TOYOTA Factory Support

[festivus]

I apologize for my part in the "poke fun at Korean motors" psuedo-thread.? I just get carried away...
As for the ex-epic dealer here in Denver, it was Tommy's Ski & Slalom.? I took my 2001 S22 for a winterization there last fall.? The mechanic was like "wow, a Toyota V-drive, I ain't never seen one of these before."? Then after a $250 bill for a winterization, I vowed to spare my sweet Eppy the guinea pig label and haven't gone back since.? I don't think they would be very cooperative with Epic parts.? Heck, they probably didn't sell a single boat.? I have never seen another Epic in Colorado.? I bought mine in Dallas and towed it up here.? ?I pull it to SLC to Marine Products for service.? Plus my dead-beat brother-in-law is there to make fun of.? So, I sort of feel like I am on a Toyota Epic island here.? That is why I will keep mine till it needs work that I can't rationalize driving 550miles for, then sell it.? Hopefully with only 180hrs on it, that is still a long time away.

[cyclone]

I kind of like being one of the few. Any dork with good credit can go buy a nautique or MC. I think that our boats do not look dated at all, I get a lot of compliments and amazed looks, nobody believes that Toyota made boats. My dealer was one of the top ones, they sold quite a few around here but I almost never see another one. I've seen two others on the lake in four years.

As for making fun of Korean cars, that's fine by me! I saw an add for a local wierd ass Korean car dealer(Daewoo?) that was selling 2 for one. Buy one brand new piece of crap, get a second one for free for parts. Amazing.

[Bitzco]

You know, the Kia engines are new and might cost a few thousand bucks. Perhaps, Festivus can find one of those amazing Yugo engines to drop into his ride. A guy could probably pick up a Yugo with its powerplant intact at a junk yard. Or, even better, I saw a brand spankin new (very old, never sold, and never been driven) Yugo at an ex-Yugo dealer here in Bountiful Utah. It had a $500 price tag on it. Not much green for a powerplant that just won't quit. Probably a better hole shot than even the Kia motor. Give me a call Festivus, I'll hook you up.

[highflyn]

You gotta keep it in the family. Back in the day I owned a 81' celica. It had a blue front fender, three different types of tires ( for testing purpose of course), and a leaky exuhast manifold ( to scare the competition ) and a 22R motor. This little baby purred like a kitten (with a throat problem) and ran like a fat tiger. I think it pushed out about 90 ponies and it ran on regular not super...Sweeeeet. This will be my fix if and when I wear out the ol Lex V8.

Cal, let me know when you plan on dropping in on Ski Masters. I would like to join you. I might be down there today to pick up a wakeboarding video ( im having withdrawls ).

Late
Highflyn

[cyclone]

Retrospect is awesome, lots of old and new footage.

[festivus]

Highflyn,  give us a post if you find a good wakeboarding video that actually teaches and isn't just full of flashy tricks.  I have Detention from Shawn Murray which has good pointers, but as a standalone instructional, maybe try something else. 

[highflyn]

Good news I just saved a ton of money on my car insurance!!!!
AND I swung by Ski Masters iin seattle and spoke with the owner Mark and he is willing to help out in any way he can. " A happy costumer is a good costumer" is what he said. I spoke with him about some of the bad rap they have gotten because of an old tech. He told me that they have fired about five people and and all there techs are new. He said that none of them had previous EPIC experince, but all are excellent mech's. I told him about the the possibilty of TMS unloading invintory cheap but only to current dealers and if there was any way we could work togeather if this happens. He said he would do what ever he could to help us out. All in all I think Ski Masters is now and will continue to be an excellent resource.
BTW Ski Masters has an 02 DD Epic w/150 hrs for 39k and an 01 V w/10hrs for 44k. Way more then there worth but they have been on their lot for quite a while and may intertain a low ball offer.

As for a good trick vid. Not that im an expert on the subject but I picked up "Waketrix" by sidewayz production and it is pretty damn good. I goes over everything form board control to the Tantrum. I'v watched it three times now and am pretty sure I can go pro this summer .
late
Terry

[toyotafreak]

Thanks Terry. Good to hear that SM sounds like they're still interested in supporting us. Just so happens they're the dealer that's being a good neighbor and selling Epic parts to the Aussies.

Now, can we get back on-topic. I was in Korea last year and boy them guys can make elevators and bullet trains and tank-catchers and.....

[highflyn]

I guess a happy costumer is a good costumer even in Austrialia.

[phenom_1819]

Hey Terry,

Thanks for beating me to the punch on that one.  I've heard Mark is a great guy from several people.  As you've probably read from some of my past posts, I had some bad experiences there... but the fact that he stepped up and got rid of a few of those people says a whole bunch about him.  I still want to at least introduce myself to Mark -- he's no doubt heard about me (they used to read these forums when the issues started coming up).  I was one of the more outspoken ones after I spent a few hours hanging out in the shop and saw the mish-mash jobs that the old mechanics were doing on other people's boats. A member of this board PM'd me, and we discussed the issues in greater detail.  He then took some of the issues we had to Mark. The next week, the service manager was fired.  He obviously cares about his customers... Anyway, thanks again for stepping up. 

[2000epic]

I didn't actually talk to mark, I gave the secretary the link to this site...two days later BAM!!  no more bad service.  I'm not the kind of person who likes to get people in trouble, but this schmo had to go. 

I don't think Ski-Masters keeps a lot of parts on hand.  I had some warranty work done in the fall and all parts had to be ordered.  They did arrive quickly though.

[cyclone]

That's been my experience too. Gotta order everything. Luckily, there are part numbers coming from Capt. Rick. That is the hardest thing, finding the correct part number. I frequently order stuff and it comes in wrong because the parts person at the dealer doesn't really understand what it is that I am looking for.

Good to hear about Ski Masters being good people again. I don't want to go through the learning curve with my dealers new mechanic, I'll do it myself. Couple more seasons and it's time for a timing belt, and probably a cutlass bearing.

[festivus]

How many hours is a timing belt replacement recommended?  And a cutlass bearing?  (not sure what that is)

[cyclone]

1k hours for a timing belt. The procedure is shown in detail in the 1UZ engine manual. I'll probably do it myself. It would probably be the first time my dealer did one, no way I'm paying someone else to do it the first time. It looks like a fairly straightforward procedure, just lots of stuff to take off the front of the motor. It would be a whore on a Vdrive, probably have to do it from inside the trunk.

Cutlass bearing (or strut bushing) is the bronze driveshaft bushing in the drive strut. You have to pull the drive shaft and use a special puller to knock the bushing out of the strut. Then, reassemble and check shaft alignment, check/repack shaft bushing. Parts and tools are available, www.skidim.com. It is a typical inboard maintenance task.
 
The manual says to do it after 400 hours if run in dirty water. I have 638 on my boat and haven't noticed any vibration, which would be the symptom I would think would manifest itself if the bearing were shot. I have not heard much about people replacing this bearing on any ski boat, so I don't think it is a very common failure.  Prolly 200$-300$ to get it done, guessing.

[DENNIS]

WHERE CAN I FIND AN ENGINE MANUAL FOR OUR 1UZ MOTOR, AND ARE THERE ANY OWNERS MANUALS FOR A 01 S22.  WHEN I GOT MY BOAT THE OWNERS MANUAL WAS FOR A X22.  RICK COHN TOLD ME THAT THEY ONLY MADE ONE OWNERS MANUAL.  IS THIS TRUE!!!

DENNIS