Shaft Seal?

[Sandbar Summer Daze]

I backed my 1998 Challenger 1800 into the water for the first time yesterday and fired the Starboard engine first. The port engine failed to crank. I shut down the Starboard engine so I could hear what was going on with the port engine. The solenoid was just clicking when I pushed the button. I have determined that the solenoid is faulty, but my bigger concern is that when I lifted the engine cover I noticed water in the bilge. (the hull plug was in) I could hear water dripping from what seemed to be in the shaft area. Is there a shaft seal that needs to swell and stop this after running a bit or do I have a more serious problem?

 

[97explorer717]

I know on a 97 nothing needs to swell up. I don't think any Seadoo has a seal that needs to swell up. I get your thinking behind it but think something is worn out. Also check the bushing around the exhaust. Apparently they just reproduce them thank goodness. Mine was shot and they're like $100.

 

[JeremyD615]

I could be wrong, but I believe the Challengers use a carbon seal for the driveshaft. There are some little tricks to temporarily fix them, but you’ll want to replace it eventually if it’s leaking. Sometimes you can loosen the rear clamp on the driveshaft boot and move it forward a bit to put some pressure on the carbon seal and it will seal up, but this is hit or miss depending on how worn it is...

 

[Sandbar Summer Daze]

Thanks guys, I think I found my problem. I removed the sundeck and checked for leaks at home and found none. I then backed the boat back into the water and immediately had water coming in. With sundeck removed I was able to get my head down in there and found that it was coming in around the exhaust outlet. The outlet is cracked. So I have a new one coming. Thanks for your help!

 

[Sandbar Summer Daze]

Just wanted to give an update to this and show all what I found when I removed the exhaust port bulkhead fitting. After installing the new fitting the bilge is nice and dry.