X4 Hull Jet Pump STUCK to Hull

[JustSteve]

It's a 94 SP that has been sitting outside near the water for a couple of years. The housing doesn't actually look that bad, but it is quite stuck to the hull.

I tried:

- Prying with a crow bar
- Prying with a 2x4
- Pulling it with a bottle jack and rope
- Smacking it with a mallet
- Swearing at it
- Penetrating fluid
- Swearing at it again

Has anybody tried heating up the pump with a torch? I'm about ready to remove it with a sledge hammer if I can't figure this one out.

Yes, there are lots of other posts about this very problem. I encountered it myself back in 2004 on another ski. This baby is 12 years older than it was in 2004 so all bets are off.

Tell me that if I fab the tool shown in the repair manual it will work. A torch looks waaay easier. No, seriously I am considering it.

 

[1of500]

A torch wont help. There is silicone or something similar between the hull and pump.

 

[jasonham41]

I made a puller years ago. I did one pump that was stuck so hard it pulled some of the fibre glass away before it let go. Never fails though.

 

[jasonham41]

Sorry the pics are upside down not sure how to rotate them via this phone

 

[mikidymac]

Make sure everything is loose and hoses removed from the inside of the hull also.

PS: your 94' SP is not an X4.

 

[JustSteve]

Not an X-4?

Dang, you are right. Comparing it to my 96 XO I can see that the shape of the hull is different where is meets the intake. Probably other differences, too - maybe a little heavier.

Honestly, I don't know what to expect of this machine once I get it running. I have only owned 717 and 787 powered SeaDoos. This one I picked up for $100 after it sucked a rock into the jet pump. I figure that it will be plenty fast for my 15 year old to learn some tricks on before I turn him loose (with me as his wingman, of course) with the XP next Spring.

If its performance turns out to be unimpressive I will have an aesthetically sweet SP that I can sell off when prices come back and then invest the $$ in a fixer-upper XP.

In the mean time, I'll have a low-cost winter project to keep me busy.

Next order of business is to make a puller like the one that [MENTION=42932]jasonham41[/MENTION] shared.

I hate to admit it, but I enjoy wrenching on these things almost as much as I enjoy riding them. Compared to a classic car, you can get the satisfaction of restoring/improving an high performance vehicle in a smaller space at almost no cost.

I'll share photos when I get the contraption built.

 

[CReynoldsMIZ]

Not an X-4?

Dang, you are right. Comparing it to my 96 XO I can see that the shape of the hull is different where is meets the intake. Probably other differences, too - maybe a little heavier.

Honestly, I don't know what to expect of this machine once I get it running. I have only owned 717 and 787 powered SeaDoos. This one I picked up for $100 after it sucked a rock into the jet pump. I figure that it will be plenty fast for my 15 year old to learn some tricks on before I turn him loose (with me as his wingman, of course) with the XP next Spring.

If its performance turns out to be unimpressive I will have an aesthetically sweet SP that I can sell off when prices come back and then invest the $$ in a fixer-upper XP.

In the mean time, I'll have a low-cost winter project to keep me busy.

Next order of business is to make a puller like the one that [MENTION=42932]jasonham41[/MENTION] shared.

I hate to admit it, but I enjoy wrenching on these things almost as much as I enjoy riding them. Compared to a classic car, you can get the satisfaction of restoring/improving an high performance vehicle in a smaller space at almost no cost.

I'll share photos when I get the contraption built.

here is a free puller. Strap the seadoo to a tree. Then strap the pump to your truck and give it a slow tug. Something will give.

 

[mikidymac]

In all honesty the SP is more fun than it should be. It is no 787 powered X4 but they are stupid fun for what they are and the 580 engine is almost bulletproof.
What do mopeds, fat chicks and SP's have in common?
There all fun to ride until your friends see you with them.

 

[JustSteve]

Call me a whimp but I'm not ready to tie it to a tree. Close, but not yet.

Here's my version of the low-budget puller. I cranked on the contraption until the wrench got so hot that I couldn't touch the end that was in contact with the nut.

Now I'm letting it sit for a couple of minutes.

The left side of the pump is pulling off but the right side is holding fast. Look closely at the last photo and you can see how far into the wood that fender washer has been pulled.

Oh...the suspense.

 

[jasonham41]

Have you tried mounting your puller the other way on the pump.
Looking at the pics you might be inadvertently putting more pressure on one side than the other.
Mine goes flat across the back of the hull, so it pulls square and the studds are about an M14-16 so it has no option but come off straight.

 

[JustSteve]

You might be onto something there. The right bolt broke
completely off on the right side.

Before I get too crazy with a new bracket I'm going to try pulling on the right side only. Drum roll...

 

[JustSteve]

Okay. I broke another bolt and the right side didn't budge. This time I oriented the tool so that it pulled only on the right two bolts.

If it wasn't pouring rain outside I would go tie that bad boy to my truck bumper right now.

 

[1of500]

Have you ran a razor blade around the perimeter of where the pump meets the hull

 

[WhiskeyD]

Loop rope through the veins on the pump and attach it to a come along

 

[jasonham41]

Can you put tension on your puller then get in through the intake grate with a 2x4" and give it a few sharp knocks with a BFH.

 

[JustSteve]

Haven't considered whacking it from behind or trying the razor blade. The intake grate is removed so it's possible that the previous owner tried this already. Now that I have one side unstuck there's a chance that it could work.

Gonna have to hold off until the rain settles into the ground. With 12" in the past 24 hours I can barely walk across the lawn to get to the ski.

Thanks for the ideas. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[mikidymac]

Haven't considered whacking it from behind or trying the razor blade. The intake grate is removed so it's possible that the previous owner tried this already. Now that I have one side unstuck there's a chance that it could work.

Gonna have to hold off until the rain settles into the ground. With 12" in the past 24 hours I can barely walk across the lawn to get to the ski.

Thanks for the ideas. I'll let you know how it goes.

You are lucky. Honestly here in California we only got 11" for the entire year.

 

[JustSteve]

Youch! San Diego is making up for it this week, I hear.

 

[mikidymac]

Yes but I am about 4 hours north so the only falling from the sky is ash from the fires.

 

[JustSteve]

It's off.

After a couple of days banging and wrenching on the jet pump I either gave up hope that I would ever be able to remove it gently, or simply reached the point where I didn't care if it got destroyed it the process.

We lashed the hull to a big tree by connecting a tow strap to the front tow point on the hull. Then I took a rope and looped it around three of the six vanes, evenly spaced to distribute the load. I hooked the rope to my trailer hitch and gently tugged with the truck.

With each successive pull the pump gave way a little more. This started with the left side which was already broken free by my crude mechanical puller. You could hear the sealant breaking loose a little more with each tug.

To protect the pump when it came loose I placed a moving blanket on the ground between the pump and the truck. When it finally did break free, the pump came screaming out of the hull and overshot the blanket, landing on the concrete. I didn't see any major damage from the fall.

Lesson learned: Next time I'll give it a couple of tugs by hand and if the pump doesn't come off I'll move directly to the truck-yank procedure.

Lesson learned: Elasticity in your rope = distance once the pump cuts loose. I planned to use a nylon strap but it was difficult to feed between the vanes. Next time I would use a longer rope to reduce the possibility of having the flying pump hit my bumper (no damage this time, but it could easily have happened). Better yet, a short section of rope through the vanes connected to a longer loop of webbing might reduce the overall stretching and reduce snap-back.

Here's a short video of the moment it separated.

Thanks again to those who offered their advice on this minor, but potentially frustrating, procedure.

[video=youtube_share;cb3CmiLcFJ8]https://youtu.be/cb3CmiLcFJ8[/video]

 

[1of500]

It's off.

After a couple of days banging and wrenching on the jet pump I either gave up hope that I would ever be able to remove it gently, or simply reached the point where I didn't care if it got destroyed it the process.

We lashed the hull to a big tree by connecting a tow strap to the front tow point on the hull. Then I took a rope and looped it around three of the six vanes, evenly spaced to distribute the load. I hooked the rope to my trailer hitch and gently tugged with the truck.

With each successive pull the pump gave way a little more. This started with the left side which was already broken free by my crude mechanical puller. You could hear the sealant breaking loose a little more with each tug.

To protect the pump when it came loose I placed a moving blanket on the ground between the pump and the truck. When it finally did break free, the pump came screaming out of the hull and overshot the blanket, landing on the concrete. I didn't see any major damage from the fall.

Lesson learned: Next time I'll give it a couple of tugs by hand and if the pump doesn't come off I'll move directly to the truck-yank procedure.

Lesson learned: Elasticity in your rope = distance once the pump cuts loose. I planned to use a nylon strap but it was difficult to feed between the vanes. Next time I would use a longer rope to reduce the possibility of having the flying pump hit my bumper (no damage this time, but it could easily have happened). Better yet, a short section of rope through the vanes connected to a longer loop of webbing might reduce the overall stretching and reduce snap-back.

Here's a short video of the moment it separated.

Thanks again to those who offered their advice on this minor, but potentially frustrating, procedure.

[video=youtube_share;cb3CmiLcFJ8]https://youtu.be/cb3CmiLcFJ8[/video]

I strap the pump to an inanimate object pull the ski and trailer

 

[JustSteve]

That's probably a better approach. I couldn't find a 1 7/8 ball for the trailer so I flipped things around. Your setup eliminates the chance of having the pump smack the bumper.

My setup adds just enough danger to keep things interesting. Plus it allows the driver to watch the pump as it starts to break loose.

Leave it to an engineer to over-complicate a simple task.

 

[CReynoldsMIZ]

That's probably a better approach. I couldn't find a 1 7/8 ball for the trailer so I flipped things around. Your setup eliminates the chance of having the pump smack the bumper.

My setup adds just enough danger to keep things interesting. Plus it allows the driver to watch the pump as it starts to break loose.

Leave it to an engineer to over-complicate a simple task.

Glad it worked! Knew something had to give. Hope the pump is fine, should be. Do yourself a favor when you get all the silicone off get yourself a neoprene pump seal and you won't have to worry about using rtv to seal up the pump. Only a few dollars for the seal

 

[JustSteve]

Had to do the pump pull again this summer. Here's a video of the setup. This time I tied the pump to the tree and yanked (actually pushed) the ski away from it. Took a few tries but we got it off. This jet pump was a mess from lots of salt water exposure. The video includes a look at what it took to clean it up.

[video=youtube;WMmMT0N-fmU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMmMT0N-fmU[/video]