'97 Challenger thru hull fitting problem

[danf]

I've got a question on the thru hull insert, basically, the boat I just bought my girlfriend (97 Challenger 800) now needs a new drive shaft (bent) after she accidentely sucked up 20 yards of ski rope. Upon disassembly of the drive shaft and after looking at the online microfiche, the boat is missing the thru hull insert where the drive shaft passes (recently serviced by our local Seadoo dealer) anyway, I know they did a lot of work on the boat and I am wondering if its really needed or if they neglected to put one in. I noticed the shaft is not perfectly aligned thru the hull and maybe for clearance purposes it was left off. Any help here would be very much appreciated since I'm going to drop about a grand on parts and do the labor myself (motorcycle mechanic but clueless on boats) and don't want to leave out a critical part.

Thanks in advance,

Dano

[Dr Len]

The thru hull fitting is for. If you dammage the molded in one from the factory.

[danf]

Thanks Dr Len,

That makes sense then, when I view the microfiche it looks like the thru hull fitting is just another removable part, but as you pointed out its the molded part from the factory, so thanks for setting me straight.

Dan

[Dr Len]

danf Take it from me and Pale Rider. If your going to replace the drive shaft. Replace the whole thing Soup to Nuts. It will save you alot of headaches. Andy and I had those pumps on and off 3 times and it sucked.
If you need a shop manual. I have it in CD and will be happy to send you a copy of it. Just PM me with your address. Good Luck

[danf]

Hey Dr,

Appreciate your advice, I feel like an expert at this point since I've had the pump off twice, what parts would you include in the "soup and nuts"? The impeller is new and the bearings look very good. I'm replacing the o-rings everywhere and the wear ring. Anything else you would suggest?
That would be great about the CD manual, I bought one on Ebay but it didn't have everything I thought it would. Sorry to sound like a rookie but what does "PM" stand for?

Many thanks guys

Dano

[danf]

Hey Dr,

Please skip the previous post, this one is more inclusive

Appreciate your advice, I feel like an expert at this point since I've had the pump off twice, what parts would you include in the "soup and nuts"? The impeller is new and the bearings look very good. I'm replacing the o-rings everywhere and the wear ring. Anything else you would suggest? One other question... what about engine alignment? I noticed the shaft is not quite centered thru the hull; when rotating the shaft when its connected to the engine, around the hole where the pump would be,it moves a lot more to the right and downward; like its not centered. I dont know if the previous owner ever loosend the engine mounts or not and I dont have an alignment tool. There two thin washers on the 2 top pump bolts where it mates up to the hull, I cant really see why they would have been used there. Any thoughts on that would be awesome!
That would be great about the CD manual, I bought one on Ebay but it didn't have everything I thought it would.