2008 Challenger 180 - Cavitation or SuperCharger

[SaltLife]

Guys, please forgive me ignorance -- I'm new to Seadoos and boats in general...

I recently bought a 2008 Challenger 180 215hp - it only had 67 hours on it... When I went for the test run, the guy said that the supercharger was "winding up".. This was because it revved up before it took off.. The boat runs great on top end. I've had it indicate 54mph but I think that might be higher than reality. After reading this forum religiously since I bought the boat, I have come to the realization this is probably cavitation due to a worn wear ring or nicked up impeller. I ran it today and it was the same story - kind of over-revved at low rpms before it took off. I can "baby" it up to low speeds and then it seems to kick in fine. Pretty much like the post below "2008 Speedster Over Revving At Throttle Up/Have To Baby Throttle?"

I was pretty sure that I needed to go ahead and get a wear ring and impeller on order so I can get this fixed ASAP... However, reading the post by JoeZ about supercharger rebuilds, he states that the clutches can wear out (or something to that effect) and rob power... My question is do I have a cavitation issue or supercharger issue?

If it's cavitation, should I go and order a new impeller with the wear ring? I don't have any maintenance records but I'm trying to get them.. Also, if I can't get the maintenance records, do I need to go ahead and rebuild the SC since the boat is 8 years old??

I've posted quite a bit tonite - forgive me for hogging the board. I'm just really into the "new to me" boat, the family loves it, and I don't want to miss any summer~!!!

On another note, I live in Dothan, Al. Anyone know of a good mechanic that works on these boats relatively close? The closest one I can find is a dealer in Panama City and I don't know if they are any good or not.

Thanks again guys, this is a great forum for newbies like me who really don't know much about these boats~!

~SL~

 

[pvamax]

Not likely supercharger from what you describe. Most likely you can get away with just a fresh wear ring, but take a look in the pump with a flash light and check out the impeller for nicks and dings. If its not bad, just get a new wear ring. There are other things like carbon ring on the driveshaft and leaky pump seal that could cause cavitation also, but I try to keep it simple first, and the most likely culprit for this sort of thing is the wear ring. Good luck

 

[pete63]

i would say just wear ring, when changing the wear ring, inspect the impeller.
its a big boat so any leakage or sucking air into the pump area will cavitate a bit. carbon seal & boot can play a part as well.
i think one your other posts says water/oil inside the ski locker, might be worth while checking out the carbon seal for leakage.

as pvamax says

 

[Coastiejoe]

Wear ring, damaged impeller and or Carbon Seal. SC's don't wind up,,,

 

[SaltLife]

Thanks for taking the time to respond guys~ I really appreciate it~!!

I'm going to take your advice and start with the wear ring. Is the carbon seal the plate at the back of the boat? How do you check this seal, or do you just take it off and reseal? If so, what do you seal it with?

I'm sorry for all of the questions, I'm trying to learn about this boat. Maybe I will be able to help a newbie one day.

Thanks again for your help~~!

~SL~

 

[Coastiejoe]

The CS is on the drive shaft right behind the engine. Here is a pic of it.

 

[SaltLife]

Thanks CoastieJoe!!! I'll dig into this a little deeper if the wear ring doesn't correct the issue...

You da' man~

~SL~

 

[pete63]

so the carbon seal is the water seal on the drive shaft (stops the water coming in).
common problems are; worn carbon disk (seal) running the boat too long out of the water, over heats the seal and be damaged (thats why the manual says no more than 5 mins). the rubber boot can be old or the ring clamps can be loose. also the o rings on the shaft can be missing or misaligned. the ss seat can frozen/stuck, not sure if causes problems but should be freely moving.
there is also a good video on the site with the picture above showing the moving seal to check the o rings. just search around, there heaps of stuff on the carbon seal.

 

[SaltLife]

Thanks Pete, 'appreciate the info~!

 

[SaltLife]

Thanks for all of the response.. I wanted to post my solution in hopes it might help someone else. It was the wear ring. Had it replaced and the boat runs like a champ now ~ no cavitation at all.. It seems like 90% of the cavitation issues come down to the wear ring...

Anyway, I still am dealing with my oil leak (I guess I'm going to take it to a dealer in Panama City) and I want to get fixed before I run it again but at least my cavitation issue has been resolved..

Thanks again guys~!

~SL~

 

[James.Moon]

Sounds a bit like the momentary cavitation I had with my new 2009 180 SE Another posted a similar problem which his mechanic determined was ride plate sealing factory defect and fixed on warrantee.after a fight with my. Dealer mechanic mine was fixed under warrantee too. I figure some water must b trickling in from the side - it did not affect top speed at all. The fix is not trivial as they charged BRP about 800 for it.