134A-00-00 ) and the 2019 remocon control assy (F4A-U134A-10-00 ) are slightly different but i don't know what changed between the two.

It is not really about the cost difference but if the 2019 control cables / ball joint assy have been redesigned and are stronger in 2019 I would prefer to go with the better/redesigned solution.

TIA

 

[Julian]

Probably galvanic corrosion does your boat sit in or above salt water a lot? I am assuming that the spring clips are made of a different metal than the ends of the control cables. I'll be looking at mine now! Spray them with T9 as much as I can, and check my anodes.

As for the part number differences, probably the only way to know if they are swappable would be to ask your dealer. Usually the parts diagrams reference the new part numbers if they are a like for like replacement.

 

[Damsroy]

Boats sets in salt water all season. Isn't it amazing that the same part on both sides failed two weeks apart? Having said that they for the most part getting the same amount of use (except when docking) so normal they get the same amount of wear.

My anodes are working well. Replaced by new at the beginning of the season and they are already 40% or so gone.

 

[Julian]

Boats sets in salt water all season. Isn't it amazing that the same part on both sides failed two weeks apart? Having said that they for the most part getting the same amount of use (except when docking) so normal they get the same amount of wear.

My anodes are working well. Replaced by new at the beginning of the season and they are already 40% or so gone.

My guess is that there isn't a good enough contact between the ball and spring clip part to "ground" the parts to the anode. As such, those two parts (the spring clip and end of cable) are effectively without an anode and are different metals.

Not many people wet slip these boats in salt water.....what do you do for the exposed drive components to protect them (besides the anode)?

 

[Damsroy]

Didn't think about that @Julian and that sounds dead right.

I have a thread here documenting my salt water slipping adventure ;-) Go to post #7 to see this season prep work

https://jetboaters.net/threads/documenting-the-long-term-effect-of-wet-slipping-in-salt-water.24703/#post-463790

This is the work i have done to the pump

 

[Cambo]

Its the parts that you cant see or paint that will create issues life expectancy is 1/2 of what it would be if you trailer . But if you have money to burn light it up

 

[Damsroy]

No I don't have money to burn. However i really enjoy having my boat in a slip that is 2min away from my house and decide at 5pm that i want to go out with the family and be on the water by 5:05pm. And yes there is a cost to that comfort.

There is a lot of negativity regarding boating and slipping jet boats in salt water. Some of it is justified but -and i 'm ready to be educated- i believe it is often exaggerated.
- The hull is protected with bottom paint.
- The engines are flushed with fresh water after every outing so no difference whether on a trailer or not
- Deck and interior is rinsed with salt away and covered after each outing. So far it still looks like new.
- What is always in contact with the salt water when slipped are your jet pumps, impellers, wear rings, intake grates, etc. So far they have been holding pretty well. Time will tell.
- Also need to factor in steering and control cables replacement every 3-5 years as they start leaking water and rust. I'm planning on doing steering and control cable a preventive maintenance after this season (boat is a 2016 with 150 hours and 2 seasons slipped in salt water)

Now if life expectancy of those pump parts in the water is 20 years when trailered and need to be replaced after 10 years when slipped in salt water I'm good with that. Only my opinion but doesn't seem to be a huge maintenance expense compare to other I/O boats i owned.

In any case i will continue to document my experience with slipping in salt water hopping this can help others in the same situation.

 

[Cambo]

Keep any eye on the water inlet to the pumps that stays submerged one barnacle gets in and limits the water supply this could lead to over heating. I would crack the nuts on the pump pieces to keep them from galling each season . I have just seen a bunch of jet boats in really bad condition from the best solvent in the world salt water and time hopefully you don't have any major issues

 

[Julian]

Keep any eye on the water inlet to the pumps that stays submerged one barnacle gets in and limits the water supply this could lead to over heating.

Good point. Would be so much better if these boats had a gauge that showed cooling water pressure/flow so you have an indication of a problem. Cleaning those intakes is definitely a key point.

 

[Damsroy]

Good points yes and thanks for the input!

 

[Stevepro172]

This might be a stupid question but how do you flush the engine while in the water? Doesn't it just pull more salt water in and mix it with the fresh from the hose?

 

[Damsroy]

This might be a stupid question but how do you flush the engine while in the water? Doesn't it just pull more salt water in and mix it with the fresh from the hose?

I installed TOW valves on the cooling water inlet. So you shut down the raw cooling water inlet and it is only fresh water from the hose (mixes with salt away) that is flushing the engines.

 

[Stevepro172]

Makes perfect sense! Do you have any pictures of the install?

 

[Damsroy]

Plenty of threads related to TOW valves on this forum.
Please look at post #8 here: https://jetboaters.net/threads/tow-valve-location.28215/
This is where i put mine i.e. under the clean-out tray. You can also put the valves closest to the engines and access them from the engines hatch. For my application i like the under the clean out tray location better because i flush as soon as get to my slip and by definition the engines are very hot. I don't want to mess around the hot engines and risk to burn myself.

 

[Damsroy]

Showing below the difference between the -2016 and 2017- all joint assembly. Different thread size.

 

[Beachbummer]

So different cable diameters?

 

[Damsroy]

I don't have a 2017-2019 boat/control cable to confirm but i would definitely believe so since the 2017-2019 joint ball assembly thread is "too big" for my 2016 reverse control cable.