Joined the Club Today and Now Have an Issue

[Jerlane]

I was jealous of everyone else getting all the attention sucking up ropes lately, so we decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, the adult in charge of watching the rope today (not me) failed at their job. Ski rope got sucked in pretty good. It took an hour or so, but I was able to cut and unwind it while on the water and get it totally removed. The handle was not sucked into the shaft.

The boat started up and ran fine in no wake mode, but didn't feel right trying to go much faster than that. Lots of cavitation like I haven't felt before. I got it home and taking a look at it from below doesn't show anything obvious other than a little ding in the sealant. The impellers look very clean with no dings. I haven't pulled the jet pump off yet.

What should I be looking at as a potential cause of the cavitation? If you look at these pictures you can see the little ding in the seal towards the top of the photo. It has a little red mark on it and the defect looks fresh. Also, I've never looked closely at the cleanout plug from below, but the leading edge isn't quite flush with the shaft. It sits just a little proud (sticks out a little). Is that normal?

We are going on vacation to a cabin in three days with the main focus being boating fun, so I'm in a bit of a jam. Need to get this sorted out.

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[ripler]

The sealant is more than likely your issue, check the sealant all around the pump housing where it meets the fiberglass. Do it ASAP since sealant takes time to cure

 

[tdonoughue]

Pull the pump. With that much cavitation right after a rope suck-up, my money is that you still have a little piece in there on the other side of the impeller or so.

While you have it off, that is the ideal time to do the sealant (which will otherwise make a world of difference, but I doubt was related to your rope issue at all).

 

[Jerlane]

I'll work on the sealant and pull the pump to check that as well. What sealant should I use?

I also noticed, looking again, that some of the black sealant further back in the shaft is a little worn. That looked like old wear. Is that something I should address while I'm at it?

 

[tdonoughue]

Factory just uses silicone caulk, so that will do just fine. Some folks go for 4200 or something like that--I think that is overkill and expensive for the task. Just whatever silicone caulk you can pick up at Lowes/Home Depot will work fine (and is probably far better than what they used at the factory).

 

[Ronnie]

Sounds like you joined two clubs.

you probably already covered this but make sure you reinstalled your clean out plugS correctly. I store them in the ports in reverse (I.e., front side to the rear) and have left them in place but unlocked, the result is the same, some thrust but a lot of acceleration and top speed missing.

 

[Jerlane]

Sounds like you joined two clubs.

you probably already covered this but make sure you reinstalled your clean out plugS correctly. I store them in the ports in reverse (I.e., front side to the rear) and have left them in place but unlocked, the result is the same, some thrust but a lot of acceleration and top speed missing.

I was hoping it would be the cleanout plug, but I checked it when I got home and it looked to be well seated. I pulled it again and replaced it and it looked the same. I do use E-Z locks, BTW.

 

[Ronnie]

@Jerlane , got it. Unfortunately it sounds like the more difficult issue of missing / improper silicone sealant. I have resealed the same pump twice before because I used the wrong sealant the first time. That stated, I recommend that you do NOT use RTV silicone (it will fail under pressure within a few outings) or 3M 5200 (i used a razor blade and a dremel to take that stuff off and it still took a lot of time to do so). I bet there are a few DYI videos on YouTube. Good luck in a resolving the issue quickly.

 

[mrcleanr6]

i am betting its not the sealant. almost every jetboat and waverunner has gaps or missing areas of sealant. since you pulled the boat to make sure the grate is clean have you put it back in the water to try it? it can also be that you still had part of the rope on the grate and when you pulled it it fell off. OR there is more rope around the stator on the exit side. you would be able to see that with a flashlight though. if you dont find anything with a flashlight then i would just toss it back in the water and see. if it still does it then its possible an impeller blade is tweaked but that would really take alot to do that.

 

[Jerlane]

I pulled the pump and the impeller and shaft looked good. No dings and the shaft seemed straight. No residual rope strands that I could see. I filled the little defect with silicone. I'll take it out after work tomorrow and will see what happens. Fingers crossed!

 

[Jerlane]

BTW, I noticed that the impeller shaft had some greenish build-up on it near the gear end. That obviously isn't new. I didn't do anything before reinstalling it, but now I'm wondering if I should have cleaned it up some? Also, should I have lubed the "gear" at all before reinstalling?

 

[anmut]

BTW, I noticed that the impeller shaft had some greenish build-up on it near the gear end. That obviously isn't new. I didn't do anything before reinstalling it, but now I'm wondering if I should have cleaned it up some? Also, should I have lubed the "gear" at all before reinstalling?

If you're talking about on the splines, yes a little gear lube is helpful for the next time you have to pull it, I believe. Take it out and let us know!

 

[Jerlane]

Good news to report, looks like we are back in business! I guess we won't know what was causing the issue, but the boat seemed to run fine tonight.

Phew!

 

[tdonoughue]

Not uncommon for there to be a little something wedged in between the impeller and the wear ring (that you may not have even noticed). When pulling out the pump, it can be dislodged and may fall out the intake grate or come out the direction you are pulling the pump and not be noticed. It doesn't take much to throw things off.

Glad you are up and running again!