1997 Sea Doo Challenger 1800 Steering Issues

[hiletm1]

Came down to the river this weekend, put the boat in and ran it. Boat has been pulling left fairly hard over past few weeks. Now, I'm noticing at certain speeds the steering is getting extremely squirrely. It kind of feels like one of the jets is experiencing very brief moments of decreased thrust. It is basically giving the feeling that I am turning the wheel back and forth very fast. Only does this at certain speeds.

Also note: the river does have some small debris in it due to recent heavy rain. Could an obstruction be causing this effect

 

[Joe50]

Obstructions could definitely cause it. Other causes could be:
1. Trash in the pump - jammed between impeller and wear ring
2. Bad/worn Wear Ring
3. Bad/worn carbon ring causing air leak - Air could be being pulled into the pump from the engine bay - then you are pumping air and water instead of just water causing decreased thrust

I'm sure there are probably 100 other possible causes also

 

[Guest_User]

Came down to the river this weekend, put the boat in and ran it. Boat has been pulling left fairly hard over past few weeks. Now, I'm noticing at certain speeds the steering is getting extremely squirrely. It kind of feels like one of the jets is experiencing very brief moments of decreased thrust. It is basically giving the feeling that I am turning the wheel back and forth very fast. Only does this at certain speeds.

Also note: the river does have some small debris in it due to recent heavy rain. Could an obstruction be causing this effect

Before you attempt to go out again!!!

check everything out, check out all steering linkages and cable, cable ends. Check out the steering nozzle pivot bolts and sleeves.
check out all fasteners including the pump.

something like this can turn out disastrous when you least expect it.

if you are losing thrust, the boat should drop off plane, it takes both engines to maintain speed on plane.

and as mentioned look for the obvious, debris stuck in the grates, tunnel, and pump itself.

good luck, hope you find the issue.