Pump Rebuild

[n7188u]

Well, almost there. My 1999 Challenger is getting there. Runnin better every weekend.

But I noticed am oil leak on one of the pumps and decided to take it out and fix it. TO my dismay, I was cleaning the oil and noticed small metal parts so I will take it apart for a rebuild.

The questions I have are:

1.- The impeller is very tight and wont unscrew. I am a little concerned about applying heat to something mounted on plastic but it seems that that is what is done. Is the heat applied to the outside of the impeller's hub or do you apply it only to the hole where the splines are?

2.- Do I need the impeller shaft locking tool shown on the manuals or is it safe to just hold the shaft in a vice (seems that this is what people do).

3.- Any tips on removing old bearings and seal, installing new ones? I may not have access to a press but will light careful tapping work? Do I need to get or machine a bearing seal install tool for this job? I may end up doing this anyway since I have access to a machine shop but just wondering.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Dr Honda]

1) I don't think heat will help you. The impeller hub is kind of hollow, so it's going to dissipate most of the heat you try to get to the threads. Not to mention... it's going to melt/warp the housing. Don't do it.

2) No you don't need the tool. Just put it in a vice. If you have some flat jaws... that will keep from scaring the end of the shaft. But honislty... it doesn't mater.

2.5) Since you didn't lock the shaft... how do you know the impeller is to tight? It's not going to thread off by hand. You will need to put the shaft in a vice (mounted to a table) and you will need an impeller removal tool, and put a big wrench on it to take it off.

3) To get them out... just use a punch and a hammer. No real tricks there. To reinstall them... well... if you are careful, you can tap them in... but I recommend finding a press since the depth is critical, and you don't want to dent the face of the roller bearing cages.

 

[pincusa]

After trying a few times to unscrew the impeller I used a little heat applied on the center body of the impeller to get it off. It doesn't take much and you want to be aware of where the flame is pointed. You just want to heat the loctite to get it to release.

If you're going to tap the new bearings in, use the old bearings on top of the new ones so you're hitting the old ones with the hammer. As Honda said, you don't want to dent them

 

[seadooya]

...........................

 

[n7188u]

Thanks for the replies.

I did try to remove the impeller by holding the shaft vertically in the vice and trying to unscrew it. Didn't work. Tried to carefully tap but really didn't like the option for the lack of control it provides and the danger to damage the housing. The idea to use heat comes from the Seadoo manual which calls for heating the impeller with a propane torch to 150C. I am not thrilled with this idea considering the plastic that surrounds the area to heat but it seems that I may have no choice.

I have to admit that the wrench I used was not the longest to I can apply more torque but I was moving my table already and it seemed excessive.

Chris

 

[Jimimad]

If they say dont do it....

I am green as grass when it comes to working on Seadoo boats , BUT , when these guys here , Dr Honda , Seadooya , and others ,say not to do something , regardless of the "manual"...Id follow their instruction. More likely than not , its because they did it like the book said and nuked something badly.
In my very short time here on the forum , Ive learned that you cant beat the experience level of these nice folks.
So, that said , these guys helped me taking a limping Speedster and in very few helpful messages turn it into a Lake MONSTER !
.my 2 cents .Jim.

 

[n7188u]

I never intended to question the pros in the forum. Otherwise I wouldn't even ask in the first place.

However I do have an impeller that is not coming off.

In following Dr. Honda's suggestion I will try a couple of things such as using a bigger wrench and a couple of friends sitting in the table since I am not kidding when I say the table was moving (and it is a big one)

I did try some impact but that was not easy since the housing would move in the vice and I was running the risk of damaging it.

One last question is, really, how many people use the red loctite? I always hated the stuff and wonder if the blue loctite would be OK for this. They don't call the red loctite permanent for nothing.

Chris

 

[voodoo]

See if you can find the tool or someone near to you that has this or what I did is took an old driveshaft and bent it into a torque arm with the good spline going into the pto and pump - I thought the red was the mild strength loctite - the blue one is used for almost everything including my 95 gtx pump, 3 years crossing to Canada without loosening.