96 sea-doo challenger impeller problem?

[huseby76]

Hello everyone,
I purchused my first sea-doo put it in the water and somthing doesn't seem right. I'll try to be quick with my problem.. Put it in the water and it struggles to get out on acceleration, engine runs good lots of rpm 6000-7000 all the time revs hard no laging. Once i'm above the water it goes good but I have to keep it wide open to keep any momentom. After some research I attributed it to be the wear ring or impeller. I am mechanically inclined so i removed impeller housing as per instruction manual but the wear ring doesn't look bad, no nicks or chunks missing, clearance .015 and impeller has a couple dings and edges are beveled alittle but nothing that I would call serious, back lash is .040?? The only other thing is when i pulled the cone off for the oil pump there was only alittle oil that drained out maybe 3-4 tablespoons i'm wondering if that isn't my problem doesn't that have somthing to do with the impeller or am i incorrect. Any help would be great before i start throwing parts at it, thanks for your time..

 

[derek]

the oil reservois is very small. sounds about the right amount. clean oil? or watery mix glop? clean oil you're golden. impeller and wear ring ok. the pump was probably reinstalled without enough sealer between wear ring and pump mounting face. sucks in air. boat has to really fight to get up on plane.

 

[seadoosnipe]

Backlash?

The measurement of .040 is not backlash, its the clearance between the impeller and the wearing ring. It doesn't matter how smooth the wearing ring looks, it's how close the edges of the blades are to the surface of the ring. An impeller is a pump, not a propeller.

The oil is not stored in the cone. It's actually stored inside the pump housing area. The cone is only the cap and fill area. I don't remember the exact amount, but it's somewhere around 6oz.

If the impeller is dinged and has upturned edges, this will allow easy cavitation.

Welcome to the forum............:cheers:

 

[huseby76]

Backlash

Seadoosnipe
the backlash (back and forth movement of impeller) is .040". the clearence between blade and wear ring is .015" I am going start with impeller and wear ring and making sure oil is good.. also the old oil did look good just didn't seem like there was enough. thanks

 

[derek]

96 is the short cone. it only holds about 2 ounces of oil. that is 4 tablespoons.

 

[anorth45503]

I have had the same problems, I replaced the wear ring and the seal, but still having the problem, my next step is the impeller. someone said that I might have the wrong impeller for my boat, so I will order a new one and let you know if it helps. I you can do the same that would be nice. seems like a lot of people with this boat have this problem.
Adam

 

[steve b]

have had this problem ever since I purchased my 96 challenger 1 month ago. replaced inpeller and wear ring with new stock seadoo parts. sometimes it goes like a scared cat then barely able to get 20 mph with 1 person. your right I have read similar accounts about this same problem. intake has been chocked 1or 2 times but no visable damage to impeller/wear ring ???? this forum is great everyone seems ready to help any way they can..steveb

 

[derek]

you guys didn't use enough silicone when attaching the pump to the hull. take pump off and put a big fat seam of RTV around ring where wear ring fits. i tore my hair out with my speedster. now it jumps right out of the water. boats are much more sensitive to this than skis. a little air goes a long way towards making your pump useless.

 

[steve b]

derek, you are right I didnot use any silicone but did replace the foam gasket with new ,could't hurt using some silicone and the gasket, I'll try it and repost with results thanks this forum is great

 

[huseby76]

you guys didn't use enough silicone when attaching the pump to the hull. take pump off and put a big fat seam of RTV around ring where wear ring fits. i tore my hair out with my speedster. now it jumps right out of the water. boats are much more sensitive to this than skis. a little air goes a long way towards making your pump useless.

Thanks for the tip derek, I'm just waiting for my impeller to show up should be here this week Hopefully we can get this figured out..