IDoSeaDoo
Well-Known Member
So I have recently acquired a new-to-me Seadoo GTI, which came with a long and VERY rusty driveshaft. The carbon seal hat was frozen onto the shaft, so after soaking it for a day or two in penetrating lubricant, I gently pressed it off with my hydraulic press. That $120 harbor freight press saves the day AGAIN! 
After having so meticulously gone through the whole ski and fixed all the previous owner's stupid rig-jobs, I couldn't reassemble the ski with this nasty drive shaft. Spending extra money also wasn't desired as the shaft wasn't warped, so I decided to clean it up. Here's how:
You'll need:
Power drill
Plastic cup that your pump cone can fit into
3/8 socket adapter to fit into drill
13/16 spark plug socket
coarse sand paper
fine sandpaper (optional)
Rotary sanding tool (optional)
This procedure basically has you making a primitive lathe. Take your pump and set it into a plastic cup or something large enough for the cone to completely fit into and keep your pump vertical. Take some electrical tape and wind it around the PTO end of the driveshaft until it just barely fits into the 13/16 spark plug socket. Stuff the taped end into the socket, and the prop end into the prop. Attach the drill to the socket and use it to rotate the shaft. As it's rotating, use your sand paper or sanding tool to go up and down the shaft and remove all that rust. Be careful and don't sand the smooth part with the coarse papaer. Use the smoother paper on that. I used a random orbit sander with 100 grit, but would have prefered a more aggressive side grinder with a sand paper disk. Once I was satisfied, I followed it up with a 1200 grit wet sandpaper to kind of polish it, also smooth out the smooth part where the carbon seal hat goes. It's not perfect, as some of the rust penetrated quite deep, but it's worlds better than the nasty flaking horror that it was.
That's really it. This job is much easier if you have an extra person, as the shaft can develop a wobble at the joint where it goes into the drill. I had to stop and fix the angle a few times. The reason you want this to be spinning is to keep the shaft moving as you're sanding and not make flat spots. Keep your driveshaft round
Moderators: This post should really go in the how-to section, but I couldn't figure out how to add it there. I didn't have the option to start a new thread.
After having so meticulously gone through the whole ski and fixed all the previous owner's stupid rig-jobs, I couldn't reassemble the ski with this nasty drive shaft. Spending extra money also wasn't desired as the shaft wasn't warped, so I decided to clean it up. Here's how:You'll need:
Power drill
Plastic cup that your pump cone can fit into
3/8 socket adapter to fit into drill
13/16 spark plug socket
coarse sand paper
fine sandpaper (optional)
Rotary sanding tool (optional)
This procedure basically has you making a primitive lathe. Take your pump and set it into a plastic cup or something large enough for the cone to completely fit into and keep your pump vertical. Take some electrical tape and wind it around the PTO end of the driveshaft until it just barely fits into the 13/16 spark plug socket. Stuff the taped end into the socket, and the prop end into the prop. Attach the drill to the socket and use it to rotate the shaft. As it's rotating, use your sand paper or sanding tool to go up and down the shaft and remove all that rust. Be careful and don't sand the smooth part with the coarse papaer. Use the smoother paper on that. I used a random orbit sander with 100 grit, but would have prefered a more aggressive side grinder with a sand paper disk. Once I was satisfied, I followed it up with a 1200 grit wet sandpaper to kind of polish it, also smooth out the smooth part where the carbon seal hat goes. It's not perfect, as some of the rust penetrated quite deep, but it's worlds better than the nasty flaking horror that it was.
That's really it. This job is much easier if you have an extra person, as the shaft can develop a wobble at the joint where it goes into the drill. I had to stop and fix the angle a few times. The reason you want this to be spinning is to keep the shaft moving as you're sanding and not make flat spots. Keep your driveshaft round
Moderators: This post should really go in the how-to section, but I couldn't figure out how to add it there. I didn't have the option to start a new thread.
