Not sure whether to become an ex-Epic Owner

[cyclone]

I already broached the subject of two epics with my wife! She is down with it. There was a used and abused red 99 x22 identical to that boat that I could've gotten for 15k or so, but I hemmed and hawed too long. Shoulda bought it and sold mine, but I have a hard time letting go of stuff I like. You should see how many 100 watt tube guitar amps I have.They are worthless because you can't use them anymore but pricesless because they are so cool.  

[Bitzco]

Somebody asked about the 35K new SX that I was considering. It was the one that everybody has seen advertised for 45K at SkiMasters. I called em and asked what their rock bottom price for it would be. They would give me no committments and did the car salesman crap with me. I told them I would give them 35K for it and that if they would accept that price, the owner should call me since I was just talking to a salesman. The owner did call back, but I decided to go with a cheaper immaculately cared for used one with a bunch of optional equiptment already installed. THis also saved me from having to get it from Seattle to Salt Lake. Who knows, SkiMasters may have tried to jerk me around with price if I had gone up there to get it.

Another issue is that even though the boat was new, the warranty clock had already begun to tick. The guys at Marine Products said the warranty time began on all of the unsold Toyotas last spring sometime. It would still be a couple of years of warranty but not the full three years. If anyone is interested in doing business with SkiMasters, they have a new X-22 and the new SX on their lot. They are probably the last ones out there. I didn't like the huksterish vibe I got from my phone conversations with SkiMasters. I think they would probably like to find some blind, deaf, wheelchair ridden old lady who they could talk into buying the boat for the original MSRP and spending her whole social security check each month on it. No conscience where the mighty dollar is concerned.

[festivus]

congrats and nice move on finding a great SX.  Many years of enjoyment to follow, plus you saved 15-20k over getting a new something else.

[Bitzco]

Interesting, I was just at Marine Products looking at the new 24' Supras (a very sweet ride). When I walked through the door, the service and store managers both told me the guy who bought "the sinker" salvage had called them to ask some service questions. He said he suspected he could get the engine rebuilt for $1500 and when they said, "how?", he said he thought the engine was just a Ford or Chevy. OOPS, he may have gotten in over his head. Marine products service manager, Jim, told me he had discussed the boat repairs with Dorge before it went to salvage, so he told the salvage buyer what it would take for repairs and that they could get him a new engine for about $8K. Maybe the guy will find Cyclone's site and the more mechanically minded among us can give him some help.

[toyotafreak]

I'll give him some help by taking it off his hands. Just kidding, no tengo dinero for that. Kinda sad/funny story though, huh?

[cyclone]

They are in for some serious cost when they start replacing computers, wiring, Lexus engine, Vdrive? Transmission? yow. Probably 10-15k minimum, and who are they going to find to do the work?

[Lakeside]

Speaking of sudden storms, we were on Lake Geneva in Wisconsin over the weekend for what was supposed to be a nice Saturday on the lake.? We checked the Weather Channel in the morning and everything looked good to go, no rain in the forecast.?

When we arrived at Lake Geneva, it was a bit overcast, but no big deal.? We went out on the lake over to a friend's house.? Then we noticed a Fire/Rescue boat going pretty fast with its emergency lights on and a big red flag on it.? One of the people we were with had grown up on Lake Geneva and she thought that was the signal to clear the lake, but she was not sure.? Fortunately, we did.? At the dock, the sky darkened to black almost instantly, so I started to put the cover on the boat.? There were over a dozen people on the dock and none of us had seen a Fire/Rescue boat do that before.? By the time I was finishing with the cover, tornado sirens were going and I high-tailed it to our friends' cellar.? The rain really came down hard, but fortunately there were no heavy winds on Lake Geneva, although people nearby were hit with 60 mph winds but no tornadoes.?

Our thanks to the Fire/Rescue crew on Lake Geneva.? They saved us from being out during a wicked storm that came up instantly and had not been forecast.?

[Bitzco]

Its nice they rescue guys were so good to you. At Powell the rangers did absolutely nothing to help. The marina workers were great, but our pals in uniform on the federal payroll were just accusatory and useless.

[festivus]

Bitzco, when you use big words like "accusatory" it sort of blows you redneck cover. 

[Bitzco]

So, I was just contacted by the guy who bought the sinker. Apparently, he bought it from a dealer who had gotten it from the auction. He says the motor is running and that in the end it wouldn't start because of a faulty electical something with the ingnition (now there is some precise language). Anyway, he's not a computer guy, but has a friend who can check the site for him. He was asking me about a problem that maybe someone here can help him with. He says the motor will not do anything but idle. No throttle response. He's wondering if it is a computer issue. I'd love for us to be able to  help get him on the water. Its a chance to save that SX. Anyway, any input for him? He's a SoCal guy.

[toyotafreak]

PURE WILD ASS SPECULATION:

Most likely internal to the ECU, but if the engine's runing, maybe not.

If it's a throttle thing, it could be linkage, or.......it could be the throttle-by-wire on the engine. Remember that the throttle cable actuates the throttle position sensor, which in turn outputs a DC voltage varying between like 0 and 5 volts corresponding to sensed throttle position. That voltage goes to the ECU. This tells the ECU what the driver's asking for.

Once the ECU determines how best to give what the driver wants, it sends a signal to the throttle actuator to spin the butterfly, etc. in the intake. The actuator is right next to the position sensor. There's also probably some feedback from the actuator to the ECU to tell the ECU how far open the butterfly is.

Anyhoo, you can see that if the engine truly is running, there could be a problem with the throttle position sensor, the wiring between it and the ECU, between the ECU and the actuator, or in the feedback from the actuator back to the ECU. There could also be a problem in the throttle position sensor or the actuator.

I'd assume that if the ECU sensed a problem with any of that, it'd probably default to an idle setting.


All that being said, it's probably some lame vaccum line or something ;-)

[h20proof]

Bitzco-  What'd you end up buying?  How much?  Where did you buy it?  I'm still looking...... and I agree with you about SkiMasters.  I had a similar experience.  It's too bad they just missed out on two (atleast) potential clients.

[Bitzco]

I got another immaculate 01 SX for 32K last year about this time. Love it, love it, love it. I was able to get out again yesterday. 58 degree water froze the boys off me, but 10000 acres, no other boats and glass was worth it. I am no fabulous wakeboarder but I did clear the wake, do some 180s and spent a lot of time practicing the switch riding. Man, I wish I had hear about wakeboarding 20 or 25 years ago.

[festivus]

don't  be so humble with your self-appraisal.  You are the KING boarder and we all know it.  Just check out his previous pic posts.

[Bitzco]

So, being the "King Boarder" I must say that face plants aren't too nice. Whiplash from yesterday. The King caught an edge doing a simple switch and saw the prettiest stars for a few seconds. At least I got my sinuses cleaned out for free. The doc would have charged a few hundred for the same proceedure.

Back to the original topic: Now that I've got PP, I love my boat even more and am glad I stuck with the Yota SX. I dig this boat and it is satisfactory to my wife, so its gonna be around a long time. I'll keep face planting behind it for years to come.