Broken Rear Inlet Grate Screws - Spark

[DS66]

I sucked up some wood chips on my 2015 Spark and lodged them between the wear ring and the impeller.

I disassembled the jet pump to replace the wear ring and noticed the the Rear Inlet Grate Screws we’re broken off and the heads were laying there.

I’ve ordered new screws but I don’t think I can get the old ones out.

I’ve attached a pic from the manual. The screws pass through the Jet Pump Support, the JP Support Gasket and into the Inlet Grate.

What is the purpose of these screws? What will happen if they are left out?

Thanks!

 

[skiasylum]

It took a awful lot of sudden stoppage force to break the heads off those screws when you sucked up the debris. There is also a lot of force trying to spin the pump retainer when you accelerate. The engineers figure out these forces and then calculate how much retaining force is needed to keep the pump from spinning. By not replacing the screws the other retainers are being overstressed and would eventually break. Take your ski to a local machine shop and they will remove the screws if you don’t want to do it. Then get yourself a service manual and pay attention for the need of new screws, the use of loctite, and proper torque when reassembling.