Superchargers,ceramic disks, and disasters oh my!

[pvamax]

There are minds who's sole focus is to dwell on issues like these. Well- paid, scholarly minds, that empirically measure, collate data, that aren't swayed by spikes of aberrant data.

No one, not even bi-focaled eggheads will be able to say how long a given bearing WILL last, only a subjective estimation given the data at hand.

The second law of thermodynamics is basically a law of decay. Sooner or later your sandwich bag will be indistinguishable from the surrounding dirt ... so will you.

There are so many variables to consider, heat, mechanical stress, chemical incompatiblities, yada yada.

My own personal law of mechanics: "Things work best when they don't have to."

Like this, if a motor output shaft coupler is perfectly aligned with the load its not really needed to make up for small deviations, it'll last forever. Now articulate that coupler, even a little, (think CV joints) and bets are off.

Looking at how the SC gets driven that shaft gear will be deflected sideways by the driving gear. Bearings that only had to rotate before now have to displace lateral forces, now the puppies are sweating. How long THOSE last is fully a function of their design, composition, components and how much they're being asked to do.

Notice the shaft gear rides on needles not balls, the lateral load is spread along the length of the bearings, not concentrated where the circumference of a ball passes the moment of energy in one tiny spot. Each design has its place.

The plastic cages of the two ball bearings in the SC should last years, if operated within their design parameters, brittling of cages comes from heat, which comes (mostly here) from friction which comes from exceeding a coefficient of "clearance" (i forget the proper term)between two surfaces.

(ya really want all this?)

Yeah, bearings of yore broke down a lot . New manufacturing capabilities for shaping and polishing surfaces to fractions of MILLIONTHS mean far better durability of product than just ten years ago.

Enough. Change your oil, understand that pushing beyond "typical use" conditions means trading longevity for adrenaline. As we used to say "speed costs money, how fast do ya wanna go?"

There's a whole ton of real world data, not theory, from real users, not engineers, available on gh and this forum from the last 15 years which disagrees with your thoughts on sc bearing life. How you can dismiss that data and warnings and skip the whole rebuild kit over $50 savings when you're already gonna have it apart boggles my mind.

 

[IRISHGUY]

There's a whole ton of real world data, not theory, from real users, not engineers, available on gh and this forum from the last 15 years which disagrees with your thoughts on sc bearing life. How you can dismiss that data and warnings and skip the whole rebuild kit over $50 savings when you're already gonna have it apart boggles my mind.

Here's s thought, you do you, I'll do me. Sorry to boggle your mind.

 

[pvamax]

Here's s thought, you do you, I'll do me. Sorry to boggle your mind.

Maybe we should talk about those problematic hollow, sodium filled exhaust valves in the 2005 motors then. Lol

 

[IRISHGUY]

Maybe we should talk about those problematic hollow, sodium filled exhaust valves in the 2005 motors then. Lol

Now THERE'S a spark of insanity.

 

[rcookr1]

2006 Seadoo introduced a slightly more heavy-duty supercharger assembly, but still with the same concept and flaws. Therefore, if you have a high hour 2004-2005 machine, it is recommended to rebuild the whole supercharger with new components that are not worn so you have new bearings as well.

 

[mikidymac]

The big thing here and for anyone with a seadoo supercharger is that they do fail and the numbers are pretty high, not just one or two and when they go they take the entire engine with it.

So yes, it is proven that they do fail and it is recommended to everyone to rebuild them at the time and engine hours that seadoo recommends as it is much better for the average owner to spend the $400 on a SC rebuild that thousands on a SC and engine rebuild.

If you want to gamble on your own then absolutely go for it, it is yours and only you can make that decision.

But don't try to talk others into skipping service because you think it isn't necessary.

 

[Chester]

Here's s thought, you do you, I'll do me. Sorry to boggle your mind.

Her's a thought, don't post here if you don't like the advice.
Quit being so cheap and rebuild the supercharger already. If you can't afford to do it right, how will you afford to do it over? Here's a picture of the bearings with only 58 hours but are 5 years old. Caught just in time.

Chester

 

[rcookr1]

Is there 7 ball bearings I think that how many should be there?

 

[IRISHGUY]

Her's a thought, don't post here if you don't like the advice.
Quit being so cheap and rebuild the supercharger already. If you can't afford to do it right, how will you afford to do it over? Here's a picture of the bearings with only 58 hours but are 5 years old. Caught just in time.

ChesterView attachment 43448

Wow, touchy. The poster with whom I had a dialog with seemed fine, who voted you oracle and diviner of the hearts and intents of men?

Look, forums by definition are for discourse and exchange of ideas, and not necessarily agreement. I sensed the dialog I had with another poster was escalating and the whole thing wasn't worth getting into a pissing match. We agreed to move on, clink brewskies.

Then here comes you inviting me to not post at all. Comrade, that's not how it works in America.

If the hill you wanna die on is "by all means rebuild that time bomb" I say go for it.

Knowledge unchallenged is just hearsay, rhetoric, or opinion, all of which are CERTAINLY welcome and part of what makes a forum material, everybody comes from different levels of experience and competence, but an "agree or get lost" cult of groupthink mindset certainly chills free speech or innovation or ideas

Thanks for the picture, glad you found your issue.

 

[IRISHGUY]

The big thing here and for anyone with a seadoo supercharger is that they do fail and the numbers are pretty high, not just one or two and when they go they take the entire engine with it.

So yes, it is proven that they do fail and it is recommended to everyone to rebuild them at the time and engine hours that seadoo recommends as it is much better for the average owner to spend the $400 on a SC rebuild that thousands on a SC and engine rebuild.

If you want to gamble on your own then absolutely go for it, it is yours and only you can make that decision.

But don't try to talk others into skipping service because you think it isn't necessary.

Thanks for the input, I don't believe you'll find any part of my postings that adjure others to skip a rebuild, quite the opposite. Y'all do whatcha wanna, whatever makes your boat float, please allow that I can do the same.

 

[mikidymac]

Thanks for the input, I don't believe you'll find any part of my postings that adjure others to skip a rebuild, quite the opposite. Y'all do whatcha wanna, whatever makes your boat float, please allow that I can do the same.

I am agreeing with you here.

If you want to see how long you can go on a supercharger then by all means go for it and let us know good or bad.

I just wanted the average Joe that comes here looking for advice to know that they should follow the recommended service intervals to avoid potential failures and issues per the manufacturer.

 

[IRISHGUY]

I am agreeing with you here.

If you want to see how long you can go on a supercharger then by all means go for it and let us know good or bad.

I just wanted the average Joe that comes here looking for advice to know that they should follow the recommended service intervals to avoid potential failures and issues per the manufacturer.

Of course!

 

[Chester]

Wow, touchy. The poster with whom I had a dialog with seemed fine, who voted you oracle and diviner of the hearts and intents of men?

Look, forums by definition are for discourse and exchange of ideas, and not necessarily agreement. I sensed the dialog I had with another poster was escalating and the whole thing wasn't worth getting into a pissing match. We agreed to move on, clink brewskies.

Then here comes you inviting me to not post at all. Comrade, that's not how it works in America.

If the hill you wanna die on is "by all means rebuild that time bomb" I say go for it.

Knowledge unchallenged is just hearsay, rhetoric, or opinion, all of which are CERTAINLY welcome and part of what makes a forum material, everybody comes from different levels of experience and competence, but an "agree or get lost" cult of groupthink mindset certainly chills free speech or innovation or ideas

Thanks for the picture, glad you found your issue.

I'm not sure what you mean about "your issue".
You can't go by just hours on the Sea-Doo. The plastic cage that separates the balls gets brittle over time and will fail as you see in the picture. I rebuild about 10 - 15 supercharger each season and I've seen many bearing failures at well under 100 hours, but over 4 years old. It trashes the whole supercharger and the engine has to come out if debris went in.
You came here for advice, here it is, Do a complete rebuild of the supercharger, that way you will have the new updated 2012 shaft and the titanium coated washers.

Chester

 

[rcookr1]

 

[gazzaskirepair]

No one here has mentioned oil quality and viscosity that keeps the bearings lubricated and wet with oil for the next start up
I just picked up a 2006 Speedster 430hp with twin 215hp engines that were manufactured in 08/2005
The original owner has done 255 hours on them and hasn’t changed valves or done supercharger rebuilds
To me it’s a ticking time bomb
But I believe if the 20 hour ski has had the best oil used in its 14 years then the bearings should be good BUT if the new kits ahave I prayed bearings etc then changing them in the near future is preventative maintenance