new impeller not working out

[rice]

Hi Everyone. So i sucked up a big rock, no problem right. New solas impeller (SD-SC-X) and new seal and new wear ring. Problem is that when i get everything lined up and put back on the machine, its jammed. cant even turn it with a wrench. starter wont even budge it. if i snug up the 4 17mm bolts it will turn but after i torque them down the whole unit locks up. Any ideas??? its a 98 spx 800. Thanks in advance.

 

[LouDoo]

Check and make sure you haven't pinched the thrust washer or thrust bearing.

Lou

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

The impeller will at first clearance itself to a newly replaced wear ring by scraping small amounts of material from the surface. Have you tried some light oil such as WD-40 or some folks use dish sink soap mixed with water to lubricate the inside of the impeller?

 

[rice]

Thanks for the replies....

Haven't pinched the thrust washer or bearings, pump internals are mint! would it need to remove a whole lot of material to clearance itself? its jammed big time. I have many hours under my belt wrenching on all sorts of toys, this is the first seadoo...

 

[LouDoo]

O.K., well I've got a lot of hours on SeaDoo's and I've done it, I would say most guys on this forum have also pinched the thrust washer or bearing.

Lou

 

[rice]

Hi Lou, sorry if i sounded short, did not mean to offend. Ive had a hell of a day. I appreciate your feedback.

I have the impeller tightened to the pump shaft and am trying to install the whole thing as an assembly. when it is off it spins nicely and moves about 1/4 inch in and out. I have not taken the pump apart because the guy that sold me this thing just had it redone. so the pump shaft never left the housing since ive been looking at it. just pulled the old impeller and spun on the new one. do you think it is possible that something is pinched in there?

Also the drive shaft flops around quite a bit, up and down, side to side... is this normal?

i sucked up a big rock and it jammed itself between the drive shaft and the gelcoat. I hope the gelcoat would have let go before the shaft bent... any thoughts

 

[rice]

Hey Lou, I might have boned a bit here.... looking at the parts diagram i see a shim on the studs between the pump and the hull... i dont have these shims... maybe thats why the last guy had no neopreme seal... what dou you think? is this common practice?

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

I'm not sure if this is the 155mm pump, but if it is, the impeller torque would be 85ft-lbs with lok-tite blue on the threads. From 2001 BRP Service Manual: "Waterproof synthetic grease on shaft splines at impeller", "Some watercraft require shims between hull and pump", and "Lightly lube wear ring with bombardier lube to reduce friction during initial start, and ease impeller installation into housing"

I think you shouldn't leave a bent drive shaft in there, that should be changed.

 

[rice]

Thanks Sportster. Dont think the shaft is bent, just saying that it moves up down and side to side. it is not rigid. i need to lift up the drive shaft a little bit for it to line up with the impeller. is this normal?

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Thanks Sportster. Dont think the shaft is bent, just saying that it moves up down and side to side. it is not rigid. i need to lift up the drive shaft a little bit for it to line up with the impeller. is this normal?

Yes, that's quite normal. Are the rubber bumpers installed in the ends of the shaft? This has nothing to do with your question, but the "anti-rattle" bumpers help to keep the splines fully engaged. The phenomenon you're witnessing is either some sloppiness in the splines of the rubber coupling in the PTO wheel on the rear of the motor, probably both. Make sure the splines on the PTO end have sufficient grease, (a couple pumps through the PTO zerk is usually enough) otherwise they will strip out quicker from lack of lube.

So yes, the shaft will rest on the drive shaft thru-hull tube when the pump is off, the pump impeller spline connection keeps it centered.

Concerning the shims mentioned in the service manual, it also says these are installed by the factory to maintain engine alignment, which means spline alignment.

Does your wear wring have clamping bolts around the outside perimeter of the pump husing, these may be too tight, and force the wear ring into an egg shape?

Also, don't overtorque the pump housing to the transom, otherwise it can warp the housing.

 

[rice]

The rubber bumber is on at the impeller end, not sure about the drive shaft. dont want to take that end apart unless i need to. Just cant figure out why i cant get the prop to turn after everything is buttoned up. Could it be that the wear ring needs to be chewed quite a bit to seat itself. This thing is jammed bad, cant figure it out... tried 10 times now... im out in the shop scratching my head right now

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

The rubber bumber is on at the impeller end, not sure about the drive shaft. dont want to take that end apart unless i need to. Just cant figure out why i cant get the prop to turn after everything is buttoned up. Could it be that the wear ring needs to be chewed quite a bit to seat itself. This thing is jammed bad, cant figure it out... tried 10 times now... im out in the shop scratching my head right now

It sounds more than the normal interference, I recall some time ago a guy saying he torqued his down while the engine was running, if I recall, b/c it was so tight.

But overtorquing the housing will warp it so follow the spec on that, and maybe backing off the outer wear ring retaining screws will help (small pumps don't have these screws).

And I think if your housing is the all-plastic type, if there's an engine/driveshaft misalignment can force the impeller into one side of the wear ring by causing the housing dimension to distort off center.

 

[rice]

thought i'd let you know that the wear ring was way to tight. not sure if its because of the solas or just bad wear ring. I tightened the pump then backed off the nuts 1 turn. ran the starter for a while with no plugs in. chewed the wear ring good. gave her a 1/2 turn, starter some more and more chewing. then torqued it on there, probably chewed a good 16th but shees tight now. will see how it preforms tomorrow. thanks for the help!