When should I rebuild my supercharger?

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If I'm not mistaken the 2007 boats have the 2006 engines with the ceramic washers in the superchargers. The change was made in 2007 I believe, over to steel washers as the ceramic ones were prone to failure.

If you do not now what's in there in regards to the washers, I'd rebuild it now to avoid any issues with the washers being ingested into the motor if they let go.

Normal maintenance after a fresh rebuild is 200 hours now I believe.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
 
If I'm not mistaken the 2007 boats have the 2006 engines with the ceramic washers in the superchargers. The change was made in 2007 I believe, over to steel washers as the ceramic ones were prone to failure.

If you do not now what's in there in regards to the washers, I'd rebuild it now to avoid any issues with the washers being ingested into the motor if they let go.

Normal maintenance after a fresh rebuild is 200 hours now I believe.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Good advice!
 
I had talked to a dealer about this and were told there were several iterations over the year after 2008 regards to washer material. Went from ceramic to various alloys, to the current one, maybe 4th iteration? The latest one will last 200hrs and isn't brittle like the ceramic and failure occurs immediately and catastrophically. With the steel ones on the latest iteration, they'll end up warping I guess, but you will feel the SC slipping and not making boost. Was told you have like 5hrs from then to get it replaced before serious issues occur. I was also told some of the new skis/boats have sensors that detect that or a computer that tracks time intervals on when to replace it. Not sure what it is, but supposedly something warns you. I personally haven't had mine long enough with that many hours till they slip to check it. If its at the end of the season and I have like 180hrs on them, I'm just going to pull them off and have them rebuilt.

They may be able to handle 200hrs, but there are always cases where there may be defects or whatever the driver's driving habits are that they may fail prematurely. The same supercharger washer kits are the same for the skis, but those are rated for 100hrs. The reason for that is that most operators of skis, whether intentionally or not, jump their ski out of the water. When they do that, your engine goes from seeing a resistive load of water to nothing when it sucks in air. That causes the engine to rev up higher a bit but once the ski comes back down into water, the impeller is still spinning fast when it sees that force of water. The RPMs will drop, but the SC is still high and making some decent boost. To not destroy the engine, the SC needs to slow down drastically, as its turning RPM is exponentially higher than the engines (I think around ~50K at 8K RPM). If it doesn't slow down, you're making too much boost and risk the potential for knocking (fuel ignites due to the pressure built up in the cylinder instead of the spark plugs, which throughs of timing and I can explain further if you'd like). Always, to avoid this, the SC clutch system comes into play to help act as brakes to slow down the SC, I believe like a friction break, correct me if I'm wrong.

It is that slowing down that wears out the SC washers and clutch components and what needs to be rebuilt. The more often you do that, the faster you wear out the system. Like breaks on a car, the more someone slams on their breaks and ride them, the faster they wear out and need to be replaced, compared to someone who is gentler.

Boats are a bit harder to jump out of the water than skis, and if so, way less frequently, but most often people just don't do it, hence the 200hr rebuild time. I try to avoid sucking in air, (Really easy to suck in air when turning right with a lot of people on board and or pulling a ski, as this causes my boat to start listing enough to suck air on one side). But just 2 weeks ago, in trying to outrun a storm back to the dock, I went full speed in some rough water and I launched my boat out of the water a few times and could feel the SC ramping up a bit and slowing down hard when getting back in the water.

Sorry for the long post, but hopefully that helps explain some stuff and understand why it is what it is and the importance of it. Also one thing to note, if you don't already know, is that the SC is gear driven instead of belt drive, like a car. So there is an actual gear that connects directly to the engine to spin the SC turbine, with the whole clutch assembly inside the engine. This is why if the washer fails, like the old ceramic ones, which a brittle and break into fragments, those fragments are lose inside the engine and can cause some SERIOUS damage that will most likely require the engine being pulled out, taking apart, and rebuilt.
 
Guys - I know this thread is a bit old, but the problem regarding supercharger rebuild is new to me. I have a 2012 230SP with 85 total engine hours.... twin engine 215HP...

The boat is certainly over the two year advised threshold, but when I bought it earlier this year (Jan 2018), it only had 25 hours on it. After running it 60 more hours last summer, I know that I will violate both the 2-year and the 100 hour rule for supercharger rebuild before the end of the 2019 season. I'm taking the boat in for routine maintenance tomorrow and was planning on doing the supercharger rebuilds.

HOWEVER.... now I am reading that the post 2007 models have alloy washers that may, in fact push the rebuild time out to 200 hours...? As one of the last 230's manufactured in 2012, would that not put my boat in the alloy washer group? Do you think I am jumping the gun and should wait another year... perhaps until around 150+ hour range to do the rebuild? The boat still runs strong.... 53mph in smooth water at a tad less than 8000 rpm...and with both motors hitting SYNC. No hiccups at all. WOT is used less than 10% of the time with usual cruise for us being around 30mph...or 15-20mph with towables.

Should I go for it...or put some more hours on my second-owner, 85 hour 2012 boat before doing the rebuilds?

Thanks for speedy replies!
 
If it were me I would wait, your boat is technically in the 200 hour category, I feel the additional 2 year requirement is Sea Doo covering their bases and giving them an out should something happened under warranty. We have a 2010 210 Challenger and I will be waiting closer to the 200 hour mark. Boats don't get the abuse a PWC gets, I feel you can comfortably wait to rebuild the supercharger(s) on a boat. I keep an eye on the ranges of RPMs logged with a Candoopro and there is definitely a difference between my RXP-X and our boat. It's clear the boat has far less abuse.

This is my opinion and others will argue one way or the other as well.
 
You must do them both now! Those little bearings spin at 45,000 RPM and the cages in them are plastic. Over time, they get brittle and fall apart, regardless of the hours. I've seen, on customers machines, supercharger bearings fail at less than 5 years with only 55 and 68 hours on the engine. I would never let them go beyond 4 years, even if you have only 10 hours on it.

Chester
 
I agree with Chester. It's not just an hour thing, it's also time. Your boat is going on 7 years old. I rebuilt my 2012 210 last year at around the 200 hour mark, but I did it more so from the standpoint that I was overdue based on the more stringent maintenance requirements and the boat was 6 years old. Now I have peace of mind knowing it's done and one less thing to worry about.
 
...wow.... Thanks so much for the fast replies and the well informed opinions. I will have the boat at the dealer early this afternoon, so there is more time for others to weigh in if they wish.

I actually agree with both sides - GB's opinion makes perfect sense, and I do believe guidelines are set to ensure reduced liability to the manufacturer. However, Chester is also correct in saying that time will age the plastic parts, and regardless of the use, they will deteriorate and become brittle. I have seen this on several parts on the boat - most recently the engine hatch release pull-handle. With the boat sitting more than running for the first 5+ years of its life, that means the bearings were not being lubricated and kept from drying for many, many hours....in the Texas sun at over 100 degrees outside temp.

Your tag line makes sense Chester. The money WILL be spent...if not today, on another day in the not-so-distant future. If I get them rebuilt today, it will be three years before I need to trailer the boat and haul it 70 miles back to the dealer for a major maintenance issue. Even Bob Marley would agree with that logic.....
 
Hey guys,

Im proud to say that my brother and I just purchased a 2011 seadoo challenger 230 SE last year and enjoyed every minute i spent on that boat. the person we bought it from claimed to have had the superchargers rebuilt after a year of owning the boat. We just hit 100 hrs on it at the end of last season and i was wondering if any of you rebuilt the superchargers yourselves. if so, can anyone point me to the part number of the rebuild kit so that i can try to rebuild the superchargers myself? Im confident in my abilities to do this properly, however i dont want to screw up and get the wrong parts. any help at all will be greatly appreciated. thanks!
 
Hey guys,

Im proud to say that my brother and I just purchased a 2011 seadoo challenger 230 SE last year and enjoyed every minute i spent on that boat. the person we bought it from claimed to have had the superchargers rebuilt after a year of owning the boat. We just hit 100 hrs on it at the end of last season and i was wondering if any of you rebuilt the superchargers yourselves. if so, can anyone point me to the part number of the rebuild kit so that i can try to rebuild the superchargers myself? Im confident in my abilities to do this properly, however i dont want to screw up and get the wrong parts. any help at all will be greatly appreciated. thanks!

Here are the parts that you need:

Sea Doo Supercharger Rebuild Kit for 215/255/260 Engine - 420881102
Supercharger tool kit



You will also need a press and good vice as well.

Most people just send them to us as we do it as well. Here is a link to our service:
Sea-Doo Supercharger Rebuild Service


Let us know if you have any questions!
Greg
 
Hey guys,

Im proud to say that my brother and I just purchased a 2011 seadoo challenger 230 SE last year and enjoyed every minute i spent on that boat. the person we bought it from claimed to have had the superchargers rebuilt after a year of owning the boat. We just hit 100 hrs on it at the end of last season and i was wondering if any of you rebuilt the superchargers yourselves. if so, can anyone point me to the part number of the rebuild kit so that i can try to rebuild the superchargers myself? Im confident in my abilities to do this properly, however i dont want to screw up and get the wrong parts. any help at all will be greatly appreciated. thanks!


I looked into getting the parts and doing the rebuild myself as well....I'm very comfortable with turning wrenches. But, when I looked into the cost of the kit, and the fact that I'd NEVER done the job, much less did I have any of the special tools it takes to do the job right, and then comparing the price of the DIY, to having PWC do the job, it was a no-brainer for me. I removed the SCs, sent them off to PWC and got them back in a week. Re-installed them and everything runs like a charm. I'd recommend to anyone considering doing the job themselves, to really compare the cost of pulling them, sending them off and reinstalling a complete unit, vs. buying the kit, buying the special tools and fumbling your way through with You Tube videos to guide you.
 
I looked into getting the parts and doing the rebuild myself as well....I'm very comfortable with turning wrenches. But, when I looked into the cost of the kit, and the fact that I'd NEVER done the job, much less did I have any of the special tools it takes to do the job right, and then comparing the price of the DIY, to having PWC do the job, it was a no-brainer for me. I removed the SCs, sent them off to PWC and got them back in a week. Re-installed them and everything runs like a charm. I'd recommend to anyone considering doing the job themselves, to really compare the cost of pulling them, sending them off and reinstalling a complete unit, vs. buying the kit, buying the special tools and fumbling your way through with You Tube videos to guide you.


Exactly. I'm all for turning my own wrenches as well, but sometimes it's worth leaving it to the pros and to avoid any headaches. If you look at hfgreg's links, you're into the rebuild kit and tools for $420. For $435 they'll rebuild it for you (Shipping should be similar for each). It's a no brainer for me. Super great service and quick turnaround time when we had ours done. I would recommend their service to anyone in need of a rebuild.
 
You must do them both now! Those little bearings spin at 45,000 RPM and the cages in them are plastic. Over time, they get brittle and fall apart, regardless of the hours. I've seen, on customers machines, supercharger bearings fail at less than 5 years with only 55 and 68 hours on the engine. I would never let them go beyond 4 years, even if you have only 10 hours on it.

Chester
I had my supercharger in my 2009 180SE rebuilt at 155 hours and 8 years. According to my mechanic who works on a lot of PWCs and the occasional boat, the bearings can go earlier than the 200 hours, especially in the PWCs. It is no longer the washer problem. The old set he took out looked pretty good to me but I expect it is hard to predict when the plastic casings decide to disintegrate. 200 hours in a boat may be in the ballpark, but I am happy I have new bearings for the next 150 hours. I will definitely stretch the 2 year limit otherwise I would be replacing the bearings at 50 hours which seems way overkill to me.
 
I had my supercharger in my 2009 180SE rebuilt at 155 hours and 8 years. According to my mechanic who works on a lot of PWCs and the occasional boat, the bearings can go earlier than the 200 hours, especially in the PWCs. It is no longer the washer problem. The old set he took out looked pretty good to me but I expect it is hard to predict when the plastic casings decide to disintegrate. 200 hours in a boat may be in the ballpark, but I am happy I have new bearings for the next 150 hours. I will definitely stretch the 2 year limit otherwise I would be replacing the bearings at 50 hours which seems way overkill to me.

You're definitely fine in stretching it over the 2yr limit. Personally, I would probably be comfortable pushing it to 4yrs but I usually hit the hour limit first.
 
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