Out on the water having issues

[Nick Hughes]

currently out on the water and the left engine has super vibration at about 2500 rpms. I checked the clean outs and they are good. Being new to these boats I have no idea. Currently cruising around with 1 engine. Any ideas?

 

[bronze_10]

Stop cruising around on one engine! U will ruin the engine that is not running!

 

[bronze_10]

Sounds like u have something stuck on the impeller... of u can't see it from the cleannout then u will need to put it on the trailer so u can see it from the bottom..

 

[Julian]

The first thing to check is what you did....re-check the clean outs and really feel around in there, a tiny little twig can cause such a vibration. You could also try the reverse clean out move (put into reverse, get moving backwards, kill the engines and then put the gates into foward).

Next, if you are certain that the pump is clear, it could be that the reverse gate is hanging too low. Fixing this requires a wrench and either being in the water standing, or boat on the trailer. (I'll add a link to how you do this)

Reverse gate adjustment to fix throttle "chatter"

 

[bronze_10]

Only drive on one engine at no wake speeds unless u can block the hose that provides cooling water to the motor.. if that motor is off it will for water into the motor if u are running at high speed

 

[Andy S]

Try turn on the Port (left) engine, go hard reverse, then pull the lanyard (have someone turn off both engines) and put at least the port throttle in full forward. This trick might force the item out from the impeller, assuming that is your issue. If it is not your issue doing this won't hurt to try.

 

[Nick Hughes]

I'm running the port engine at 2500 while the other is taking the load.

 

[OperationROL]

You really need to do the reverse trick. I guarantee something is in the pump.

 

[Bruce]

I agree with the others, you have something in the jet drive somewhere. You may need to get underneath to check the intake grate.

 

[Bill D]

Be sure to feel around between the impeller blades and the wear ring. Last year I had a toothpick sized piece of wood jammed in there and it caused the same effect.

 

[Nick Hughes]

Eventually some pulsing RPMs popped the zit and all is good. Thanks for the quick responses. Pretty nerve racking.

 

[tdonoughue]

Yes, that is classic 'something stuck in the impeller'. Sounds like your boat is falling apart. But you get that one little thing out and it is good as new.

Now that you have cleared it, next time you have it up on the trailer, give a good look at the intake grate with the cleanout port out so you can see how everything relates to everything else. That really helped me in understanding what I was feeling down in that hole and which direction I wanted things to go.

 

[Ajax]

Been there. Feels catastrophic when you first experience. Something as thin as a "ready to rent" sticker has had me searching the clean outs.

 

[McMark]

It's always a piece of twig stuck between the impeller and pump housing when I get the vibration.

 

[Nick Hughes]

Of course I just dropped it in a wet slip for the season, so I won't see the underside until September.

 

[Gym]

Of course I just dropped it in a wet slip for the season, so I won't see the underside until September.

I think I'd make it a point to see the underside if the problem persists. It's also possible that whatever caused this may have done some damage you may want to address bafore September. The only thing more inconvenient than pulling your boat is doing more damage and ruining your summer.