Diagnose Impeller / Wear Ring... Change or OK?

[quebow03]

2013 GTI 130SE with 113 hours. We were out riding all weekend fine and a boat flagged me down to tell me the other ski was not running right. When I showed up I was told they were riding and it just lost power and had vibration so they stopped. The area is known to have a couple of sandbars so could have sucked up debris. Coincidentally this machine also sucked up a rope about 2 weeks earlier. I'm assume that the impeller/wear ring needs to be replaced but just don't know for sure. Parts are on the way (Amazon - Solas SR-CD-10/18 with Wear Ring and Impeller Tool).

Can someone verify that I'm heading down the right path here? Just don't know if the impeller/ring are "that bad" or if I should be looking elsewhere (carbon seal, etc.).

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!
DAN

 

[nateccnn]

Mine was worse than that with a 1/4 grove gouged in it from a rock. I got the rocks out and enjoyed the rest of the weekend with maybe 5 mph loss on top end speed. I replaced my wear ring nonetheless.

 

[mkov608]

Dan, your are headed down the right path; just don't stop until the journey is complete.

Let's start with the hours. Jet pumps are supposed to be rebuilt at 100 hours according to the maintenance schedule in the manual. Skidoo (shop owner) recommends a 5 yr pump rebuild if you don't put 100 hrs on your ski in that time frame. So if I had to guess, here's what happened:

1. Your front seal in the pump is shot, and you got water into the bearing cavity. That destroyed the bearing. I downloaded your 2505 picture, but the resolution is limited. Open up your raw picture and look where the arrows are. Notice you have more space on one side that the other. This looks like a serious misalignment problem probably caused by the bearing failure. This is probably the cause of your high vibration too.



Here's the bad news. According to the manual, if you ever see water in the jet pump bearing cavity, you are supposed to change the front seal and the shaft sleeve. The shaft sleeve and the front seal are wear items; and the shaft sleeve is expensive! If you only replace the front seal and reuse the shaft sleeve, you are putting a new part on a worn part, and the repair won't last as long. The worn shaft sleeve may even tear up the new seal.

I'd suggest a pump rebuild kit and a new shaft sleeve: The kit includes the bearing, o-rings, front grease seal, etc, but they don't typically include the shaft sleeve.

If you are going to do this rebuild yourself, you're going to need some additional tools. Everything is listed in the service manual.

Remove the three screws on the other end of the jet pump that hold the bearing cover on.
Take a picture of the grease as it sits. Upload a picture of the grease.

 

[quebow03]

So, I took the cone off last night and didn't take any pictures (wish I had at this point) but the grease looked pretty dang good. There was a slight bit of lighter colored grease on the outer (cone side). There is little to no play in the bearing and it looks good. I put it in the freezer for a bit and pulled the wear ring. I'll run home for lunch and get some pictures to post. I don't want to have to do the job twice but certainly don't want to incur unnecessary expense either. Also wondering if a Sea Doo service shop will press out the bearings and install my Solas impeller if I just take them the pump. I downloaded the service manual yesterday but I don't have a press or the tools although I could possibly make something work.

 

[mkov608]

The lighter colored grease is an indication of water intrusion in the pump. You need to pull the bearing and inspect the races; look for pitting corrosion, that's common when you get water in the pump. Iif you see any pitting, replace the bearing!

You need to measure bearing radial and thrust play with a dial indicator.

Like I said, you're due for a pump rebuild anyway; that means changing the front seal, and since you have evidence of water intrusion, you'll need a shaft sleeve too. Shortcuts mean you'll be doing it all over again soon.

You don't need a press to remove the bearing; review the shop manual. The money you would pay the shop could be used to buy the tools, and then you'll have the tools for future use.

Once you rebuild the pump, it should be pressure checked to verify it's sealed. Yes, that also requires another special tool.

 

[quebow03]

Just took these pics. Maybe they help, maybe not. I also called a local dealership and they quoted me $95 in labor, $150 in parts to put in new bearing/seals if I bring the pumps in off the skis. I have 2 identical skis both with 110 or so hours. Might be worth the $500 to get both pumps rebuilt.

 

[nateccnn]

I see no evidence of water intrusion. I think what MKOV608 is pointing to is a bad camera angle. You can see the shadow from the flash on the left side of the cone. I think this is being overthought big time. But $500 for peice of mind could be money well spent if it keeps you from worrying about those bearings on your next trip. LOL

 

[mkov608]

$245 per pump for a rebuild to include new bearings? That's not a bad deal if they are using OEM parts. Just make sure you tell them you want the old bearings (to be sure new ones are installed). Looks like your pump has a different design from mine; you have 2 front oil seals instead of 1, items 43 and 41.

Don't forget to apply loctite on the impeller shaft (16) when you install the impeller, and torque it to the specified value. DO NOT use an impact wrench!!!

 

[quebow03]

All great information. THANKS! I'm considering letting them rebuild this one for the $245 using the Solas impeller and new wear ring that I already bought. That gets both skis up and running quick. Then I can get through this summer and rebuild the other pump when it's nice and cool and skis aren't going to be used for a while anyway.