How Much Water is Too Much?

[Jcrowder69]

Ok, so how much water is acceptable, or expected when swimming with the machine?

The reason for this question is, I see others talk about bilge pumps and where to install them and such, which leads me to believe that a certain amount of water in the tub is acceptable.

I was swimming my machine the other day for the first time, and I saw water below the floor, moving around, you can't tell how much there is, and I'm not really sure where it is coming in. I can only assume that some of the seals need replacing, or the plugs aren't in correctly. The plugs are such a PITA to put in, that I hate having to pull them everyday when I am done with the machine. So with this information, how much water is too much water before it starts really effecting the operation on the machine, or the machine sinking for that matter.

Sorry for the long and winding question.

Judson

[trevorakm1]

I have an argo and at the bottom of the firewall are two holes and I've seen water splashing in from them so that is a fair amount. I installed a bilge pump and put in front on right side as that usually sits lowest for me. Part of the problem with water in addition to too much and sinking is the belt getting wet and slipping. I personally hate any water in the tub and will turn the bilge pump on periodically to expel any water. When I first got the machine and new to the whole thing I water tested it and she took on enough water to not want to go in the water. Replaced all bearings inners and outers and keep it well greased and leaks aren't really a problem. It's all a matter of personal comfort I would think.

[Rusty-Gunn]

We have a Max IV. We changed out four outer
bearings a month ago. No water gets in.
Eventually the seals may wear out and allow water to
seep in.

As long as the situation is safe (not going to sink), the amount if water is
what you can tolerate. A bilge pump adds peace of mind.

[Jcrowder69]

Thanks Trevor and Rusty for the info. I guess a bilge pump will have to be the answer for now. My II and IV are both at my pretty rural property and I don't have a shop to work in, so changing out the seals and bearings would be pretty difficult, and a daunting task. Not knowing which ones would need replacing, I would feel I would have to do them all. From here you go down a rabbit hole; where as if the axle is out why not go ahead a replace the bearings, and doing that 12 times gets expensive and time consuming. I think I'll stick with installing a few bilge pumps and put the bearings and seals off (famous last words).

[Jcrowder69]

Rusty, I will say this as far as rural goes, you beat the hell out of me for being rural. My closest town is 9 miles away and it has almost 7000 people, and is a 2.5 hours drive from my house in Houston. We definitely have different challenges as far as getting things done on our machines.

Judson

[dgeiman]

I have a max iv and I put the bilge pump on the left rear near the drive belt the pump is there to get the water out so the belt does not get wet if it does it will slip. I have replaced the drain plugs in mine with type you use in a boat they work a lot better you can find these on ebay 3/4" diameter I think

[tbone9]

That's a good idea since everything runs to the back on water or land. However I use mine for fishing and when just floating it tends to be a little nose heavy so I put a high output pump in the front, plus there's more room for it. This pump has a 1" hose. Guess it depends what your using it for.

[akcrawler]

I recently took my Max IV on a lake and swam around for about a half hour. It was basically my first water excursion with the machine because I have been running rubber tracks all year. I was disappointed that there was quite a bit of water in the tub by the time I got out. When I greased the bearings before the next outing, the grease actually squirted out between the tub and the bearing plate at two of the axles. That doesn't seem right to me and is probably the source of the water ingress. This is a relatively new machine and the factory-installed bearings are still in there. Has anyone had a problem in this area? I suppose the fix is to remove the the plates and install some additional sealant under them.

[tbone9]

For starters you can tighten the four flange bolts. Then turn the wheels as you grease. This should help.

[Canadian_Zuk]

My greasing proceedure is to jack my Max up on stands, remove all the tires, start the motor, put the tranny in forward then start hitting the zerks with the grease gun while everything is rolling. After I grease my max up it stays pretty much water tight for a good 10 hours of service then I do it again. I really should just get on with the synthetic bearings and extensions.

[Rusty-Gunn]

We have a complete bilge pump kit but never installed it. We only cross a few creeks, so we're not in the water ling enough.

Turning the tires as the are greased is a very good idea. New one on me, learned something today. Thanks

[milkman5687]

0305141732a.jpgThis response is not meant to sound mean or anything, but leaking bearings should not be a total shocker. These machines go through allot of stress in the drive system. The best preventative measure for a decent set of bearings is being well greased, or replaced-even then we must expects some water to pass through the assembly. The drive system consists of many components that require attention and with the nature of water finding the easiest path possible, install a bilge pump at a reasonable location and wire it in a way that gives you confidence that when you hit the switch it will remove any unwanted amount.

[tbone9]

I agree with Milkman. The only way I've found to make the bearings water tight on my Max is to make enclosed bearing cages. See my thread " Enclosed Beating Cages". Been fishing out of it all summer and so far not enough to even bilge.