I want to do a post on the wear ring, it’s purpose, and the symptoms of a damaged one.
The wear ring can be a love-hate relationship but serves an important role in protecting your watercraft. Let’s go over it and why it quite an amazing at protecting your jet ski.
The Purpose Of The Wear Ring
The reason why Sea-Doo uses a plastic wear ring is to protect the PWC from any major damage that might come from sucking something up.
The Sea-Doo wear ring is simple, it’s a thick piece of plastic that wraps around the impeller. The gap between the impeller and the wear ring is very tight because it needs to be to give you the correct propulsion.
With tight tolerances between the impeller and wear ring, anything that gets sucked up into the pump can damage either one. It’s more likely to damage the wear ring, but big and hard items like rocks can also damage the impeller.
Without the wear ring, your jet pump would take the damage, and it’s much larger and more expensive to fix.
How To Know Your Wear Ring Is Damaged?
The symptoms of a damaged wear ring is a lack of power even though the engine RPMs are fine. The jet ski will feel like it has all the power, but just won’t “catch” and take off.
Many people confuse a damaged wear ring with other things, like thinking the transmission is damaged or not catching. You give it gas, but the jet ski “won’t shift” is a common saying. Jet ski’s do not have transmissions, if the engine is on the then impeller is moving.
The forward and reverse are done by moving a bucking up and down to redirect the thrust.
The slipping or not feeling like the engine is catching until later is because the wear ring has a groove(s) cut into it. The groves allow water to escape around the impeller instead of through the impeller. This makes the PWC feel like it wants to take off, but you’re just not moving that much.
Many things can cut groves into your jet ski’s wear ring, such as rocks, sticks, sand, and more. It’s usually the small things that cut the groves and then get forced out. The groves might not be noticeable until you take the jet pump off.
Note: it’s normal for the impeller to cut a few groves into the wear ring itself as it gets broken-in. These groves won’t affect take off unless the impeller is damaged. It’s the large and improper groves that are the issues.
How Often To Replace A Wear Ring
Unlike the name “WEAR” ring, it’s not something that needs constant maintenance or replacing.
The only time the wear ring needs replacing is when it’s damaged from sucking something up. There is no need to replace the wear ring every so often, it’s best you don’t touch it until it’s damaged.
Once the wear ring is damaged, you must replace it or your jet ski won’t be the same until it’s fixed; the problem doesn’t “work it’s self out”.
How To Replace Sea-Doo Wear Ring
The process for replacing the wear ring is different for every model of Sea-Doo. Some are super easy, like the Spark’s without iBR, and others are a lot harder.
The video below I really like and shows how to replace a wear ring on a modern 4-stroke Sea-Doo.
Plastic Vs. Stainless-Steel Wear Ring
I know, a plastic wear ring doesn’t seem as ideal compared to something that is harder and stronger, like a stainless-steel wear ring.
You can buy replacement wear rings for your Sea-Doo that are stainless steel, but I suggest you don’t.
The goal of the wear ring is to protect your jet pump, and more importantly, the impeller. The impeller is metal, and the wear ring being plastic means it takes the abuse and not the impeller. If the wear ring is metal, then it’s the weaker of the two metals that will get destroyed and that is often the impeller since it takes more abuse by micro-cavitation.
The wear ring is meant to be the thing that gets sacrificed, and not the more expensive items like the impeller. The average jet ski owner is better off with a plastic wear ring, unless you race, then it might be slightly better to get metal.
How Often To Replace Jet Ski Impeller
Every year or 100 hours, you should have your jet ski’s impeller inspected to see if it needs to be replaced. Most dealerships will do this inspection as part of your service.
The impeller on your jet ski doesn’t always need to be replaced unless it’s damaged, and even then, can often be fixed if the damage is minor.
It’s very common for someone to suck up rocks, and it damages the wear ring and impeller. A lot of the time, the impeller can be cleaned up and won’t need to be replaced. If the damage is very bad, then the impeller and wear ring must be replaced.
Over time, cavitation can eat away at the impeller, and a replacement impeller will be needed. You should not only replace the impeller, but figure out what is causing the cavitation or wobble if the wear ring is also damaged for no clear reason.
What Happens When You Suck Something Up?
If it’s small enough, then nothing really happens, and the debris passes through. If it’s big enough, it can stop the impeller and thus shut the engine off.
I have a whole post on what to do if you suck something up here.
The good news is that the engineers at Sea-Doo have figured out the solution. You can’t remove all the rocks and sticks from the lakes and oceans, but you can better prepare your watercraft for an event where it sucks something up.
So, what Sea-Doo did and what many other manufacturers do similarly is to use a plastic guard around the impeller which will take the abuse. The idea is that it’s easier and CHEAPER to replace something that is plastic, than the whole metal jet pump housing.
Other manufacturers have wear rings but tend to be metal or not have a wear ring at all. A metal wear ring can be more durable, but more costly to repair. Having no wear ring means the whole jet pump housing needs to be replaced if you do suck something up.
The wear ring has its pros and cons, but what is for sure is that you’ll suck something up eventually, so a wear ring is better to have overall.
How Often Do You Suck Stuff Up?
Sounds scary, doesn’t it? Sucking up rocks and debris into the watercraft and doing damage.
The truth is that it is quite rare to do, unless you’re not being careful. I’ve been playing with watercraft for most of my life, and rarely suck anything up. It happens, much like getting a nail in your car tire.
To avoid sucking up stuff, it’s best to follow some rules…
- Always start the engine in waist deep or deeper water.
- Avoid shallow ground and markers.
- Avoid sucking up ropes.
- Avoid riding after a heavy rainstorm since many sticks break free and hide in the water.
- Avoid debris in the water, like you avoid potholes in the road.
- Always be aware of your surroundings.
- Use a shock tube* when pulling anyone to avoid sucking up the tow-rope.
I’ve seen just about everything get sucked up into the pump of a watercraft. Below is a picture of someone who sucked up a lake map. The blue outer ring is actually the wear ring and didn’t take much damage, but this little bit of paper can stop any watercraft with or without a wear ring. So make sure to avoid sucking stuff up. That little paper map caused the owner running issues, and needed to be fixed.
But Rocks Don’t Float!
It’s shocking to many new jet ski owners when they suck up things like rocks. I’ve gotten a few “but rocks don’t float” arguments from customers before.
Jet skis are a powerful vacuum and will suck up anything in its way. This is why I say you should not start your jet ski in no less than 3 feet of water.
People new to the sport also don’t know about shoal markers and other shallow areas they need to avoid, especially around boat ramps.
Don’t Flip It!!!
If you do suck something up, the golden rule is to never flip the PWC over. NEVER!
I don’t know where the idea came from where everyone flips over a jet ski to get to the intake, but it needs to STOP. It’s dangerous to do that and if done wrong you can do serious damage to the machine.
The best thing to do is to tow it to land and put it on a trailer. Disconnect the battery and then look at the intake for damage. Shine a light from the intake and from the rear to see if you see something stuck or cuts in the wear ring.
Why Don’t They Put A Screen Over The Intake?
I get this often. A screen over the intake would solve many of the problems with sucking rocks and other debris in.
But it doesn’t work, as covered in my detailed post about it here.
Is The Wear Ring Perfect?
No, the wear ring is not perfect, but it does help the whole jet pump housing.
Sometimes something so big can come in and damage the wear ring and the impeller. So, it’s important to be careful when riding and be aware of your surroundings.
Aloha Steve – love the forum and the dedication of you to answer all of our goofy question – much appreacited…
Looking at 2020 Seadoo SE 170 and here is a description the seller is giving me – The seadoo starts & runs perfectly fine but sometimes it’ll do funny stuff where it slow to go – something with electrical..?? It starts every time no issue and runs and sometimes you’ll have no issues at all sometimes you do….
What the actual hell does this mean..?? Can you decipher it at all…?
The first thing I would do is check the battery connections and replace the battery. It could be something stuck in the pump, but it would be predictable problems happening all the time. I would also take it to a dealership to get the fault codes read to see what is coming up. Then I would check all the fuses, remove them and make sure there is no corrosion. I’ve seen a few odd problems where the fuse was fine but not seated properly in the socket or the socket came loose from the bottom. If corrosion is bad, the grounding wires on the engine block should be cleaned, that can cause odd issues. It sounds like you got a ghost to chase on that one, could be worth it as that is a good jet ski.
Does Yamaha have a wear ring and if so is it good?
Yamaha tends to have a metal wear ring, it’s better than a plastic one but cost more to replace because it’s more of a housing than a ring like what Sea-Doo has.
I have a 2008 155 gti se I went to replaced the ware ring and the old one slid right out and the new one slid right in. I assume it is not supposed to slip inside the housing. Is this causing it to rev up before it starts to take off?
A wear ring that is freely spinning will cause the jet ski to cavitate when taking off for sure, the wear ring should not be moving freely.
I have a 2020 Sea doo GTI 130, it was absolutely fine when my friend was on it but when we switched, I started it up and the engine revs but it didn’t accelerate and felt some heavy vibration. Didn’t feel or heart anything and can’t see anything through the intake or the back.
It sounds like something got sucked up and thrown out. A lot of the time you won’t feel or hear anything when you suck it up because of the power of the engine.
Hello, one question about accessories. I have two 2021 Sea-Doo GTX-230s. I’m 62 years old and in pretty nimble shape, but some relatives (in their 60’s) aren’t in such nimble shape. The back ladder is great, but what would be perfect is a LinQ grab bar attachment. Then someone could put a foot on the ladder and grab the grab bar, it’d be easy, instead of the current configuration where a person has to put a foot on the ladder and then try to grab the little/odd-shaped grab handle attached to the third seat. So my question is, is there a LinQ grab bar attachment, instead of a cooler (which I don’t need) or a fuel tank (which I don’t need)? Or in lieu of a LinQ grab bar attachment (the LinQ attachments are in exactly the right place for a grab bar), is there some other solution to get a grab bar there? Thanks
I don’t know of any accessory like that and I don’t think Sea-Doo would make something like that. I’ve had a few people complain about it being hard to get on but I think the reason why the manufacturers don’t make something is that they worry about it being a liability issue. It needs to be strong but also not in the way. I’ve seen some physical therapy places make custom grab handles to help people get on the PWC but I can’t honestly recommend them as it never looks sturdy to me.
Hello, I’m a relative newbie to all this, I’m learning a lot from your site. I have two 2021 Sea-Doo GTX-230s and I love ’em. The problem is that one of them sucked up a tow rope and it was wrapped around the impeller shaft. I spent hours gingerly cutting the rope with a serrated knife (through the intake grate) and got all of the rope out with no apparent damage to the shaft or anything else. But the Sea-Doo still doesn’t work: in the water it has no reverse and at 6 mph or higher, there are large jet-streams of water (reminiscent of a Yamaha but with much more water volume) shooting out and up in the back. I’m getting IBR Module Error message. But I can’t see any other debris nor can I see any differences between my undamaged Sea-Doo and my damaged Sea-Doo. Presumably the bucket is not positioned properly but I’m just guessing. Any suggestions? Thanks very much for your site! I have one other question about an accessory but I’ll ask it separately. 🙂
It sounds like something is keeping the iBR from moving. It’s possible you have sucked something else besides rope into the intake either during or right after. You’ll need to get the jet ski out and someone to look at the iBR bucket to see what’s wrong.
Hello steven, im impressed with your dedication with this and you seem extremely smart so I figured this is the best place to ask my question. i have a 1994 wave raider 700 and there is quite a bit of vibration at idle and slight throttle, once you get up and going it goes away. it also takes awhile to get up on plane and is about 10 or so mph slower then my buddys 700 ( same engine). it hits rev limiter at full throttle and about half throttle is where its max speed of around 30-35 is at. based on your replies i figured it was the wear ring but the impeller is also dinged up. could the vibrations be from the impeller and wear ring or could that be drive shaft? thank you.
Yes, a damaged impeller can cause what you described. The impeller and housing/wear ring need to be perfect or cavitation happens and other odd things too.
I have a 1995 seadoo hx that seems to overheat and shuts down and hard to start after 20 min when run it at the lake, but when i hook up the hose to it on the trailer runs cool and fine all lines seem to be clear i was wondering if yoy might have any idas
thanks
The intake of the hose and the intake from the pump are different so you have something blocking the pump from sucking water into the system.
What is stance on metal versus plastic wear rings for sea doo sparks? I take big groups out to the lake at times and despite my instructions get a broken plastic wear ring 1-2 times a year. It is an annoyance and I am seriously considering going metal.
For sure go with a metal wear ring if you can. The wear ring on the Spark is more flimsy compared to the bigger models so metal is a must.
2018 Sea Doo GTS – I do lake riding and this is my first PWC. We don’t have a dock or pier to use except when unloading. I am pretty sure I damaged my wear ring last time out due to beaching the craft. I was in a rush and started the GTS in about knee deep water. It feels exactly like you described, a slipping clutch. Ive checked the grate under and nothing is stuck, nothing on the impeller shaft, and I flushed the GTS out w hose. I put in and the power only hits enough to get the thing moving, like it has thrust until the nose levels off then its nothing.
Do you think it is a wear ring?
How much is involved to replace the ring?
I have basic skills as I grew up working on my motocross bikes.
I am certainly not fluent in jet ski, I’ve only replaced plugs and changed the oil.
For future reference, I guess it is best to leave the GTS floating and swim out or push out to deeper water? Is it frowned upon to beach skis like boats do? Thanks!
It sounds like a damage wear ring, sometimes the sticks and rock can hide from you when looking through the intake. The price will vary from dealership to dealership but around 300 to 600 is common. If you do it yourself it will be around 50 to 200 depending on what parts are needed. A GTS doesn’t have an iBR so it should be easy to do if you got basic skills working on powersports things. You should only start a jet ski in more than waist-deep water. Once I get to waist deep I jump on the ski while pushing away from shore to get me in deeper water when I board.
So I fixed problem it was the floating bearing it was shot now I notice 2 stoke oil line was leaking went to local boat shop the didn’t have exact size hose it was bit bigger wondering if that could foul my plucgs? Took to lake I could only reach 20 tops and and died and would not start up till few hours later and also while driving it seem to mis a bit ran good before hose replaced
Hi Steven,
2018 GTI90SE about 22 hours cruising at the lake today when all of a sudden, the sea doo stopped moving but the engine remained on. Tried to apply throttle again, it does rev up but still won’t move forward or reverse although it does seem to move a bit on idle. Turned engine off and on again but machine still won’t move. Engine does turn on. Ended up being towed back to the ramp by good samaritans.
Please advice.
Thanks
If the engine is on the impeller is moving, what controls forward and reverse is a bucket in the rear redirecting thrust. Something is keeping the impeller from moving, could be a stripped driveshaft? I would get this to a repair shop to have them look at it as this is not normal.
Steven i start by saying your blog is excelent and the fact you havd stayed active on it so long is very impressive. My wife crossed at sand bar and sucked up lots of gravel and the wear ring is shot. I also see a lot of abrasion on the blades…..my question is should i replace the wear ring and impeller seperatley including all the orings and grease work or is it possible to buy a complete new pump assembly as one preassembled unit?
2005 seadoo GTX 4 tec cheers
You should for sure get a new impeller, sometimes you can grind down the spurs if the damage is not bad enough. Rocks do some big damage to the impeller and often you need to replace them. I’m not aware of any housing kits, you must buy them separately.
I recently picked up a 96 sea doo hx. It starts right up but kinda puts around and seems like it’s almost the propelling is moving freely. Every so often (maybe 15 seconds) it was rev up super high but doesn’t feel like it should get going where it should be. Never gets past 1/3 throttle speed. Could may be a wear ring?
It could be a fuel line or a dirty carb especially since it’s a 2-stroke. If it was a bad wear ring it wouldn’t be acting up every so often, it would be every time.
I’m wondering if wear ring is bad on my ski I started my ski in 2 foot of water sucked up a bunch of dirt and last week I took it out again worked fine all day went for my last run it felt like it was slipping kinda like car with trans slipping
That sounds like a bad wear ring.
Hi, I have two 2016 Spark 3UP 900 H.O. iBR Each at 40 hrs. Last trip out one of them started making a clunking noise (more than the normal vibration) especially at idle and low speed. It also seemed to have a mind of it’s own as far as steering. Not excessively, but it would dart slightly in one direction or the other while holding the handlebar still. We are not aware of having sucked anything into this ski, but I’m wondering if we could have a damaged wear ring. When back on the trailer, and reaching up inside the intake, I noticed the shaft on this ski has a significant amount of play (probably 3/8″ total side to side) while the other only a slight amount. Found the same with the deflector/steering nozzle. The nozzle on the unit of concern has a great deal more side to side/up and down play than the other ski. Final note, this one has always been more noisy when running it on the trailer with the hose connected. Any help pointing me in the direction to look would be greatly appreciated. I’m about to pull the top off it. Thanks for the helpful articles posted thus far!
This does not sound right at all, sounds more like a manufacturer defect then sucking something up. I would take it to the dealership and see what they say.
Hi Steven, 2006 wake edition, my wear ring is knackered and needs replacing, whilst riding it I found the usual symptoms.. but the 12v low came on the dash, I’ve charged my battery, I’ve been told by my friend dad that he read/heard something that the ecu will discharge the battery to eventually cut it out, to stop the engine over heating from high revs(7500rpm), is this correct? Thanks
It’s more likely you just need to replace the battery completely. Even if the battery charger says it charged fine the battery could be bad enough to throw a 12-volt low warning.
Replacing the wear ring and foundation that mine has four screws to hold it. Two are my missing and two are loose. I realize that my ring is slipping. .is it common to see the screws because nobody in a video shows them?
There are some models that have tiny screws to hold them in. If they’re missing that is not good and should be replaced.
Hi, I have a 2010 sea doo 155. I destroyed the wear ring on by sucking up rocks. I then replaced it and put everything back together, now when I give it fulll throttle it basically doesn’t take off fast and then once it hits 20mph or so it goes like it should. I pulled it back apart and the wear ring looks good. Do you think that the whole jet pump assembly should be changed out?
Sounds like cavitation. The impeller is not making a perfect seal with the wear ring. I would double-check you have the correct wear ring. Also, since you sucked up rocks you more then likely chewed up the impeller too and if there is any damage to it that can cause cavitation.
Question, brand new 2018 Sea Doo…had her out, started making an odd noise and had minimal power…limped back to the pier and had riders get off, then drove it to the ramp…new owner/new ski, so we took it straight to the dealer. We were told it sucked up a rock and there was “some” damage done, but he’s seen worse. We could replace the wear ring for $240 or just take it and try it out. He really wouldnt give a solid opinion either way. I asked about power and he said we wouldn’t know unless we put it back in the water. Makes me nervous. Thoughts?
From what you say I would go and replace the wear ring. A rock stuck between the impeller and wear ring will cause a loss of power and make the engine struggle which would give off an odd sound. Since the 2018’s have a way better and stronger wear ring he could be saying he could just take out the rock and see how it goes. For me personally, I would have them replace the wear ring and be done with it. The slightest of grove in the wear ring could affect the take off power of the watercraft.
I have a 17 rxpx 300. In take off there is hesitation for about 3 to 5 seconds. When I’m doing 10 mph and clamp the throttle there is no problem taking off. Could this be wear ring? Impeller looked fine.
That’s wear ring or pump related for sure.
Sorry new to this. What pump?
The jet pump, that’s where the wear ring, impeller, and the house is called. What it sounds like is either a bad wear ring, a spinning wear ring, damaged impeller, damaged seal, or maybe even a bad through-hole seal. It’s hard to say but most often its either a wear ring or impeller making the trouble.
Hello, We are new to PWCs, today in deep water something must have got sucked up in my wife’s GTI, I went back to see what was going on. The engine didn’t shut off but the machine wouldn’t move much ( she didn’t know that she should have shut it off) after a few minutes it must have cleared and seemed to work ok after that. Can I inspect the impeller and ring somehow at home With it on the trailer?
Thanks
Since it was not strong enough to turn the engine off there is a good chance it damaged the wear ring or if you’re lucky nothing happened. You can see the wear ring and impeller with the engine off and on a trailer, just use a flashlight and avoid getting your fingers near the blades. If you see a groove in the wear ring it’s going to need to be replaced. But you don’t have to put it on a trailer to know if the wear ring is damaged. In a clear area go full throttle on the water and if the PWC hesitates or feels like its slipping and not catching then the wear ring is bad. If the PWC takes off like a rocket then the wear ring is fine.
Thanks,
Here is what I found,
one scratch around the circumference of the ring, the entire scratch is behind the impeller on the intake side. The impeller has a few tiny marks on the blade edges on the blade that is not next to the ring. I have a good picture.
It could be bad, the only way to know is to take it out and ride it. When you take off going full throttle and it hesitates or feels like its slipping then the wear ring or impeller needs to be replaced. If it takes off like normal then no real issue.
Hi ive got a gtr 230, recently it feels like it takes a second to take off and its not as quick from the start.. also 3-4 kilometere slower on top speed? What could it be ? Ive recently started to beach it
Sounds like a bad wear ring.
I got something stuck in the impeller today on a 2018 gti. Limped to a boat ramp 500 metres away and took it straight to the dealer. They had to strip it and found 2 shells but gave it a clean bill of health once removed. Would limping home cause any other damage and is there a chance the dealer wouldn’t have checked the wear ring or impeller…not had it back on water yet so I’m worried I could have damaged it.
You should be fine. If they had to physically remove the seashells that means they were looking directly at the wear ring. If anything was wrong with the wear ring they should have noticed it and recommended you to get it replaced. Seashells are not usually strong enough to damage the modern day wear ring, it’s the rocks and sticks that do the damage.
Hello Steve.
My 1996 Seadoo GTX has the symptoms of a worn wear-ring, lacking get up and go. I examined the wear-ring and impeller, and to my untrained eye, everything looked fine. No groves or chips.
I am very careful to not start or run in shallow water and it gets minimal usage. The grandchildren have grown to appreciate tubing and I enjoy taking them.
Could there be another cause for this cavitation other than a wear-ring issue?
Thanks.
Could be bad fuel lines or dirty carb.
I’ll replace the fuel filter and hope for the best.
Thanks for the suggestion.
How about worn impeller or shredded driveshaft splines?
On a spark I sucked up a rock and blew the ware ring. Would that also cause overheating when trying to limp home?
Yes, destroying the wear ring can make the engine overheat. The engine is closed loop cooling so it never takes in water but the exhaust still takes in water from a hole in the side of the pump. Something must have blocked the hole, maybe the shattered wear ring? But this can happen and it doesn’t hurt have a repair shop give it a good once over.
Bad wear ring Can it cause the water hull to fill up?
On some Sea-Doos it can if the seal around the wear ring is not on correctly or missing a part. But it’s more likely to be something else making you take on water.
i have a 97 sea doo gti and i have that issue,,,, pin it and seems like it takes a long time to take off. i can hear a sound like grinding. i am also taking on water. Sits in water and its fine. idle speed its fine. no water in hull. i take off and ride for 10-15 minutes and i get water. im lost
Sounds like you have multiple things wrong. If you’re taking on water when the engine is running then you have a leak in the cooling system since its open-loop cooling, the jet ski takes in lake water to cool its engine. The slow take-off is a damaged wear ring but a grinding sound could the thing that is stuck in the wear ring.
Wouldn’t I see it leaking from the coolant system even when idling? Or is it possible that it happens when I pull on the throttle? I had a hose hooked up and rev it a few times and didn’t see anything.
It could be a small hole that doesn’t open up until you give it throttle. The inputs of water is different than where you would hook up to the water hose so you wouldn’t see the same thing.
Hey sir, I appreciate all the info. I have a question for ya.
So I bout a 1997 Sea Doo Bombardier XP. The first time I rode it, started up fine, idled fine but as soon as I got out of the no wake zone I pinned it. It took forever to plane and I knew right away something was very wrong. I continued to ride for about 8-10 min probably going a max of 30mph if I had to guess. But after 10 min I couldn’t get RPMS at all! I couldn’t go faster than idle speed because it wouldn’t even rev up.
I took it in and paid $500 for a compression check (150 PSI) and a new wear ring with brackets. The mechanic says I shouldn’t need to go through the fuel system and if they did it would be another $600. The mechanic said the wear ring was destroyed.
MY QUESTION to you- is there any reason the RPMs would eventually be affected by the wear ring? The RPMS and engine seemed fine for the first 10 min and then went bad. It took me 50 min to get back after a 10 min ride out. specifically, will the engine bog down if its overheated? will it make the engine feel like it was flooded or bogged down? I’m concerned that something else is wrong but the mechanic is a complete lazy moron who is giving me a hard time. I want to get it fixed but he said he wont guarantee it will work after that. at this point I’m already in 2500 bucks on a ski that is only worth about 1800. Please help lol.
A bad wear ring can make the jet ski feel sluggish or bogged down. If it was fine for 10 minutes you must not have sucked something up and then after that you sucked something up. Sometimes you don’t notice it as the engine is so powerful it will suck it up and spit it back out but still leave a groove in the wear ring making it run rough.
Hi was just wondering if u ended up fixing the wear ring on your 1997 bombardier ski
What if you just bought a seadooo and looked in the back and notice that the wear rings is completely gone all but 1 small peice left on the edge and the blades look chewed up and it sounds horrible from the back…is it still fixable with out having to buy the pump
It should be still fixable but the best option is to let a jet ski mechanic take a look at it. Avoid firing it up until you fix it to avoid doing more damage.
So I have a 1995 wave venture and I recently replaced the wear ring due to what I believed was cavitation. After replacement, the problem got better but is still there. At about 6-7 mph it starts to rev and then eventually catches up to itself. Almost as if it catches a gear or the clutch on a motorcycle. The impellar doesn’t seem to have damage but there was corrosion in the original wear ring that this was rubbing on. Does this sound like an impellar problem? Thanks
Sounds like you still have cavitation. The impeller could be a problem even if it “looks fine”. Also, make sure you have the right wear ring in there because if the tolerances are not right it could create the cavitation you’re talking about. I would say check the drive shaft to make sure it’s not bent, but a bent drive shaft will shake all the time. Something is not right with the impeller or wear ring from what you’re saying.
I only hear of sea doos needing wear ring replacements. Is this not an issue for yamaha or kawasakis?
A wear ring despite its name is not something you replace when it wears out. You only replace it if you suck something big up and damage it. All watercraft no matter who makes it are all affected by sucking something up, but each manufacturer uses a different solution to the problem than the others. Sea-Doo’s idea is if you suck something up you only damage a plastic wear ring which would be cheaper to fix then replacing the entire metal housing. The other manufacturers have their own solution but all will cost you if you damage there solutions too. There is no perfect answer, but whatever is the cheapest to fix is as close as we get. The best thing to do is to avoid sucking things up the best you can.
I just had it winterized and looked over and they said everything looks and sounds good , would they have been able to notice a damaged impeller ?
Unless they water tested it or took the pump off there is no real way to see if the impeller is good or bad. But your loss of 5mph could be something other than the impeller, other factors like a dirty bottom hull, supercharger failed or failing, intake getting clogged, bad gas, bad key, and many other factors can play a role. I’ve even seen the speed sensor in the rear have a missing part and that throw off the speed reading.
I have lost about 5mph at top speed / is that caused by a damaged wear ring ?
It can be, could also be a damaged impeller too.
what happens if the jet pump runs out of oil?
2-strokes use oil and 4-strokes use grease in the pump to keep them lubricated. If you run out of either the pump will seize up due to all the friction.
I have seen replacement part wear rings offered that are metal instead if plastic. I assume replacement with metal is a bad idea since the metal wont break as easily and therefore will be more likely to cause damage to the motor if you do suck something up. I just had a wear ring replaced in my spark.
Metal is fine. Just like the plastic one if it breaks you just replace it. It’s when the whole entire housing is one piece without a wear ring that is the problem.
My wear ring is definitely damaged, but it was caused bff the impeller shearing off. Why does an impeller shear off? I only have 75 hours on the ski.
I’ve never heard of an impeller shearing off, but anything is possible. Usually, when a wear ring gets damaged it’s from sucking something up. You may not notice running over something and you may not feel anything getting sucked up, but 99% of the time when a wear ring is damaged it’s from something getting sucked in. If I were you then I would take it to the dealership as there might be a new drive shaft for your machine that you might not be aware of and could be why your impeller is shearing off.