Hobie 180 Mirage Drive - Service and Maintenance

This is a great how to video: 

Thank you for posting this. Long overdue!

what's everyone's favorite bearing grease for the drive?   i did a full service, and added yamaha marine grease (same stuff i use on my reels)  it feels quite thick, but isnt that what you want?  thoughts?

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what's everyone's favorite bearing grease for the drive?   i did a full service, and added yamaha marine grease (same stuff i use on my reels)  it feels quite thick, but isnt that what you want?  thoughts?

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The problem with thick grease is sand and debris like to stick to it 

what's everyone's favorite bearing grease for the drive?   i did a full service, and added yamaha marine grease (same stuff i use on my reels)  it feels quite thick, but isnt that what you want?  thoughts?

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The problem with thick grease is sand and debris like to stick to it 

No need for grease at all, if you replace the delrin bearings with nylon. The only "catch" is that you need to use 1 less bearing rod in each housing:

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=83435.msg947335#msg947335

And I thought the 180 drive was supposed to have oval crank arms, as shown here:

https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=61528

And I thought the 180 drive was supposed to have oval crank arms, as shown here:

https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=61528

Thats the 2nd version that came out in 2018.  The video is the first version 180 drive.

I have version 2 and it's with same square rod. The oval version (v3) came shortly after in 2018 like you said.

Hobie actually had 2 modifications before the new shafts, so if you include the original .... the oval  shafts are actually version 4.

Hobie actually had 2 modifications before the new shafts, so if you include the original .... the oval  shafts are actually version 4.

Thanks for that info.

Just curious if anybody has the oval shafts and, if so, how they are working out. While it looks cool, I'd be concerned that that button thing would be a magnate for grit and ultimately be less reliable...

I have a 2019 pa14 with the oval pipes. They are working out just fine and havent had any issues Stays clean and no worries.

I have a 2019 pa14 with the oval pipes. They are working out just fine and havent had any issues Stays clean and no worries.

Thanks for that info. Any wipeout in the surf zone or anything like that to really put it to the test?

I have a 2019 pa14 with the oval pipes. They are working out just fine and havent had any issues Stays clean and no worries.

Thanks for that info. Any wipeout in the surf zone or anything like that to really put it to the test?

When in the surf zone, I always take my drive out and its always leashed.  Got lucky on my last RF trip last year and avoided a yard sale. 

I have a 2019 pa14 with the oval pipes. They are working out just fine and havent had any issues Stays clean and no worries.

Thanks for that info. Any wipeout in the surf zone or anything like that to really put it to the test?

The only issue I had was I found a metal pipe under the high water line and bent one of the shafts. Lucky the shop that I bought it from warranty it out and replaced it for me. They said that the new drive systems arnt as easy to replace broken parts like the older versions. Other than that its solid!

This is a great how to video: 

Thanks for this link! A few weeks ago, I spent the better part of a Saturday morning going through each step on my mirage drive 180.  There was a minor panic moment as I disassembled the bottom part of the drive that holds like 55 little rods, imagining that I wouldn’t be able to put it back together correctly. But, the video does a great job explaining everything, and using liberal amounts of grease held everything in place, making reassembly easy and straightforward. The result: I know every part of what was a mysterious mechanical contraption, feel confident that I can diagnose and fix issues if they come up, and have a super smooth and quiet drive again.

Question though, echoing BOB above, what grease does everyone use? I ended up using the grease I use on my mountain bike, figuring it would be safe for plastic and might resist water, but I imagine there are better products specific for this type of application (I.e. submerged in salt water for hours at a time).