Don't Run Rocks Through the Impeller
Now that the jet pump was off, it had to come apart. I started by removing the rear cone, which dumped out a couple ounces of the nastiest-
smelling lubricant I ever worked with. Actually, it smelled just like the gear oil we used to put in the manual transmissions on the old VW bugs, and later the oil I put in the differential
of my Camaro. At least the manual warned me.
Now it was time to remove the impeller. And of course that requires a special tool. Another $18 on eBay, and I had one. I made a field trip to my dad's house to use his vise. We made shaft
protectors from some scrap aluminum, fastened the shaft in the vise, and the impeller spun right off. The wear ring didn't look too bad. I would learn how mistaken I was later. The weird part
was that the impeller rubbed in the wear ring. Wear rings are supposed to wear away and get larger, not smaller. What was going on? I asked Kent, and he told me right away. Water gets between
the aluminum impeller housing and the wear ring, and corrodes the aluminum. The aluminum oxide squeezes the ring in tighter, and the impeller rubs. Makes perfect sense.
So the impeller had to come out. The manual said there was a slot in the housing to facilitate cutting through the ring. Yeah right. I never did find the slot, even after the ring was out.
Instead I went after it with a hammer and chisel. It finally came out, and I didn't even chew up the housing. I got a new wear ring and some gaskets and orings at the dealer for $46. I put
the housing in the sun, and the new wear ring in the freezer. After a couple hours I smeared dish soap on the outside of the ring, and used a 2x4 and a rubber mallet to press the ring in. No
problem.
I read on the sea-doo.net web site that Mobil 1 synthetic gear oil would work as well as the special Bombardier jet pump oil, so I got some, and filled up the pump with it. I greased up the
carrier bearings, and put the jet pump back in. It slipped right in. I also put on the new ride plate extension I got off ebay for $20. It's supposed to make the ski more stable and prevent
porpoising.
Since then I have replaced more of the oil and water and vent tubing. I'm still trying to find 11mm tubing for the oil pump. I even went to the SeaDoo dealer today, but they didn't have it. I
got my stock exhaust and muffler today. I bought them on ebay for $50. I figure I'll start with them, rather than try to repair the West Coast aftermarket exhaust the ski came with.
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