I've been a long time lurker because I never owned a mud motor...just a piece of junk Tracker Grizzly. You won't see me buy another Tracker product ever again.

Anyways...I just completed the deal with Chad and Ashley at Prodigy Boats. Looking forward to picking my new boat up in couple months. Keeping my fingers crossed to have it done before early Teal.

Anyways....I got the Elite 1854 with the new MB BD 4400 HDR. The Elite is packed with great features and I added a few more to give it my own custom feel. So far the experience has been very positive and Chad is my kind of guy. Straight to the point without all the feel good nonsense. Definitely a guy I hope to have a beer with sometime.

I'm driving all the way from Scott AFB, IL to pick it up and couldn't be happier.

Now I just need you guys to tell me what to expect on my new boat/mud motor. I know there's going to be some growing pains with a mud motor. Anything you guys recommend....I.e. do this and don't do that with mud motors.

Thanks and glad to be a part of the site.

Thanks Mods for approving my first post!

Congrats on the new rig, I'll be doing the hdr conversion this month. As for what to expect, just research, main thing is the valves, getting quality fuel, and the occasional case leak. In all you will be very happy with that rig. If you ever have any questions feel free to pm me. Welcome to the club

I'm an aircraft mechanic so I know a little bit about motors. What issues with the valves would I have? Shimming them every so often just like I had to do on my motorcycles? How will I know if I have a case leak and what would I do for that? I've heard issues with permanent fuel tanks and water. Is Stable going to work well enough?

I have not put Stabil or any other additive in my fuel in years. But I do run 93 Octane only, and a Racor water/fuel separator. If I don't use the gas in the tank within a week to 10 days, it goes in the lawnmower.

Wow really only a week to 10 days. Why so short? I'm trying to understand the issues....I know ethanol has it's issues but what I've done with my motors in the past is just disconnect the fuel line and idle until it stalls. Keep it full and add stabil over the winters or periods of long term non use >1 month.

There's a thread (may be a sticky) about fuel. Ethanol flavored gas loses it's octane a good bit faster than non ethanol gas. Hence not letting it sit too long. Let it sit, you'll notice a difference in how the engine runs. 10 days might be a bit fast, but it's good to get on a schedule. T

The valve seats will shift over the early heat cycles. The rule of thumb is about 50 hours, check your compression, have a leak down test done, or just go ahead and have a valve job done.

Case leaks will show up as oil leaking where the case cover and case meet, sometimes due to the case bolts loosening up from vibration, sometimes just where the cover moves a bit. It may be tiny or big, but it always looks like it's damn near pouring out lol
Just have to clean the surfaces real well, put on a new gasket, and make sure everything is torqued down correctly. Boatdr sells some different bolts, and can get you the gaskets you need (as can many other sources, that's just where I got mine from).

Seafoam is what I run, due to the fact, I cannot find ethanol free. Indexing the case bolts with a paint pen makes for a easy visual check. If heads start leaking just get a valve job done and your good.

I've had my prodigy 18/54 for about 3 weeks now.
Couldn't be happier

It was my first mud boat/motor too

What speeds are you getting? Did you get the Prodigy Elite?

Looks like an elite to me. Close enough. Glad you like it. I'm just hoping it's a huge upgrade from the Tracker. I know I'm not setting the bar very high. 27 with a stock motor sounds great. I'm hoping to get 30ish with the MB 4400 BD. Only time will tell.

What do you mean by breaking in the prop?

Wearing a little off the prop with use picks up rpms. Sometimes that picks up speed

What he said
At least that's what I was told lol

I am running in 1854 Prodigy with the 37 GTR as well. With a brand-new three blade I was right at 30 with two people in the boat. It really shines with a big load though more than total top end speed. I do have the same upgrades as a 4500 BD. I recently started trying out the big blade but it doesn't seem to work too well with my set up.

You can put exhaust and head on the prodrive kit. There are also some with the briggs efi, don't know if the tunes are available to public yet.

Thanks for the info.good luck with rig