www.iFourWinns.com

Hello everyone!! I have a 2004 268 Vista with a 5.7 Volvo Penta Duo Prop. End of last season, I had too much weight on the boat. It literally took over a minute to get on plane ( I felt soo bad for my boat). Anyway, the next time I took it out, I had lost about 5 mph off my top speed. Along with that, while under no wake speed, the boat would vibrate while steering right to left and vice versa. The boat has 420 hours on it. My questions is. Could a u-joint, gimbal bearing, or the engine coming off alignment cause this issue? I was just going to change both out anyway due to the hours on the boat. But my next question. Does anyone know the part numbers for them? I was looking online and was unsuccessful and the closest dealer is a hour away. Also, I had a friend of mine tell me to change out the risers and manifolds due to the hours? Is this true for a freshwater boat? While I'm asking questions. How often should I replace the spark plugs and with what brand?
Thank you! I really appreciate your valued time!

Hi there,
We had the same problem at the end of last season. Ours vibrated when turned hard over to port and stbd. It was the u-joint. I went ahead and had the gimbal replaced just for safety's sake since it wasn't that much more to have that done. It was only $1500 for the whole thing I think. Way too much work for me to do it on my own. Ours is an '06 278 and runs so much better now. Good luck!

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2006 Four Winns 278 Vista
1994 Stingray 609zp

Thank you so much for your reply. To me that confirms a lot. I do have the ability to change it, but I'm struggling getting part numbers for both. Nearest Volvo dealer is a hour away...lol..

How long have you had your '04 268? Great boat! I loved mine.

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2007 358 T-5.7GXi IB
Previous Boats
'08 H240, '08 V318, '04 268, '04 225

Going on 7 years.