Walt29 wrote:
Have had my Revo 13 for a year and a half and last couple of times I was out the idler pin was coming loose from the pulley and making a clicking noise. I just kept putting in back in by hand and having to do this every 15 minutes or so. Decided to tighten the Allen screw and with less than two twists the plastic on the spine breaks so now I don't have a drive at all. Contacted the dealer and they didn't know if it was under the warranty or not so guess I'll just replace the spine but if the new one is better I'd rather get that one if the all the older parts fit on it. Trying to find a part # for the old one but with no luck. Sent a message to Hobie a day ago so hopefully they'll get back to me soon but was seeing if anyone else had this problem and what they did about it.
Walt, welcome to the forum. Behind most Hobie Allenhead retaining screws there is a flat spot on the shaft that locks that shaft in position. This applies to idler and sprocket shafts (and V-1 masts). Here's what it looks like:
Your idler shaft was sliding around because the screw either backed out (thus the shaft was no longer retained) or wasn't installed at the flat spot (thus, the shaft was not retained in the first place).
Over-tightening these screws tends to crack the shaft mounts. They need to be snug only. They can be locked in place with a dab of Loctite Blue thread locker.
Your dealer should submit a warranty claim -- I believe the V-2 Drives have a 2 year warranty.
In the meantime, now that you know how to install and properly lock that shaft, you should be able to stabilize the cracked spine (as Yakaholic did) with a marine epoxy and re-install your idler. BTW, although I'm sure it is not recommended by Hobie, your Drive will still operate temporarily without the idler -- just don't trounce on it.
All your parts should work on either spine. Again, you would have to cut the alignment pins off -- a 30 second operation with a hack saw.
Yakaholic wrote:
I too am waiting to hear what the part number is for the new spine, and hope that it is a different number than the old one. I have a cracked spine at a sprocket allen set screw location. It is patched with epoxy & working but don't want to take a chance. Might as well replace it with new type.
Yak, The new spine is listed in the current catalog with the same # as the old spine (# 81181001), and I couldn't find an alternate #. The new spine would presumably be sent by default unless your dealer specifies a non-skirted spine. 