2007 215 Wake Drive Shaft Removal Help

[mejorpain]

I am having trouble removing my drive shaft. I can't get to the c-clip. The stainless collar will not slide out of the way to expose the clip because the shaft is covered in rust. It is nearly impossible to pull back the bellows far enough to sand down the rust. I have been spraying penetrating lube on the area with no luck. I've put a pry bar on the collar and it won't budge.

I am ready to cut off the bellows to expose the drive shaft enough so I can get a ziz wheel or Emory paper on it to remove the rust and then slide back the collar.

Is this advised or does someone have a better idea. I hate to ruin a good part but the replacement is $22 and is the only way I can figure may work.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Sounds like you know what must be done, this is fairly common especially for salt and yes, it's a PITA

There's a special tool available for pushing the stainless collar aftward, not sure if it will be stout enough. I guess you must destroy the collar, carbon ring and the bellows but eventually you will succeed in removing the shaft.

If using a cutting wheel try not to nick the shaft if possible of course, maybe it's already severely corroded to the point it's unservicable?

Mean old Mr. Rust strikes again!

You might try tapping on the collar with a hammer to break the rust loose if you can get one in the tight space.

 

[mejorpain]

Thanks for confirming my thoughts! I'll remove the bellows and go from there. It's gotta come out eventually!

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

BTW, Make sure to torque the impeller to spec and use the specified lock tight. I heard there are some earlier service manuals that specify the incorrect value of ~60ftlb torque, it should be more than that, about 100ftlb.

The point is you don't want a loose impeller so please confirm the impeller torque spec if you're rebuilding the jet pump b/c a loose impeller shoves the drive shaft forward into the crankshaft and will destroy the engine bearings!!!

 

[mejorpain]

Got it. Thanks!

 

[Shacho]

Post pictures if time permits.

 

[mejorpain]

Ok!
With the bellows out of the way and a little sanding, filing, banging and scraping, I was able to slide the steel collar back over the drive shaft enough to access and remove the c-clip. It took some tugging on the drive shaft because it was stuck on the steel collar. But it came out.

The good news is that the splines or teeth on the end of the drive shaft are fine. I was worried that there might be a problem in the flywheel.

My original issue was that the seadoo go in and out of being hooked up. The engine seemed fine but some odd noise from the drive shaft area. I think the problem was that the steel collar was fused to the drive shaft from rust. Or at least it was bumping up to the rust and not sliding around the driveshaft properly.

I took a wire wheel to the drive shaft and removed the rust. There is a lot of pitting on it but I don't think that will be a problem as long as I don't let it rust again. Easy enough to get plenty of fresh water on the area and spray lube on it every time I ride.

The impeller is in good shape so I won't change that either at this time.

I would like to get hold of an alignment tool to make sure there's no problem with that. Maybe the local shop will rent it to me.

I'll get some pictures for you schacho.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Keep grease and oil off your carbon seal. Once a year I push the stainless ring back and smear a light coat of grease on the drive shaft where the ring would be.

mejorpain, I guess your carbon seal and bellows were in bad condition and allowing air to be sucked into the impeller from the bilge. This would allow your impeller to "slip", I call this ventilation.

Of course while the jet pump is off, take a close look at the condition of the wear ring, check the clearance between the wear ring and impeller blades to judge if the wear ring needs replacement. If that clearance is too great it can also cause performance issues known as cavitation, and loss of pumping efficiency.

 

[Shacho]

So, it is doable to remove the drive shaft without using the special tool. The thought of trying to remove the shaft without the special tool(s) was somewhat intimidating to me, so I decided not to attempt this task. I might reconsider since I haven't re-installed the pump assembly yet (waiting for wear ring).

 

[mejorpain]

So, it is doable to remove the drive shaft without using the special tool. The thought of trying to remove the shaft without the special tool(s) was somewhat intimidating to me, so I decided not to attempt this task. I might reconsider since I haven't re-installed the pump assembly yet (waiting for wear ring).

Totally doable.

The hardest part is getting access to the c-clip that clips to the drive shaft. Once it is removed, the shaft slides right out. But you have to remove a bunch of parts (air intake, coolant reservoir, etc) just to see the area. Then you have to slide the collar back and there is not much space to get any leverage. I wound up cutting off the bellows (that's the accordion-looking rubber hose around the drive shaft) to create enough space.

I should have some time this weekend to upload a few pics of the area.

The whole thing is really kind of a pain in the ass the first time especially if you're a novice like me. But I also have an RXPX so the knowledge I gained is valuable. I'm tired of spending a ton of cash for dealer repairs.

 

[mejorpain]

Keep grease and oil off your carbon seal. Once a year I push the stainless ring back and smear a light coat of grease on the drive shaft where the ring would be.

mejorpain, I guess your carbon seal and bellows were in bad condition and allowing air to be sucked into the impeller from the bilge. This would allow your impeller to "slip", I call this ventilation.

Of course while the jet pump is off, take a close look at the condition of the wear ring, check the clearance between the wear ring and impeller blades to judge if the wear ring needs replacement. If that clearance is too great it can also cause performance issues known as cavitation, and loss of pumping efficiency.

There's some rough area but I don't think its too bad. I'll upload some pics. Maybe you can help me tell if it needs to be changed.

Since I have the pump off I'd like to upgrade the impeller and change the wear ring but also trying to avoid spending too much right now. I don't want to be stupid about it though. If it needs replacing, I'll do it.

 

[Shacho]

I'm a novice at this type of maintenance and I had read from other posts, that it would be somewhat difficult to gain access to the c-clip without the tool. I'm considering purchasing the tools necessary to maintain the maintenance evolutions on my watercraft. Hopefully, it will be a lot easier reinstalling the shaft. Good luck and keep us up to date on the outcome . Thanks for the info.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

I agree, it doesn't make sense to waste money on parts that don't need replacing. The carbon seal is stationary in the bellows and the stainless ring rotates with the drive shaft, the mating surfaces of these two pieces makes the air tight seal and the bellows keeps it under tension like a spring.

Over time, the bellows loses tension(sometimes heat damage from running dry), and the carbon seal wears over time. Often I think the stainless ring is damaged during disassembly.

I've heard it's difficult to compress a new bellows on the 4-tec skis without using the special tool (or, a homemade version) b/c the bellows is very stiff. I can't confirm this of course, I don't have a 4-tec to experiment with.

Concerning service tools, another one for consideration is the engine alignment fixture. IMO, a dealer service shop should always check the alignment while the pump is removed to confirm alignment of the drive shaft to the engine crankshaft. The reason is, misalignment of the centerline places strain on the splined joint.

 

[mejorpain]

So I finally got around to finishing this repair but now I have a leak. It was not leaking before. Probably did something wrong somewhere. Here's what I did(sorry no pics):

1. Pulled the drive shaft and sanded off the rust.
2. Replaced the steel collar and the 2 o-rings inside.
3. Replaced the bellows.

Once I got everything back together the motor and propulsion sound and run good. The problem is thatbwater is coming in through the new seal.

The new steel collar (I think the correct name is "support ring") moves off and on the c-clip much easier now. I can move it by hand even while installed. That was not the case before so I'm not sure what to think. Is it too loose or is it because the new bellows is more flexible and the old one was rusty?

I did not replace the carbon ring, c-clip or plastic bumper on the end of the drive shaft.

Any ideas?

 

[Coastiejoe]

Most shafts have multiple grooves. Is there a groove to move the collar tighter to the Carbon Seal?


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[mejorpain]

I moved the collar back towards the carbon ring. It seems to be holding in place. I filled the rear hull with water no nothing leaked out the bottom so I'll get it back in the water soon to test.

Thanks

 

[Coastiejoe]

Very good. Hope it is solved for you.


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