Impeller Too Tight Or Pinched Thrust Bearing??

[Hicktown]

Hey guys, well I had to install a new wear ring on my 96 XP yesterday. Everything went pretty smooth and the new wear ring dropped right in. I re-installed and torqued the impeller while trying not to pinch the thrust bearing. After I installed it, I was able to slide the pump cone on by hand, and there was a small amount of impeller shaft end play with the cone installed. The impeller also spun freely with the cone installed, so I assumed all was fine and the bearing was not pinched. I tightened the cone with screws and went to re-install the jet pump.

However, after installing the jet pump back onto the boat, I remembered I had forgotten to install some sealant on the cone o-ring. So I figured I would just take the cone off, install the sealant, put cone back on, fill with oil and be done. However, now when trying to slide the cone back onto the pump, it will not slide into the pump unless I use the screws to tighten it down. I have read that this may be a sign that the thrust bearing is being pinched? However, the cone did slide on easily without the screws before I put the pump back onto the boat. So is this normal to have trouble inserting the cone with the pump on the boat, or do I have the impeller on too tight or a pinched bearing? Do I need to pull the pump back off or can I simply tighten up the cone and be good to go?

 

[Hicktown]

Anyone?????

 

[Hicktown]

Update: I went ahead and re-installed the cone by tightening the screws and filling with oil. I then started her up and everything sounded fine, I heard no unusual sounds coming from the pump. Am I safe to assume that everything was assembled correctly?

 

[Hicktown]

No one????

 

[racerxxx]

I guess, I would have pulled the pump and checked everything. But that's me, I don't like a monkey on my back when I'm out on the water

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk

 

[Hicktown]

I hear u on that. Only thing is I had already sealed the pump to the hull, and also I'd have to take the pump over to my friends house to remove the impeller again because he has the tool. So it would have been a big hassle. Also forgot to mention that when I put everything back together, I removed the plugs to see if I could turn the engine by hand with the pump installed, and I was able to. So that tells me the impeller is still spinning freely, and like I said no squeaks.

 

[racerxxx]

Probably good to go then. You didn't silicone the entire pump did you? You should just use a neoprene seal and a little rtv around the pump bailer fittings and water inlet fitting.

 

[Hicktown]

Probably good to go then. You didn't silicone the entire pump did you? You should just use a neoprene seal and a little rtv around the pump bailer fittings and water inlet fitting.

Yeah, that's exactly how I did it. New neoprene seal from the dealer and silicone around the fittings. Can't imagine what a mess it would be if someone siliconed the whole pump to the hull!

 

[racerxxx]

Yeah, that's exactly how I did it. New neoprene seal from the dealer and silicone around the fittings. Can't imagine what a mess it would be if someone siliconed the whole pump to the hull!

That's how the old skis were back in the day--a royal pain in the butt.

 

[Hicktown]

Yeah I definitely would not want to deal with that LOL.

 

[Hicktown]

Update: Took her out to the lake yesterday. Went out for about hour and a half, ran flawlessly. So I guess the impeller was installed correctly. Except, I do have a small leak out back by the bailer fittings. I could see water seeping into the hull slowly, although after an hour and a half I had maybe only a little more water in the bilge than usual. Maybe not enough silicone around the bailer fittings?

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Did you pressure leak check the impeller hub? If not, you'll want to dip a stick in the fill plug to make sure there's no water in there, if the oil leaks out the bearings will be toast.

Silicone is whale snot!

 

[Hicktown]

No I did not pressure test it. I just used the same procedure I did last time I changed the pump oil, and I had no issues with that. But I may as well do the dip stick test since I have to take the pump back off anyway to seal the water leak.