99 Challenger 1800

[kc8vji]

I bought a 99 Challenger last week, took it out for the first time myself today and had some trouble. I took a test ride with the previous owner before I bought it and it ran fine. Today when I left the ramp and powered up the right pump was loud and had a vibration to it. I thought it may have sucked up some weeds so I powered down and worked the weedless handle. I restarted and powered up again, same vibration for a few seconds then it smoothed out and took off. The boat ran ok but seemed to be underpowered slightly and pulled to the right. When I got it home I looked inside the right side pump, from under the boat, and it seems as though my wear ring is gone (is this possible?). The left wear ring looks fine, the impeller is a close fit. The right side impeller has a 1/8" or so gap all around it (I'm near certain the wear ring is gone).

So long story short, looks like I need to replace the wear ring on the right pump. I believe I may have sucked up something at the ramp due to the weedless mobil gate on the right side being broke (didn't realize this till after the trip today, it was broke from the rod that moves it). So besides replacing the wear ring, is there anything else I should do while I'm in there? Anything else to check? Also I noticed the drive shaft protector on the left pump was missing about 2 inches from the impeller end, should I be concerned with repairing that?

I am new to working on the jet pumps, so any advice and/or guidance would be appreciated. I am mechanically competent and have tools and such, I've worked on cars all my life so I am confident I can do the work. Thanks for any help.

James

 

[drtyhatch]

As far as the wear ring being missing... I can tell you in all certainty that YES it can completely be gone except for the plastic backing to it. I just replaced both wear rings in my 1998 sportster 1800 and it was a quick and painless fix. as far as the vibration. Without the wear ring within clearance I would put my money on that. I'm not an expert by any means but I have had my boat for about 2 months now and just about had to do some serious repairs on my own with the help of the forums. I can say that today was the very first day I was able to drive my boat after a long day of working on it and finally have peace of mind that it is truly in working order. Get those wear rings fixed and it will haul butt. Best of luck to you.

 

[mazjag]

Its pretty easy to do..Keep all those little bolts organized when you take off the rear nozzles....Your going to need a vise and the splined tool to remove the impeller...go to Ebay..You will most likely need a torch to heat the old impeller up to break the loctite loose..PM me if you get stuck...Have the impellers redone by SBT at the same time.....Jason

 

[drtyhatch]

Its pretty easy to do..Keep all those little bolts organized when you take off the rear nozzles....Your going to need a vise and the splined tool to remove the impeller...go to Ebay..You will most likely need a torch to heat the old impeller up to break the loctite loose..PM me if you get stuck...Have the impellers redone by SBT at the same time.....Jason

It is possible to remove the old wear rings without taking the impellers out. I did mine this week and it worked like a charm.