Just bought 2001 SAN with the gt-40

[riley456]

Hello everyone,
we just bought a 2001 SAN and I am wondering what I need to be looking into before the season.
I am planning on doing an a new impeller, change v-drive, engine, and trans oil. Is there anything else I should be looking into? I don't really have a maintence records.
the other question I have is that I can not find the trans dipstick for the life of me. I feel dumb for even asking but can someone point out exactly where it is?

[bturner]

Depends on hours and condition. I would suggest getting the owner's manual out and going through the check list. Since you say you don't have a service record and don't really have any records assume nothing has ever been preformed and work your way out from there. If you don't have an owner's manual you can get a PDF version here.....

https://www.planetnautique.com/vb5/f...uals-brochures

The manual should point you in the direction for the locations of dip sticks and maintenance procedures.

As far as "what else" to check..... depending again on hours/condition there are several areas that could warrant attention.....

Fuel System - The fuel system on Nautiques are somewhat unique, at least from my previous experience with MasterCrafts and Malibus. You have specific filters that should be changed based on the maintenance schedule. If you don't know when these have been changed if it were me I would change them. The owner's manual will help you with this.

Ignition system - This is typical engine maintenance. Plugs, wires and if applicable cap and rotor. Same as above on when to change per the owner's manual maintenance schedule.

Belts, hoses and wear items - Typical boat maintenance items once again. Here you're looking for any cracks in the belts, hoses showing their age. If in doubt, throw it out.

Functional checks - The last place on the boat is fixing anything that doesn't work or doesn't work properly like the blower, bilge pumps, lights, switches gas shocks that hold cushions or hatches open. If you have a ballast system with reversible pumps you can check the impellers. If not then you'll be looking into the functionality of the pumps but that will be an on water exercise.

Trailer - This is the most over looked aspect of boaters. That is until they're stuck on the side of the road. I bought or have help other buy quite a few boats over the years and not a single one of them had a trailer that was fully maintained. Breaks seem to be the biggest offender but rotted tires, non functioning lights and poorly maintained wheel bearings are right up there too. If you plan to tow this boat and don't want to create a miserable experience by being stuck on the side of the road or worse make it a priority to spend some time getting your trailer squared away.

This is what I typically do on any new to me boat. I personally find it takes about 2 seasons to get most any boat dialed in to where I want it. I like to focus on reliability and safety first and then let the other items play out as my budget allows.

[riley456]

Thank you for the reply! I actually already have the manual but just thought I'd ask since sometimes there are items that go bad before the manufacturer intended that users are more likely to tell me about. I should have been way more specific in my first post. I completely understand that asking where the dipstick is sounds crazy but I spent a good 15 minutes trying to find. In the manual it states procedures like checking it etc. But doesn't have any pictures showing me directly where it is.

[hal2814]

The transmission dipstick isn’t as obvious on a GT40 as the engine and v-drive dipsticks. Engine is easy. V-drive is under the access panel under the rear seats right on top near the front end of the drive. The transmission dipstick is kind of down low on the passenger side on the transmission between the engine and v-drive. It’s usually yellow. I don’t still have a GT40 or I’d send you a pic.

[gary s]

Here is a pic of my 95's. The trans dipstick is right in the center of this picture it's painted black

[stag15]

Depends on hours and condition. I would suggest getting the owner's manual out and going through the check list. Since you say you don't have a service record and don't really have any records assume nothing has ever been preformed and work your way out from there. If you don't have an owner's manual you can get a PDF version here.....

https://www.planetnautique.com/vb5/f...uals-brochures

The manual should point you in the direction for the locations of dip sticks and maintenance procedures.

As far as "what else" to check..... depending again on hours/condition there are several areas that could warrant attention.....

Fuel System - The fuel system on Nautiques are somewhat unique, at least from my previous experience with MasterCrafts and Malibus. You have specific filters that should be changed based on the maintenance schedule. If you don't know when these have been changed if it were me I would change them. The owner's manual will help you with this.

Ignition system - This is typical engine maintenance. Plugs, wires and if applicable cap and rotor. Same as above on when to change per the owner's manual maintenance schedule.

Belts, hoses and wear items - Typical boat maintenance items once again. Here you're looking for any cracks in the belts, hoses showing their age. If in doubt, throw it out.

Functional checks - The last place on the boat is fixing anything that doesn't work or doesn't work properly like the blower, bilge pumps, lights, switches gas shocks that hold cushions or hatches open. If you have a ballast system with reversible pumps you can check the impellers. If not then you'll be looking into the functionality of the pumps but that will be an on water exercise.

Trailer - This is the most over looked aspect of boaters. That is until they're stuck on the side of the road. I bought or have help other buy quite a few boats over the years and not a single one of them had a trailer that was fully maintained. Breaks seem to be the biggest offender but rotted tires, non functioning lights and poorly maintained wheel bearings are right up there too. If you plan to tow this boat and don't want to create a miserable experience by being stuck on the side of the road or worse make it a priority to spend some time getting your trailer squared away.

This is what I typically do on any new to me boat. I personally find it takes about 2 seasons to get most any boat dialed in to where I want it. I like to focus on reliability and safety first and then let the other items play out as my budget allows.

bturner I also just bought a 1999 Pro Air with the GT-40 (300 hours). I have done most of the mantenance you have suggested (I really appreciate your list, especially the focus on reliability/safety), but have not replaced cap/rotor/spark plug wires. I inspected them, and they look good, but with only 300 hours I don't see the need to replace. How often do folks here typically replace these?

[bturner]

Personally, not often unless I'm having problems or if they're showing signs of wear. I've even, dare I say it..... stopped changing my impeller every season after accumulating a collection of near perfect year old impellers. Now I go by hours and have a spare in the boat at all times. I started doing the same for the fuel system. I go by the manual on hours.