Wobble in Sea Hunter Lower shaft

[EasySwing]

Got my Sea Hunter yesterday and assembled it. The lower shaft is attached using only one nylon bolt and as such wobbles. Why would Garrett not put another hole for a second bolt to attach the heavy coil / shaft to the connector shaft. I heard about some shaft locks. Where can I get them and what are they called.? The shaft really wobbles as well as the arm rest. My other detector an MXT is rock solid using shaft locks on the lower rod. I took it out for a quick test run and found 3 coins and 2 bottle caps in the wet sand. I ordered a pro stock scoop 9 1/2" wide one today so I can go into the water. It does indeed go deep. Any info to firm up the wobble would be appreciated. Thanks. Marty

 

[Ron Lord]

Go to Ace hardware,buy some Stainless steel bolts with stainless nuts with nilonethreadsand some stainles washers . Put your shaft back to gether , no more whooble. Works good for me.Ron Lord S.W. Fl.

 

[EasySwing]

Go to Ace hardware,buy some Stainless steel bolts with stainless nuts with nilonethreadsand some stainles washers . Put your shaft back to gether , no more whooble. Works good for me.Ron Lord S.W. Fl.

Thanks Ron,

Do you have the Sea Hunter? Does that work for you then? I was thinking of putting on a c hose clamp over the joint to give more stability. That one hole hookup is not sufficient to stabilize the lower shaft.

 

[bearkat4160]

make sure them plastic nuts are tight...will be a bit better. Mine was fine the way it came from the factory.

 

[Furious T]

Mine also wobbles...have used a ss bolt and that helps...I guess I'm used to it now....recently the plastic bolt holding the coil to the stem stripped itself (using 10x14 coil)...got some toilet seat bolts and use one of them...when it wears out I'll use the other one. Yeh, armrest also wobbles, but I'm used to that too. HH

 

[EasySwing]

Lovely,

I might have to go into the plumbing business. lol
Thanks for the tips , I am going to use electrical tape, stainless steel bolts and a c clamp to firm up the shaft. Hope it works. Marty

 

[keppy]

That lower shaft wobble is in all the Garretts since garrett quit useing cam locks between the lower and upper shafts...........It is a pain to have that wobble in the detector.....A lot have complained to Garrett about it.... But it must be saveing them a lot of money not useing that cam lock........... I emailed them about it a while back and they never answerd me.................. I called them they sent me a new lower shaft still has a wobble....... They just don't seem to care about that wooble............ They won't put the cam lock back on the detectors.....

 

[EasySwing]

Keppy,

Can I purchase cam locks to fix the problem? If so from what store? Can they be added to the existing shafts. Thanks for such an informative post. I will call Garrett also and " once again make them aware of the problem". Marty

 

[Willee - Texas]

Marty, Yes ... that is one of the weak areas of an otherwise good machine.
If you own a drill you can drill your own holes and place a stainless steel or nylon nut and bolt thru the upper and lower shaft near the end.
Do this after you have the rod assembly adjusted properly.
That should take care of the wobble.
Lowe's or Home Depot stores have the nuts and bolts you need.

Another option is to buy an Anderson or Plugger aftermarket straight rod assembly.
They work great and feel a lot more balanced than the Garrett stock rods.

 

[keppy]

Marty , I never thought about trying to get a cam lock and put on it .. But that is a good idea i will see if i can find one some were.. keppy ... aka.. Jim

 

[Uncle Willy]

Garrett has different bolts for that problem that they will send you for free.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

Yeah shimming with electrical tape works where the shafts fit together.

Bill