UGH!!! Rope caught on drive shaft destroyed rubber bushing!

[mejim707]

Well, perfect timing for my starting issue to be fixed someone threw a tie rope behind my boat and it got sucked up onto the driveshaft and stopped the engine. Thankfully it didn’t ruin the engine I got it out of there and it starts up however the grommet bushing that goes around the driveshaft to the impeller end is totally destroyed. It’s just that rubber piece. Can I run without that or do I need to pull the pump and replace that grommet?

 

[POPPS]

You can run without it,,,not the end if the world,,,there may be some cavitation but i doubt you can feel it,

 

[mejim707]

You can run without it,,,not the end if the world,,,there may be some cavitation but i doubt you can feel it,

Ok awesome! Thank you, I was highly concerned lol Perfect timing but it could have been way worse.

 

[POPPS]

if you have the large threaded boot,,,remember it is opposite thread,,,clean out all the threads on the prop,,,spic and span,,,put some waterproof grease on the boot threads ..then gently without cross threading,,,thread it on.

 

[mejim707]

if you have the large threaded boot,,,remember it is opposite thread,,,clean out all the threads on the prop,,,spic and span,,,put some waterproof grease on the boot threads ..then gently without cross threading,,,thread it on.

Is this for the torn rubber bushing?

The only thing that got torn up was the rubber bushing where the drive shaft slides into the propeller. The rubber bushing goes around the drive shaft and butts up against the propeller. I guess I can’t see the splines but most of that bushing is gone.

If I can run without it for the season that is awesome but it’s totally going to be nagging at me haha

I’ll see if I can locate a picture of it and post it here.

 

[POPPS]

If you have the large diameter driveshaft,,,you will have the large reverse threaded boot.

 

[mejim707]

If you have the large diameter driveshaft,,,you will have the large reverse threaded boot.

These are the rubber grommet pieces that got torn up. Numbers 42 and 2.

 

[POPPS]

Okay,,,got it,,,you have the smaller drive shaft,,,yes,,,its 2 piece,,,so the grommet/boot is to keep water out of the splines of the shaft that are in the prop,,,and to avoid cavitation at the front of the prop,,.the shaft is stainless and "should not rust."...but the cavitation is the real question?,,,maybe other guys will input their thoughts?
Please disregard my initial suggestions.

 

[mejim707]

So I got the two new parts. The rubber impeller boot / bushing and the impeller cap that goes around the bushing.

It turns out that my impeller is a "Skat Trak 14.5 22.5". The end of it will not take the new impeller boot so I modified the boot a bit to press fit against the impeller and seal it off. I also added a bit of grease to the splines.

The job was super easy. A few years back I replaced the wear ring and cone oil. So everything was clear and easy to remove. Since then I've used the boat maybe a total of 6 hours on the water. There was no corrosion whatsoever. The wear ring is also in perfect condition.

The only thing I don't like is that the rubber boot does not mate with the inside lip of the impeller because the impeller is this Skat Trak unit. What I'll probably do it over the winter I'll pull the pump again and replace the impeller with an OEM one for this year boat. I'll get a new impeller boot at that point as well. But for now this should have no issue for the rest of the season. And I don't use this in salt water so if there is any water intrusion into the splines it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[POPPS]

I had/have the same issue,,,with my 16/23 skattrack,,,so I USED black RTV silicone to mold the shaft into the prop hub...I elevated the shaft so it was parallel with the ground and let it sit over night,, its not perfect,,,but works.

 

[mejim707]

I had/have the same issue,,,with my 16/23 skattrack,,,so I USED black RTV silicone to mold the shaft into the prop hub...I elevated the shaft so it was parallel with the ground and let it sit over night,, its not perfect,,,but works.

So I guess if you’re using a skat trak then maybe it’s not all that bad I have one lol

I had it out today for a few hours. I love this thing.

 

[POPPS]

we won the 2005 800 cc Expert class worlds at Havasu with it,,,my son of course the racer,,,and me the builder...its not easy getting the "right setup"..a lot of trial and error.

 

[POPPS]

Heres how you do it without having a graphing radar gun,,,,We have a racing buddy for many years leading up to havasu,,,pre/04,,,he has the same 800 cc LTD motir,,,but with a different mechanic/tuner
We usually set up our own closed course,,,the coast guard love it,,,
Very often we will do a side by side,,,,about 40 feet apart,,,I always know how quick should out of the hole,,,and how fast I should be on the top end,,,and so does he,,,Therefore,,,if you find someone with same seadoo as you but stock,,,you can determine hiw well the prop works out of the hole and on top end,

 

[mejim707]

Heres how you do it without having a graphing radar gun,,,,We have a racing buddy for many years leading up to havasu,,,pre/04,,,he has the same 800 cc LTD motir,,,but with a different mechanic/tuner
We usually set up our own closed course,,,the coast guard love it,,,
Very often we will do a side by side,,,,about 40 feet apart,,,I always know how quick should out of the hole,,,and how fast I should be on the top end,,,and so does he,,,Therefore,,,if you find someone with same seadoo as you but stock,,,you can determine hiw well the prop works out of the hole and on top end,

Those are good notes. I don't know exactly what this boat should do, however, if I punch it to 3/4 or Full throttle it takes about 3 seconds or so to get out of the hole, and my top speed was 45MPH on semi-smooth (never glass smooth) water with a full tank of gas. I have not been able to exceed 45MPH and my max RPM was 6800. I cannot get faster than 6800 RPM or 45MPH.

I have also done side by side with a few skis and I'm pretty close to speed, but obviously it's a ski so I'm not as quick. But this thing does hold its own.

I was thinking about adjusting the raves and water valve. Currently the raves are flush with the cap, and the water valve is exactly 3 turns out, or two clicks out form flush with the cap. I hear that adjusting these will improve either top end or bottom end performance but not both. I've also thoroughly cleaned them so they're pristine.

I don't have the guts for racing on my lake unless it's first thing in the morning or perfect conditions. With just a few boats out there, the way the lake is laid out, the waves go crazy and I'll launch in the air if I'm going anywhere near 40MPH lol It's not a pleasant experience, I've done it a number of times accidentally haha

Also, maybe you have advice, whenever getting out of the hole I always trim all the way down, punch it, then set the trim center for plane speed. Is this correct?

That's awesome about racing these things. You have any videos of your races?

 

[POPPS]

Theres so much to picking a prop,,,hours and hours of T&E (mostly)...error...lol
Too many people think that you can bolt on a shiny new prop and that voila,,,you have better bottom end and top end,,,
Nope,,,if the ski is stick,,,you will either gain bottom and lose top,,,or,,,gain top at the expense of bottom,,,
On a modified ski like ours...7760 rpm,,.61mph'ish.(gps),,,..with the full race head,,,we will gain bottom end,,,out of the hole,,,which is everything in racing,,,but we will also gain top end...and to go 61 mph...and it will cost you many thousands of dollars,,,
WOW...got to give my head a shake,,,,,I truly apologize,,,I thought that you a had an 800 cc ski,,,and not a jet boat...but the principal of side by side with an equal boat is the same,,,
On jet boats,,,prop is EVERYTHING!!!,,and of course hp.
To conclude,,,unless your boat/ski is modified,,,you will either lose bottom,,,or top,,,at the expense of the other.