Tubing Accident, Need Help!

[SeaJustDooIt]

Yes, it happened.

While tubing today, the ski rope line got crossed under the ski and of course got sucked into the intake grate and tangled in the impeller, drive shaft, and other internal workings in the area I assume. Being new to owing a Sea Doo, I need help. I would have to say that in about few split seconds before being able to kill it, it managed to suck up 40+ ft. of the ski line. I am not sure if it all is tangled in there or if any got chopped off and shot out the back. My guess is most of the rope is tangled in it.

What needs to be done? Obviously I know the rope needs to be removed, more than likely being cut out carefully without removing the intake grate, but is there anything else I should worry about? After all the rope is removed, is there any way of checking for damage or something I should look out for to signal damage not detected?

Any advice, hints, and suggestion are greatly appriciated.

I own a 2012 Sea Doo GTI SE 155 if it would happen to matter.

 

[Seadoobuddy]

Hi. either put it on a trailer or tip it on it's side...( the correct way of course) and get underneath to remove the grate. Remove the spark plugs and you "might" be able to unwind the rope if it isn't wedged somewhere.
You may not need to cut, just keep unwinding and see what happens.
After it is out then check the wear ring and impeller for any damage.....if none then you are good to go riding again.

Some people put a swim noodle on the rope to be able to see it better...and keeps afloat too.

 

[red2blue]

Why all the fuss?....just pull the pump.

 

[door54]

Well first off you lost your virgin status, (unless of course you've done this before) and with that came the rush of emotion, worst case scenarios running thru your head in the form of $ signs etc. But if you got to the kill switch as quick as you say...you're probably ok.
If it was me this is what I'd do....If its on a trailer good for you. Get underneath and definately remove the intake grate if you do have that type of footage wrapped around the shaft...it will make the task much easier. (Grate removal/reinstall is a piece of cake) It will also provide you with greater visability as to the extent of the flow of the rope ie: just around the shaft or shaft and thru the impeller/wear ring and out the pump...you get my drift. Once the rope is removed, run your fingers over the shaft to check for smoothness,rust, abnormalities aka a mini p.m.(preventative maintenence) what the heck,you're already there might as well.
Next I'd do a visual on the impeller shaft boot asseembly. Thats the rubber widget that is on the shaft right before the shaft enters the impeller. Is it clean tight and right? Next a good look at the impeller. Look for smooth transitions of the blades from the center to the wear ring. No bending? No significant abnormalities? Good. (Excuse me, I dont know what you know, so I don't mean to be condencending.) The wear ring is the collar that the impeller is in close tolerence to.
If all looks good put it back together, drop it in the water, and give it a go. You will know where you stand by how it feels/performs. Good Luck

door54

 

[Jay1313g]

WOW!!!! We managed to do the same exact thing on our 2012 GTI130SE yesterday!

Fortunately, we pulled it out on the trailer and I was able to cut the rope in one spot and get it unwrapped from around the shaft. I didn't even have the tools to take the grate off. Very lucky!!!! Everything looked good, but ill check it out better today We dropped it back in the water and it ran fine. Whew!!!!

 

[SeaJustDooIt]

Thanks for all the help so far.

It looks as if the wear ring could be a little scuffed up or grooved, would that be from damamge or normal wear from use? I'm not sure if the impeller would make any marks on it itself or not.

If this is infact damamge to the wear ring, should I expect more damamge further in past the impeller that I cannot see? Some of the rope is still stuck in beyond the impeller.

 

[red2blue]

Look...risk stripping the inserts behind your grate if you wanna...not me. Pull the pump...get to everything w/o getting on your back under your ski.

But that's just me.

 

[Duane72]

I think if the rope is in past the impeller I would pull the pump is well. You can have it off in 1/2 hour or so if you have never pulled one before. And you can get a much better visual and can work the impeller inside the pump by hand to get a decent idea of how it turns/ clears the ring, etc. If it was just wrapped around the shaft it might be different, but 40 feet is a lot of rope to be up in there.

 

[superheropunk]

This happened to me just about 2 weeks ago. I was able to just cut the rope what I wasn't able to unwind.