Mirage Drive Mayhem

[steveooo]

After a few seasons of hard use and neglect, my Mirage Drive needed a little TLC. I’ve been putting off a few maintenance issues, and decided it was time to get my motor back in good shape.

I took a few pics on the way, probably not as many as I should have. I have rebuilt a mirage drive in the past, but not to this extent. Its really not hard at all, and the parts are readily available. As usual, I got mine from Andy @ OEX Sunset Beach

I had a couple issues with my Mirage Drive. First, the pin on my pedal assembly had damaged the adjustment holes on my drum. This made it so I could not adjust them on the water. This happened on both drums. On long trips, I like to move the adjustment on my peddles, just to mix things up and make longer treks more comfortable. The damaged holes made them impossible to adjust.

Here are a couple pics of the carnage





I had also stripped the threaded brass inserts in the sprocket which holds the fin mast in. This would cause the mast and fin to fall out sporadically while peddling. Certainly not ideal to lose a fin while chasing bird piles. This damage was my own fault, as I did not originally use Loctite to install- which Hobie recommends. Too many quick on the water repairs has caused undue wear to the brass inserts.

Here is a pic



To change out 2 drums and 2 sprockets, you need just a few tools. A couple wrenches, and alan wrench, and a pair of pliers were all I used today.

First, take out the bolt that is holding the Pedal in



Next, take out all the old built-up WSB scales and sand that were buried in the crevices. This step may vary by user, depending on how you use your Hobie




Next, take off the nuts that hold together the Drive Chains, and Idler cable. A pair of pliers will prevent the chain from twisting if the nut is stuck, which it probably will be.



My chains have a bit of rust, but are still structurally fine. I am going to reuse. If a little rust bothers you, the replacement cables are relatively inexpensive and easy to replace. 2 nuts for each chain, and put the new chain in the old ones place. Super easy




With all the nuts off, the damaged drum slid right off. No turning back at this point.



While it was off, I took the opportunity to clean and lube up the drum shaft. I used a marine grade, waterproof bearing grease. Any waterproof grease would probably do the trick.




I also applied the lube to the sprocket shaft.



In hindsight, adding the grease to both the drum shaft and sprocket shaft made the most noticeable difference in the entire process. I guess I had not noticed that the drive had become tight, probably due to my neglect and a couple years of use. Once I put it all back together, it was incredible how loose and free the pedals moved. I’m anxious to get it out on the water to see if I will notice a difference. I bet I will.

One thing that I love about Hobie, is that they are constantly innovating and improving any part of the product they can. Even to the smallest detail, they will find a way to improve. I was pleased to see this when I was installing the new Drum.



Hobie has reinforced the adjustment holes with metal, to prevent the damage that I had experienced.

Skip a few more steps putting it all back together, adjust everything properly, and viola! I have a shiny new tuned up Mirage Drive




It is really pretty easy to upgrade parts on the mirage drive, make adjustments for a “tune-up”, or just perform a little maintenance. If you are unsure of what parts you need, or where to start I’d give Andy @ OEX a call and he’ll get you set up. Good luck!

Next mission, on the water test

[deepdvr]

Originally Posted by steveooo

Cool thread. I did notice after the rebuild the masts/fins are facing the rear of the Mirage drive. Was that intentional?

[steveooo]

Originally Posted by deepdvr

Cool thread. I did notice after the rebuild the masts/fins are facing the rear of the Mirage drive. Was that intentional?

How do you make a mirage drive repair twice as much work as it should be? Put the sprockets on backwards the first time. I actually did notice that last night, only after I put the post up and looked at the pics, and fixed it. Good eye

[dmrides]

Originally Posted by deepdvr

Cool thread. I did notice after the rebuild the masts/fins are facing the rear of the Mirage drive. Was that intentional?

This is the pair steveooo uses when he wants to go in reverse.

Thanks for the detailed descriptions and pics.

[steveooo]

Originally Posted by dmrides

This is the pair stevooo uses when he wants to go in reverse.

So easy a caveman could do it The drive still will work, and snaps in while assembled backward, but it just looks funky having the Idler wheel pointed toward you. For all the guys that won't buy a Hobie because they don't have reverse, just follow this simple tutorial

[slayersmith]

Great post Stevoooo. Fixed the same problem a while back.

[oneyedeer]

nice post