'96 GTI Wear Ring/Impeller

[MojaveRider]

Last year I scored a clean '96 GTI for free, with trailer and title for both. The previous owners had said the last time it was on the water it wouldn't go very fast, but didn't elaborate on what that meant exactly. Since it had been sitting, I assumed it was a carb/fuel problem. I cleaned the gas tank, replaced all the fuel lines, cleaned a lot of junk out of the fuel selector switch, and it runs great. It will start right up and idle out of the water. Took it to the lake, but it had extreme cavitation. Anything about 1/8th throttle would send it right to the rev limiter.

I finally got around to pulling the jet pump off today, and the wear ring is totally jacked. Huge pieces are missing. It doesn't look like debris damaged it, but rather it got brittle and fell apart.

Does the impeller look OK? I don't see much/any damage to it, but this is my first jet pump to pull. I haven't drained the oil yet, but I'm betting it has never been touched. Besides replacing all the bearings/seals in the pump, what else should I look at while it's off?

 

[SaltyBones]

I'm pretty new to, but to me the impeller looks good to me. The wear ring...not so much.

 

[racerxxx]

Man that wear ring is toast, LOL. The impeller looks OK. Just make sure the blades are all at the same height. draw a reference point somewhere on the wear rig if you can and spin the impeller and see if they all "touch" the same point. But it looks fine to me from what I can see.

 

[MojaveRider]

I'm pretty new to, but to me the impeller looks good to me. The wear ring...not so much.

Man that wear ring is toast, LOL. The impeller looks OK. Just make sure the blades are all at the same height. draw a reference point somewhere on the wear rig if you can and spin the impeller and see if they all "touch" the same point. But it looks fine to me from what I can see.

Thanks for the info guys! I'll put a feeler gauge on all the blades of the impeller and see if it looks even.

 

[MojaveRider]

I got the impeller off tonight. It came off pretty easy, no breaker bar or heat needed. The shaft looks pretty good, though there is a slight lip where the seal rides. How much lip is acceptable? I can ever so slightly feel it with my fingernail, however the pump oil showed no signs of water, so I don't think I need to replace my seal or shaft since there weren't any problems. The bearings all seem night and tight, and there was no axial play that I could feel.

Here are more pictures of the totally jacked wear ring. I really hope that was the only problem with this pump.

Someone on another forum said the impeller didn't look stock, but it does appear to the stock impeller; it says Seadoo and the number cast in it matches the number in the factory parts manual.

 

[Shane0524]

I have never seen one so bad, prop looks good though. its definitely an oem seadoo impeller, could be the wrong one for the boat idk off the top of my head.

 

[MojaveRider]

I have never seen one so bad, prop looks good though. its definitely an oem seadoo impeller, could be the wrong one for the boat idk off the top of my head.

I think it's the original one for a GTI. The number on it matches the number in the OEM Parts Manual for a GTI.

 

[TurnerBFC]

I would highly recommend putting an OEM Wear ring in it for the extra $. I just did two and the OEM wear rings fell right in with ease. Be careful not to pinch the thrust washer when re-assembling.

Good luck!

 

[MojaveRider]

I would highly recommend putting an OEM Wear ring in it for the extra $. I just did two and the OEM wear rings fell right in with ease. Be careful not to pinch the thrust washer when re-assembling.

Good luck!

I've already got an OEM wear ring ready to put it, hopefully I can get the old one cut out tonight. Thanks!

 

[mikidymac]

If it were mine I don't like the looks of the bearing marks on the front of the shaft. It is expensive but I would rebuild the pump and not worry about it for another 20 years.

 

[MojaveRider]

If it were mine I don't like the looks of the bearing marks on the front of the shaft. It is expensive but I would rebuild the pump and not worry about it for another 20 years.

I've thought about that, but the shaft feels very smooth right there where the bearing marks are at. This ski sat for some time, so I'm hoping those are just oxidation marks from sitting. I may put it together with just a new wear ring for now and ride it this summer, and if everything checks out, do a pump rebuild on it over the winter. I'm scared to spend too much more money until I know the ski is actually going to be rideable.

 

[mikidymac]

The worst case is it fails and you have to rebuild it anyways.

 

[MojaveRider]

The worst case is it fails and you have to rebuild it anyways.

Good point! Haha