2003 Nautique Excal Engine Issues

That is what I was thinking keno as I see no need for steering assist in a direct drive but she was insisting it had power steering. The helm was covered so I took her word for it. Turns out the rudder packing came loose and was allowing the rudder to bind. I don’t believe there is any steering assist to speak of. It is already to hit the water again.

MrMcD the ride behind the new nautique was pretty nice for footing wake crosses.  That is about all I was up for.  I am not much of a slalom skier so I couldn't tell you how that is.  I drove it a little when she first got it and it definitely has a little more pep than my 2003 which could be a combination of the engine and drive by wire style.  I believe she has the ZR400 engine.  I didn't drive it for long as I didn't want to be the first person to hit something.  It topped out at around 43 which was a little surprising, I thought it might have a little more in it but it did maintain that speed with a footer and a couple of riders.  

Heck of a breakdown Keno!    I am not a fan of that type cap but it does work for space reasons on some engines.  If his problem comes back it is back to the drawing board.

I want to know more about it as well as I don't see the need for power steering on that size of a direct drive inboard.  If the cable is knew it should turn pretty smooth with power steering or not.  I am sure she will find out more today.  Google didn't have much to offer on this topic when I was searching.  

Curious how you like the ride and tow behind the new Nautiques.  I have not had the pleasure and am curious if there is any advantage for the near $100K needed to own one.   Glad that fixed your problem and yep, those flat caps can certainly act up.  Not nearly as reliable as the old style but good news yours is running again.

Well after getting lucky on your problem, there's something else you need to do real soon..................go out and buy 3 Powerball tickets and hope you get just as lucky 

I have not seen a cap make your #3 stop firing unless you have one of the Fancy Caps that put 4 plugs on each side of the cap rather than 8 plugs spaced even in a circle.  The fancy caps route the electric charge from the rotor to the 4 plug locations on each side of the cap.  I have seen those fail and cross fire between plugs and cause mis fires.  A mis fire can fire your #3 way out of time so an explosion happens in that cylinder while the piston is on the up stroke.  That early explosion is basically detonation which could cause the engine to bog down while cranking similar to a hydro lock.    If you have a standard distributor cap I would keep looking for what cause the problem and if your #3 injector is still in the #1 hole your problem may show up in #1.  Run some injector cleaner through the next tank of gas and keep your fingers crossed.   All injector cleaners are not created equal so do al ittle reading to get a good brand.   I use a quart of ATF tranny fluid, it cleans well and lubricates without damaging anything.

Cap and rotor should be here today.  The ones on the boat are a little over 3 years old.  Not sure if it will help as 7 of the 8 cylinders are firing but it can't hurt.  

The marine injectors are nothing special, they just buy them from someone and add a special part number.  Bosch or Denso supply top quality injectors just make sure they have the same gallons per hour rating and the same electrical plug configuration.   The boat never turns more than 5-5,500 RPM Max so you do not need a special injector.  A Chevy Truck Injector should keep you happy.  I would take a picture of your electrical plug at the injector just to make sure when shopping.

I'd find the number on the side of the injector and use it for cross reference. it's a GM part used by other outfits like Mercruiser, Volvo Penta, Crusader etc. Crusader is part of PCM and their part number system is the same.

Must sound like a helicopter with that plug removed 

It is fuel injected and I can get it to run on 7 cylinders with the #3 plug pulled.  There is unburnt fuel in there but I Don't think it is more than normal as there always would be since it isn't firing.  I have tried to fire it up in WOT as you suggested to see if I could get it to fire and it won't unless I remove the plug from #3.  

I was pulling a flyer yesterday and when I went to accelerate the engine sputtered and died.  It would not restart but would turn over and hang up while turning over every so often.  Here is what I have found out so far.