No Carbon Ring???

[baconboy1042]

Hey guys, first off I want to say thanks to all who contribute to this forum. I've never posted before because i've always been able to search and find solutions to the problems I had.

Ok, so here's the deal. I took my 1996 GTX the other day and noticed it took on water; A lot of water. Enough to fill up the hull about 5-6 inches. So i searched the forum and found out about carbon rings.. Turns out, I DONT HAVE ONE. Look at the pic, it goes straight from the boot to the steel collar.



Obviously i need to install a new carbon ring, but my questions are...
1. Do i need a new steel collar, o-rings along with the carbon ring?
2. Is a missing carbon ring enough to cause a TON of water to come into the hull?
3. How the heck does a carbon ring just disappear!?

 

[bigJake]

1. Do i need a new steel collar, o-rings along with the carbon ring?
hard to tell if you need a new SS collar, probably not if the mating face for the carbon ring is smooth and flat. The o-ring that hoilds the SS collar in place has been superceded by a circ-clip (same part numer as the o-ring)

2. Is a missing carbon ring enough to cause a TON of water to come into the hull?
Absolutely

3. How the heck does a carbon ring just disappear!?
is this ski new to you, if so the previous owner may have removed it but never replaced??? if not new to you, my guess would be it wore down to the point that it was able to shatter, that's just a guesss cause I don't see how else it could "disappear"

 

[baconboy1042]

bigjake, thanks for the quick reply. Yea i had a hard time believing all that water could come in through there but thanks for clearing that up! And the ski has been in my family since it was bought in '96 so i guess it must've shattered.

One more quick question.. could any damage have occurred when i rand the ski without the carbon ring?

-thanks again for your help

 

[bigJake]

is there nothing at all in the end of the bellows under the clamp? never heard of a carbon ring shattering, but don't see any other explanation unless it somehow got pushed back inside the bellows?

re damage - I don't think from running it, but did water get inside your starter or anything? see if others have anything to add

 

[baconboy1042]

yea, absolutely nothing under the bellows so who knows.. and no, i dont think so cuz it started up on the trailer just fine afterwards.
-thanks for your input

 

[Dr Honda]

1) I would replace all of the seal. Boot, carbon ring, stainless ring, the internal O-rings, and a new C-clip.

2) YES !!!!! You are lucky the ski didn't sink. That's basically an 2" hole in the ski hull.

3) It's soft carbon (Graphite) that's been compressed. It shattered, and turned to dust. Normally, it just cracks, or wears out... but the aftermarket rings SUCK. So... if it wasn't an OEM ring... anything could happen.

Just throwing in my 2 cents... but Jake has you covered. :thumbsup:

 

[baconboy1042]

thanks dr. honda, can't tell you how many of your posts have helped me out.. you da man!!

 

[bigJake]

do as the good Doc advises. He's the expert. Learned most of what I know from him.

Doc, looks like Mr Plow might be getting some action tomorrow. Unbelievable!! 6-10" predicted at our lake.

 

[LouDoo]

Jake, Great job on this thread. I too have learned a lot from Uncle Tony (Dr Honda). I going to your lake house tomorrow I thought we could ride snow mobiles and drink hot chocolate.

Your Brother,

Lou

 

[bigJake]

BaconBoy,

Before you remove the pump, you need to pull back on the Stainless Steel collar and remove the O-ring from the groove in the driveshaft to allow you to slide the driveshaft out.

Hey Lou, we sure do got a strange family tree. How come Uncle Tony is lots younger than us ? See you at the lake house tomorrow. Don't forget to bring Sheridan!

 

[Dr Honda]

Baconboy: As Jake said... before you remove the pump... push the stainless ring back, toward the transom to expose the O-ring. If it's been worked on before... then there could be a metal C-clip holding the stainless ring. (It's the newer part)



Jake/Lou: yep... it's crazy here right now. We've had 80 degree days, and nice weather this spring... and now we are getting hit with snow. The snow line is about 4 miles from me. SO... it's rain here at my house... and Latrobe (where my shop is at) said they have 3". I need to do some work, but I don't know if I want to chance going in since the roads aren't treated.

 

[Minnetonka4me]

I have all the parts cheap if interested...These guys have it spot on.