Motorguide xi5 - water in shaft and going into head

A buddy had his xi5 quit on him about a month ago. He said the seal around the shaft where it goes into the motor leaked and allowed water into the shaft. When he racked the TM, water then would run up the shaft and into the head of the TM and finally leaking out of the head. MG warrantied it and gave him a new one.

We were leaned up against my boat yesterday evening and I have black oily water drops under the head of my xi5. He said that's exactly what his looked like. Sure enough when I raised it out of the water today there was water run up the shaft and then dripped out of the head of it.

Anyone else ever had this happen? Mine shows no mechanical issues as of now, but I'd prefer to not learn that I'm having problems at 7am on the day of a tournament.

If it has water in the shaft it will have water in the motor. Just a matter of time before it goes out.
I would get it to a service center as soon as possible.

Seems like every new product that comes out has issues anymore... I wonder just how much of any testing goes on?

i have an xi5 and I dont have that problem. I'll look closer though next time I pull it out of the water.

I called Motorguide directly and two different repair shops this morning. All of them seemed surprised and only one shop had ever heard of this happening (and it was the shop my buddy took his xi5 to).

Supposedly the problem is the seal where the shaft goes into the motor head. It's a 60" shaft and I don't always secure the top of it in a the ram mount so it does flop around a little in choppy water due to the long fiberglass shaft. I'm betting this is what broke the seal loose. As usual, it's self inflicted I guess.

I'll just shell out another couple hundred bucks and go back to chasing the green fish. It's never ending.

Having the exact problem right now with mine. Problem is, who has the time to have the boat out of commission for the month or two in the shop!!!? Major bummer, already in the shop once to replace a board in it. I was told to prevent (that) from happening, I am supposed to unplug the motor each time before I charge it!
Not too happy so far. Barely a year old
Grrrrr

Mine has never come out of the head, it has always showed up around the base. I was directed here from my post below, you can see the pictures on my thread. When I contacted MG, he had mentioned that they had received issues like the ones above. I'm guessing its only a matter of time before my issue turns into yours.

http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbt...Seepage?#UNREAD

Call John Jones, Texarkana, Arkansas. He knows what he's doing. No Tax for TX customers.
http://www.jonestrollingmotor.com/index.htm

Had the same issue with TWO MinnKotas!!

Take it to All Star Marine for repair.

Mine is 3 years old and out of warranty, and I encountered this today. I can't complain, I fished it hard, hit some icebergs with it too. I found a place where the head mounts to the column that looks suspect. Would a water proof sealant do the trick?

Also, on my trailer, my strap that goes to my wench tore today and I was JUST BARELY able to get my boat secure before it ripped all the way. Anyone ever encounter that? Can you buy just the strap?

Glad I got it trailered!

It's a known issue with the trolling motor. Not all of them get it but several do. You'll find several posts about it on here the last couple of years. As far as Motorguide goes, it seems like every person who reports it on here gets the same response from them that they have never heard of it before. I'm pretty sure that Motorguide repairs or replaces it for the people who have reported it before.

not an xi5 but a x5, same problem water dripping out of the head when stowed. called motorguide, they told me to take it to mg authorized repair center. did and they repaired no charge. it was under a year old. no problems since