Hobie drive fail

While fishing TC this week I noticed my 180 drive felt pretty stiff and tight. I had adjusted the slack previously in my garage but thought I had left enough play in the cables. So I’m wondering if the temperature difference going from warm garage to cool water made it tighten. Anyway towards the end of my trip it got real crunchy and resistant. So i think the plastic bearings are shot. I’m not sure I want to delve into bearing replacement or just swap out the $370 drive spline.
Do you think the over-tightening caused the bearing failure or do you think the tight feeling was a symptom, not a cause?

I don't have a 180 drive, just an ever-growing collection of GT and V2 drives. But, if the bearings on the 180 are anything like those on the GT, I don't think that there is any way that you could damage them by over-tightening anything. The GT bearings are delrin plastic, which is extremely tough stuff (although I replace mine with nylon, which is just as tough and self-lubricating).

In any case, I'd recommend taking it apart to see what is wrong before ordering any expensive parts. It could be something as simple as sand/grit...

A couple of years ago, my 180 drive was squeaking really loud. I took it to CCK and they told me it needed a new spine.  They can do it for $200 labor plus parts.  I did the replacement myself.
Its been working fine ever since.

you described the same symptoms of my buds 180 drive.  he kept using it and it came apart at the bearings.  we kept fishing, except I was the doofus towing him around lake Sonoma. 

I think his was under warranty.  if it happens to me, I am going to take a swing at it.  if I fail, I will take it to Billy.  haha.  Billy has a work shop just to work on drives.  he has a few hanging up from a rack in various states of repair. 

not cheap..but whatever.  I have spent hundreds of hours pushing on my drive.  amortize the cost, and it doesn't seem that daunting. 

Check out Goss Outdoors on Etsy. Several friends and I use his Model 2 bearing replacement and I haven’t had much trouble from it for years. Before this mod, I had multiple spline failures and bearing fractures resulting in a lot of noise and then failure. Easy 5 minute fix and works great. I do not receive anything from Goss Outdoors for this, just another satisfied user! https://www.etsy.com/shop/GossOutdoors

Check out Goss Outdoors on Etsy. Several friends and I use his Model 2 bearing replacement and I haven’t had much trouble from it for years. Before this mod, I had multiple spline failures and bearing fractures resulting in a lot of noise and then failure. Easy 5 minute fix and works great. I do not receive anything from Goss Outdoors for this, just another satisfied user! https://www.etsy.com/shop/GossOutdoors

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Check out Goss Outdoors on Etsy. Several friends and I use his Model 2 bearing replacement and I haven’t had much trouble from it for years. Before this mod, I had multiple spline failures and bearing fractures resulting in a lot of noise and then failure. Easy 5 minute fix and works great. I do not receive anything from Goss Outdoors for this, just another satisfied user! https://www.etsy.com/shop/GossOutdoors

Hard to understand why Hobie doesn't use these superior parts on their expensive 180 drives...