jpwhit

I work on a tons of different boats and I've never personally seen an oil pump failure. I mean, I know they happen and have heard of it happening, but your situation seems surprising and unusual. Just a thought that comes to mind, are you sure you're not overfilling the oil? I ask because my experience is that marine dipsticks which have full length guide tubes are notorious hard to get accurate reading sometimes. Overfilling the oil can cause oil aeration which will lead to pump failures and other oil related issues. For all the boats I work on, I track pretty precisely how much oil comes out during a change and how much oil goes back in after the change, both initially and any additions between changes. I do that because I've found that especially on shared club boats, folks without a lot of engine experience will tend to misread the dipstick and start adding too much oil. By tracking it for each boat, I have good awareness of what's "normal" for each boat. Makes it easy to figure out when something unusual relative to oil starts going on.

The symptom's you're having is typical of a ZO display-less head unit problem. If it's an issue with the Murphy screen, it's typically not limited to just ZO problems. Also, the Murphy screen plays no role in satellite acquisition. If it's a puck failing, then you'll have issues with satellites, but nothing else. The zeros on the screen is the real giveaway. That happens when the ZO display-less head unit just stops talking to the screen via the CanBus. The ZO display-less head unit is mounted in the firewall above the driver's foot well, its a round black box mounted through a hole in the firewall. It's worth unscrewing it and disconnecting the 23-pin connector on the back and then re-seating that connector. When you have it disconnected, check for water inside the housing. That is the most common cause of failure. The PCB inside that box has a water-resistant coating on it, so it can survive a certain amount of wetness for a while. If you do find any water, clean the PCB with a spray can of alcohol-based PCB cleaner and then let it dry out in a warm place for a day or two. Don't run the ZO without it mounted to the firewalls. The accelerometers on that PCB have to be in the correct orientation for it to work properly.

Some boats have a hose between the zerk fitting and the rudder housing to make greasing it fairly easy. Look around and make sure you don't have that.

We may be having a terminology disconnect. By slow, I mean the engine doesn't turn over as quickly (RPMs) during starting as it does on my other boats or cars. I don't mean that it takes long to start, it actually starts pretty quickly. When I hear the slow starting RPMs, it makes me feel like the battery is on it's last leg, but that's not the case. It's just the voltage drop on the long cables that make the starting RPMs lower than on most engine. If by slow, you mean it takes a long time for the engine to start, then that may be something else, such as the fuel pressure dropping like @Cnewbert is talking about.

The slow starting on the 2014 - 2020 ProStars is because the battery is all the way in the back and the battery cables are very long. A higher CCA battery isn't going to improve it because the cables are the limiting factor, not the battery. I'm planed to move my battery in my 19 ProStar to the front, but I just haven't gotten to it yet.

I started with matching the trailer for my ProStar on my lift. Then I had the narrow them some to keep the propeller from being able to hit the lift cross bar. When you put the boat in reverse, the rear of the boat will pull down some. So after dinging up a prop, I realized I had to get the boat a little higher above the crossbar.

Can you actually see it dripping out of the pump? Or do you just see the water on the main shaft pulley? I ask because water would normally leak from here. There is no water in the part right up against the triangle piece. That's just the 2nd bearing. But I guess it's possible that it's spraying a little. But if you can't see it actually coming out of the pump, it may be a leak up higher dripping down onto the main pulley.

I think some of this price variance for different years of the same boat is pretty typical when the market conditions have changed dramatically. I think boat prices are finally coming down from Covid highs and since we're still early in the season, things just haven't fully settled down yet. I bet we see more consistency in pricing by the end of this coming season.

That trailer could be worth a fair amount of money if the bunks could be reconfigured to hold a 21-22 ft surf/wake boat. It is certainly built to handle the weight of a much larger boat. I think your best shot would be to advertise it for sale on some of the forums that cater to Surf/Wake boats such as MasterCraft Teamtalk, Planet Nautique, The Malibu Crew. If you can sell it for a good enough price, then just buy a ProStar trailer.

At our private lake, the skis never go in the boat. We start from the dock and finish at the dock. Not much need for ski racks.

So the final answer appears to be that a different ZO calibration is required ?

When Nautique says the hulls are the same, that typically means the hull is made in the same mold. It doesn't necessarily mean the running gear is the same. I'm thinking maybe the sport 200 didn't come with tracking fins. Yes, you just need a 12v power source to get the Linc screen to power on. A jump starter pack would be a convenient option if you had one handy. A lot of people never set the keypad code. If that's the case, you can just push the start button. There are 2 blue lights on the bottom of the keypad. First press of start turns on first light and that's the equivalent of the key being in the ACC position. 2nd press is the same as ignition key On position and 2nd blue light comes on. 3rd press is the same as pressing Start on a push button start car.

When looking at boat info on the internet, you're getting a lot of opinions. From someone that pulls / teaches a fair number children and women to ski the course at slower speeds, and from someone that has been doing it recently with MasterCraft, Nautique, Malibu boats. My strong opinion is Malibu isn't the best choice for that use case. I think the latest Prostar is the best (2014+), the first generation 200 is 2nd best but close, the Malibu is a distant third.

I've never seen an automotive / marine engine filter in shrink wrap. They typically just come in lightweight cardboard box. So that seem fine to me.

Surfing is for passing the time between slalom sets. And for when you have friends visiting that aren't into more serious water sports. What we really enjoy about surfing with a boat full of people, is that it's very social. The surfer is close enough that they can communicate with people in the boat. Our lake house is on a very large lake that's not near any cities with significant population. The slalom course is in the back of a very long twisty cove in shallow water. Everyone surfs out in the deeper part of the cove and then everyone comes and rafts up near the slalom course to watch people ski. We don't have any conflict to speak up between the slalom skiing and the surfers, wake-boarders, and tubers. To get a good wave for surfing, you need deep water. So anybody that knows what they're doing, knows better than to try surfing in the shallower parts of the cove. Maybe we're the exception, but most people on our lake actually do seem to know what they're doing. It also helps that it's a very friendly community and everyone makes a real effort to meet most of the other boaters on the lake.

I would permanently install another bilge pump in the very back of the boat. I would use one of the automatic ones that runs for a couple of seconds every 2-3 minute and determine if there is water based on the amount of power the motor draws. They are much more reliable over the long run than pumps with a float switch, they also have the benefit of getting almost all the water out. If there's not enough room for a traditional bilge pump in the very back due to the fuel tank, then I'd use a ballast pump mounted in the engine compartment and just run the suction hose to the very back of the boat. If you don't have the MTS ballast tank / pump option, then you could use the power feed to run this new pump. Then you could clear the water right from the touch screen.

When you change engines to a different HP, do you have to do anything relative to the Zero Off calibration?

Some outboards have a mechanical limit on how far down the outboard can go with the power trim. You may want to check if there is the ability to change that to give you a wider range of trim options. Reducing overall weight and/or increasing speed will both always reduce the wake. Sometimes pretty dramatically. You may not have to speed up all the way to 34, if you're not already skiing at least 32mph, I'd give that a try. Moving weight from the back of the boat towards the front of the boat will make a much bigger difference than simply adding weight to the front. Look and see if there is any weight in the back that can be moved forward. Battery comes to mind if it's in the back. Something like an anchor if you can't leave it, move it to the front. Technique can also make a huge difference. If you're not keeping the ski completely on edge through the wakes, then you're going to get a lot of jarring. Mentally it can be hard thing to do, especially if you're dealing with knee pain to force yourself to keep cutting hard through the wakes with the ski on edge instead of going flat.

Two common places where water comes in on the 200 is the muffler as @Gloersen point out. The other is screws in the hydrogate will wiggle out over time and water comes in the empty screw hole(s). I'd check the hydrogate first just because it's easy. Look for missing screws with the boat out of the water. If the boat is tilted on the ramp, and there is enough water in the bilge, you'll see a stream of water coming out of the hydrogate screw hole.

Any Marine shop can do a dump for you All current boats use the same eControls ECU.

I think the relay under the dash is a main power relay driven by the keypad. If that's correct, it'll click when you push the start button the first or second time, whenever the 2nd blue light comes on on the keypad. Things like the Linc display will power up when that relay energizes.

If you have or are willing to buy a fuel pressure gauge, then checking the fuel pressure while starting will quickly rule out if you have any type of fuel pump / fuel delivery issue. Pressure should be in the 50-60 psi range. You may be dealing with two issues. The engine codes may be due to an intermittent or transient issue that's not actually causing your no-start condition. Just something to keep in mind. I agree with @aupatking, the safety lanyard switches tend to fail much more frequently than ignition coils. And it's easy to rule that out by jumping the switch rather than having to buy a part. I've never actually had to replace an engine coil on a vortec engine. My impression is the electronic ignition modules fail more often than the coil. Not that the coils never fail.

The cap and rotor are not marine specific. So it's fine to get them at an auto parts store or order them from Amazon.

I'm assuming this is a PCM EX343. If so, that engine is known for having the distributor cap and rotor button wear out and cause ignition issues. If you haven't changed those recently, you probably should. That distributor also tends to have issues with the ears that the distributor cap screws thread into breaking off. If you have that issue, Dorman makes a plate to deal with the problem. Link to it on Amazon below. This wouldn't explain the engine codes you're seeing, but it's a common reason for no spark on that engine. https://www.amazon.com/Dorman-90449-Distribution-Repair-Plate/dp/B00BQAJNWO/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2QNCXCAAWQNX8&keywords=dorman+90449+vortec+distributor+repair+plate&qid=1674531455&sprefix=Dorman+dis%2Caps%2C89&sr=8-1

Hard to keep straight which ones have 1 and which have 2 relays. Given the additional code for the main power relay, I think you're having an issue with power getting to all parts of the engine power box. Which would also explain the lack of spark. Could also be a grounding issue in that same area. My suggestion is to use a meter and start checking you have 12V at the right places in the engine power box. At the fuse locations is a good place to start. You can also check the fuses are good more thoroughly with them removed. By check their resistance with a meter. With a fuse pulled out you should have 12V on one side of the fuse connection. With the Relay's pulled out, you should have 12 on one of the 2 relay coil pins. The other relay coil pin goes to the ECU and will be pulled to ground by the ECU when it wants to energize the relay. That pin may float somewhere between ground and 12v when the ECU is not trying to energize the relay and will be very close to 0V when the ECU is trying to energize the relay. Such as during starting. Where you attach the negative lead of the meter can help determine if you have a grounding issue. It's best to initially use the negative terminal of the battery. If everything reads correctly using that ground point, then do the measurements again using the engine block as the ground point. If that reads correctly, then repeat a 3rd time using a ground point somewhere inside the power box. Without being at a boat to look, I can't really remember where to find a ground point inside the engine power box. But if there is an obvious ground bar, then that's a good place. If the reading change as you change your ground point. Then there is a problem with the ground where you get different reading. A couple of tenths of a volt difference is ok. More than that indicates an issue. Just to make sure, you have checked that the safety lanyard / switch is ok? I don't think that'll cause the relay open engine codes, but it will kill the spark.