96 GTX new wear ring - Neoprene Ring, Sealant, or nothing?

[eavega]

Hey folks

New wear ring installed on my 96 GTX, getting ready to reinstall pump and drive shaft after having sent out the engine for alignment (misaligned engine reason for new wear ring, new drive shaft, new drive shaft carbon seal assembly). When I removed the pump I didn't find any trace of sealant or neoprene ring on the pump or the hull. The service manual does not show the neoprene ring as a part for the GTX, and it doesn't even mention installing the neoprene ring when you do the reassembly (it does for the other models covered in the manual such as the SP, SPX, and GTS). I've read various suggestions on other threads where you do use the neoprene ring, you use silicone instead of the ring, you don't use anything...so now I am confused. What are the recommendations from others that might have done this before?

Thanks.

Eric

 

[Ankeneyou]

I always put a neoprene seal in. Don't use silicone or you'll be tying your pump to a tree the next time you need to service it, lol.

 

[mikidymac]

Those newer ones didn't use anything from the factory except for the lip molded into the wear ring. This is why the manual and parts diagram don't show anything.
The consensus here is that as they age the plastic plate bolted to the hull warps a little and can make sealing difficult. The easy and no mess guarantee it will not suck air is the neoprene seal.

 

[wfo speedracer]

I am just going to guess that all of you whining about silicone on jet pumps have never worked on the older units, those were all siliconed to the pump shoe, I have done and still do many of those per year and I have never had to tie a Seadoo to a tree to get a pump off, the only pumps that were ever an issue were the aluminum pump that had been run in salt water and corrosion built up around the mounting studs, I have still never had one that wouldn't come off.

 

[eavega]

I am just going to guess that all of you whining about silicone on jet pumps have never worked on the older units, those were all siliconed to the pump shoe, I have done and still do many of those per year and I have never had to tie a Seadoo to a tree to get a pump off, the only pumps that were ever an issue were the aluminum pump that had been run in salt water and corrosion built up around the mounting studs, I have still never had one that wouldn't come off.

I have one data point; 1995 SPX that I had to pull the pump off for a new wear ring. Previous owner had siliconed it in. I broke off one of the pry tabs on the pump trying to get it off, and in the end what I had to do was slip a razor blade between the pump and the hull, and carefully cut all the silicone away. It didn't just come off, and I was a day away from rigging up a pump puller to get it off. This is why I am leery of using silicone on the pump. the neoprene ring makes a lot of sense, but silicone adhesive on a hard-to-work-on space is something I'd like to avoid.

-Eric

 

[Ankeneyou]

Completely agree, silicone is just not necessary and creates more headaches later on.

 

[wfo speedracer]

I have one data point; 1995 SPX that I had to pull the pump off for a new wear ring. Previous owner had siliconed it in. I broke off one of the pry tabs on the pump trying to get it off, and in the end what I had to do was slip a razor blade between the pump and the hull, and carefully cut all the silicone away. It didn't just come off, and I was a day away from rigging up a pump puller to get it off. This is why I am leery of using silicone on the pump. the neoprene ring makes a lot of sense, but silicone adhesive on a hard-to-work-on space is something I'd like to avoid.

-Eric

Completely agree, silicone is just not necessary and creates more headaches later on.

Ok snowflakes