MD180 drive squeak

My 180 drive is about 18 months old and developed a rather loud squeak. Same as yours only when it was in the water. First I tried lube, that didn’t work. Then I tightened the chain, that made it worse. Next I took the chains off and reinstalled them and that did the trick. I don’t know why but it did.

Now I lube them before and after use. So far so good.
~JOE~

First outing with brand new 2019 180 drives in two i9s' and we made the mistake of installing the drives before launching from the beach so they dug/brushed the Sandy bottom a bit getting into it. 4 hours into peddling around, one of our drives developed a squeek just like in the video.

Once we got home we hosed both down good with pretty decent pressure but one still had gritty sounding movement.

Looks like we will be tearing them down and replacing bearings since they have probably already been damaged since they squeaked for about an hour. Not sure how this could make it through any cycles without immediate failure. No bearing protection at all. We will be sure to never install the peddle drives until in deep water and to remove them long before beaching going forward. Breaking this down after every time it gets near sand is just not practical and rinsing/ spraying water doesn't get the sand out.

Almost seems like no grease on the bearings would be better for not picking up sand while not really changing the behavior of the bearing. It isn't like they can overheat while being in the water. I sprayed them directly... However once sand gets in grease, it isn't coming out of it without removing the grease. I have two types of rods coming this week. Debating if I should switch to nylon bearings. I'm pretty sure I'll have to take apart one of them, and I want to do it before we take them out again so any damage is limited.

I really don't know why the bearings aren't sealed unless they are intended to be sacrificial... But by not being easily removable and since hobie doesn't sell them... I'm confused. This would seem to be a pretty common issue. Is it designed to fail? How does anyone's last more than a single season? We only beached once, something that alot of people probably do before getting into the habit (or remembering) to remove the drive while still far away from the beach.

Interesting. I would think wd40 would quickly wash off when submerged with the bearings moving.

I was thinking of using my dry Teflon film lube but that also requires frequent reapplication.

Also, the stock grease is seeping up the main drive shaft the pedals pivot on as well. So I guess as long as I don't use whatever grease comes with the unit fresh, I'll be making an improvement. It doesn't seem to resist absorbing water, leading to it leaking out and it keeps grit stuck to the remaining grease.

I can try wd40 though if that seems to do well on the races.

Took it all apart after work today.

A bunch of the bearings looked like they have been rubbed with dry sandpaper but weren't bad enough to replace. Kind of worrying after just one use. The same issue was on all the surfaces the bearings touch. Not happy about that last bit, but wasn't really worth considering buffing smoother yet.

I decided to use a silicone lube from blaster. It has a similar consistency to wd40 but has Teflon and is supposed to have very good compression friction, so is recommended for bearings. It has just enough surface adhesion to keep the bearings in place if you have a second person keeping things still.


Anyway, back to smooth movements.

BTW, after putting the bearings carriers back together, it squeaked crazy and was hard to move one of the fins. Different issue from my original issue but I found out the problem was the reverse/forward lines. It was binding internally despite all efforts to keep that all organized. I wonder if the line is slipping between the bearings on some people's drives leading to squeaking when the drive is otherwise not making a grinding sound. Just pulling the levers fixed that issue though.

My bearings:

I went almost a year and a half since I started this thread. Last week the squeal of death returned. This time it was the opposite end making noise. I did the complete tear-down and rebuild today. All the bearings were in good order. I just needed to re-lube. Upon reassembly, I noticed one of the teeth is missing off one of the sprockets. Hobie must REALLY want me to buy a new spine assembly.

I'm not sure silcon lube is adapted to bearings.

I use marine grease for bearings. And WD40 on chains, as it keep a little bit away the inox cables from rust...

_________________
François - French Hobie fishing team - Outback 2019 papaya
ex: Revo 13 2007 - PA 14 2008 - PA 12 2009 - Outback 2011/2013/2015 - Compass 2017

Are these drives and or parts made in China?

Some parts from china, some Taiwan, some USA. All assembled in Oceanside California.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

I guess it was only a matter of time. My MD180 drive grenaded on me. What are my options to keep fishing with my 2017 Outback? What part number(s) do I need to repair this thing?

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNWu3xPv-SwF0IYLNY7OLXILKfuqgWw9r1ObNE

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9BUuzp6J1lU

I see a 2017 to 2018 difference is the thing that connects the fins to the spine. Will spine part number 81527002 connect to my 2017 fins?