Where is the Impeller Shaft Oil Reservoir ?

[Challanger John]

I am winterizing my 2000 challanger, but I am having trouble finding the impeller shaft oil reservoir . Could anyone help me with locating it and how the change the oil? Your help would be great,

Thanks,
John

 

[seadoosnipe]

O.K.....are you ready!

John, welcome to the forum. What your wanting to do really can't be done unless you remove the pump and set it upside down over a coffee can for a day or so. Then you'll be able to replace all the oil.
You have to remove the reverser gate, then the pump nozzle. From there, you'll see the pump stator, impellor and the cone of the bearing oil housing. There is an allen screw in the side. This is where you will fill the cup with oil. Here's the catch. The oil you put into that housing, drains down into a void of the bearing surfaces where it's more like a sump that lubs the thrust bearing and two jounal bearings.
If you do anything to this, you may want to take off the parts as described above and pull out the allen screw and look at the oil. You'll be looking for the proper oil level and color. If it has a yellowish look to it, that means it has gotten some water in it. Which isn't good. If it's just low, fill it with the recommended synthetic oil.
Hope this gives you an idea.
You can go to www.seadoo.com and look in the parts section. From there, you can pull up your propulsion system and see the exploded view of your pump.

 

[Challanger John]

So I have to do this each time I winterize my boat? Seems like a lot of work, but I will check it out. Thanks.

 

[seadoosnipe]

Oil check?

It's really not that hard to check the oil. Or should I say, it's really not that hard to remove the necessary parts to get to it. The most important part of checking this oil is to see that it is still in good condition. Remember, this part of the unit is mostly underwater and has a lot of thrust being put on it. If the seals are bad, you'll get water in it and that can seize your bearings.

When you take out the oil fill plug, try and look inside, or dip the tip of a small screwdriver into it to see if it has any yellow color to it. That's a sign of water getting in the oil. When you rebuild the pump end, the last procedure is to put a pressure test on the bearing housing and seals to make sure they don't leak.

 

[kustomkarl]

So I have to do this each time I winterize my boat? Seems like a lot of work, but I will check it out. Thanks.

John, it is better to spend some time checking the fluid when winterizing, than replace broken pump parts from contaminates in the oil. I used to store my Stand-up jet ski's in my basement....now that was a real pain, but they never froze anything.