2021 Seadoo GTI 130 - rocks in impeller

[Jasldg]

Hello,

I have just purchased a new 2021 Seadoo GTI 130. In my 2nd ride out I hit ground (in a place not near shore that was not marked properly) and sucked up a bunch of rocks. I made the big mistake of trying a couple of times to drive myself out of it and then came to my senses and shut it off. I hopped off and pushed it out to deeper water and started it back up and it sounded terrible. Like rocks in a grinder. I let it idle while I waited for the dock near by to clear and then drove it in at like 5 mph. I had my kids and was not close enough to shore to walk it in.

When I pulled it out and got underneath I could see 4 decent sized rocks jammed in the impeller. One popped out easily but the other 3 are stuck tight.

I have now scheduled a day next week to bring it back to the dealer for inspection and repairs. I am devastated as I usually take great care of my stuff and I waited years to get this thing and 3hrs in I do this. Somewhat of a mistake as I know not to keep the engine running when you hit ground. But at the same time, the shallow area was not marked appropriately. Anyway, I'm thinking that this is most likely a replacement of the wear ring (it definitely has ridges in it now), and also possibly the impeller. Everything else seems fine. I cant say if power was affected as I was not going to try going faster than I needed to.

I hope can make me feel better a little better about this. I am beating myself up about it.

Any chance, based on what I have described that I could have done additional damage? What are the average costs for these type of repairs and also, is it worth getting a stainless steel wear ring installed?

Thanks, all.

 

[xspook]

Next time, stop immediately and kill the engine. Vigorously rock the ski back and forth to try and slosh the debris out.

I would recommend you get under the ski and see if you can dislodge the rocks. Might need to remove the intake grate. Check the condition of the impeller and wear ring. If it's not too terrible, you can try riding it to see how it performs.

If it's new impeller and wear ring time, it will be many hundreds of dollars.

I personally don't recommend stainless wear rings. Wear rings are there to protect the pump and are supposed to be "sacrificial".

 

[Wingingit]

I think your wear ring is plastic for a reason, it can flex a little, so rocks and other debris don't get stuck, they just go through. I believe, the wear ring flexes so you don't damage your impeller which I believe is more costly! I have grounded my 2012 GTI 130 SE before. Usually, if I feel like something is stuck in the impeller, I rev the engine and pull the IBR/reverse lever a few times, if you have one and it can force the debris out.

Also, I bought a oem depth finder for mine. No need to put holes in your hull and it works great, even at full speed! I installed it myself for around $400 total cost, would highly recommend. I bought a cheaper depth finder and ended up sending it back and glad I did! Bought a 2015 Wake Pro 215 recently and put one in there, too.

By the way, The depth finder for the 2012 GTI 130 SE, I believe this is the Part # 295100679 had 2 cables in it, a long one that I used to install the depth finder in the 2012 GTI 130 SE (the battery is in the front hatch under the handlebars) the depth finder mount was on left side as sitting on the seat, behind the engine, there are 2 holes molded into the hull, the metal bracket that comes with the depth finder bolts into those holes and the depth finder snaps into the metal bracket (the reason I mentioned this is because I have seen posts where someone glued the depth finder to the hull, this wasn't necessary for my ski, there is also a blue gel pad that fits between the hull and the depth sounder) and a short cable for models like my 2015 Wake Pro 215, which has the battery in a rear right side compartment behind the seat. In this model the depth finder fits in a plastic bracket under the battery. In conclusion, I bought a used depth finder, (I believe the depth sounders are the same, they just have different part #'s for different cables), for my Wake Pro and used the short cable from the previous new depth finder and installed it in the Wake Pro! I haven't had them in the water to test them out yet, but am pretty sure there won't be an issue!