Help needed with my speedster!

[Lagwagon777]

I have a '97 Speedster with a rock resting against the impeller in my right engine. I do not know all the part names, so please try to follow me here.....The rock is all the way inside the jet unit (is that the right name?) resting against the impeller, about 10" from the end of the unit. I cannot reach it with my long needle nose pliers. I can take the 4 large nuts off the connect the jet unit (the black plastic piece) to the hull. What I cannot get off is the metal bar the operates the gate (lifting it up or down) or the metal bar that turns the jet unit left and right. I do not even know if taking off the jet unit is necessary to access the rock. I have also tried taking the grate off, but the screws cannot be removed. They just spin freely, but again, I do not know if removing the grate will let me access the rock or at least shoot some water in with my hose to try and dislodge it.
Please help me, there is only one person in my city that works on seadoos and he is very backed up. Is this a repair I can do myself? This is a boat that also has cavitation issues that have been addressed this year and were not fixed, so I do not want to even buy an o-ring or a tube of silicone. Please help me!

 

[hopp]

Got a shop vac?

 

[Lagwagon777]

Yes, and I just tried that. The nozzle is not small enough nor is the suction strong enough to get it. Can I disconnect the gate and steering linkages, remove the one gate, nozzle, and work back removing things so I don't have to take the whole pump off? My concern with that is two fold: first, I am worried if I run into gaskets, silicon, or I've even heard it's a little difficult to get to pump back on. Second, if I pull the pump won't the impeller be in the pump (and I think the impeller is in something called a heart ring), and the rock is stuck in the nozzle resting against the impeller so If the impeller is still in the pump, won't that kind of defeat the purpose because I still can't get to it?

 

[Lagwagon777]

Yes, and I just tried that. The nozzle is not small enough nor is the suction strong enough to get it. Can I disconnect the gate and steering linkages, remove the one gate, nozzle, and work back removing things so I don't have to take the whole pump off? My concern with that is two fold: first, I am worried if I run into gaskets, silicon, or I've even heard it's a little difficult to get to pump back on. Second, if I pull the pump won't the impeller be in the pump (and I think the impeller is in something called a heart ring), and the rock is stuck in the nozzle resting against the impeller so If the impeller is still in the pump, won't that kind of defeat the purpose because I still can't get to it?

sorry, autocorrect. Wear ring, not heart ring.

 

[LikeabossTM]

I'd pull the plugs on that engine and try to manually rotate the shaft in opposite rotation to dislodge it back from whence it came.

 

[ronmold]

I think your boat is trying to tell you to remove both pumps, clear the rock and check/change the jet pump oil, often neglected but vitally important. I can't understand not being able to remove the steering bar or reverse gate cables, they're just simple 10mm & 7/16 corrosion-free stainless nuts.

 

[JeremyD615]

With the size of that rock, you’re going to need to pull that pump off an inspect the impeller and wear ring. I can’t imagine that it got that far into the pump without gouging or bending the impeller... It’s not difficult to do the work yourself, but you will need a new neoprene seal that goes between the pump and the hull, and an impeller tool. You’ll also need some synthetic 75W-90 gear oil for the jet pump cone.