98 GTI wear ring question

[bizygolfn]

Hey all. New PWC owner and have a question that I am pretty sure I know the answer due to all the great advice on this forum.

So I have a 98 GTI that I just bought from a guy that said these skis were fresh water and has only 60 hours with 165psi compression. I drop it in the water and starts fine and revs high, but has low power and it is like it is plowing for a long time to get up some speed. More than 1 person on it and it will not reach a top speed of more than 5-10. With 2 people I had to get the other jet ski to go in front of me so I could ride in their wake to push me along until I could get on plane. The ski tops out around 35.

After reading multiple threads hear it sounded like a wear ring. I took off the grate and measured the gap to roughly .140 . I know it is supposed to be no more than .040 but is this enough to really cause no power? It runs strong and responsive on the trailer, but don't they all????

 

[Spxxx]

At .140 it will cause cavitation. Swap the wear ring for sure.

 

[Coastiejoe]

Wear ring is wiped out.

 

[andrewterri]

I had the same problem that I just fixed. It was the wear ring and my symptoms were very similar to yours. As others suggest, I would spend the few extra dollars and order the OEM ring. Make sure that you get all of the white crud off the pump housing before installing the new one otherwise you will be hammering it on a 2x4 block for so long that you will get a blister :facepalm: Using the freezer trick with the new ring did seem to help.

 

[bizygolfn]

I don't see the neoprene ring in the parts breakdown for my 98 gti. Also where and roughly how much are you guys paying for your wear rings?

 

[mikidymac]

Not all the models use the neoprene ring. If it isn't in the parts breakdown for your model yours doesn't use it.

I think the last OEM ring I bought was about $40.

 

[bizygolfn]

Just ordered a SBT ring so let's hope all goes well. Guy was gonna replace withe a delrin for $150 but I figure if I'm gonna own and I have tools, why?

 

[Coastiejoe]

OEM and Delrin wear rings are good. Most other aftermarkets are not,,, They just are not built to accurate specs and they fail quickly as they don't fit properly.

 

[mikidymac]

I think a few here have had some issues with the SBT one being too loose. When you install yours make sure it is a tight fit.

 

[bizygolfn]

So I took off the jet pump and was being really careful and taking pictures to make sure I put everything back just the way I took it off, no surprises right. Well when I got the jet pump off and grabbed the wear ring I thought, "hey I wonder if this is gonna be tough or just pull out." So without taking a pic I grabbed it and it came right out, woosh! Laughing at my amazement I looked at the ring and there are 2 different edges of the ring that I did not pay attention to when the ring went woosh. So I grabbed the new SBT wear ring and it only has one edge that has a indented end. My question is which end goes forward and which end goes aft? Again the new SBT is thick and smooth on the one end and has the indention on the other. Pics are of the wear ring I pulled off.

 

[bizygolfn]

here is new SBT wear ring. Not sure what side should have the smooth edge. Thinking forward but that is a guess