2007 VX110 upgrading impeller housing and wear ring

[JonB]

Anyone have a recommendation for switching out the stock impeller housing and replacing with a new housing and wear ring set up.... seen a few on eBay but they all have mixed reviews.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[nmpeter]

its an age old argument

depends on venue and habits.

in my market ( lake) beaching and sandbar groundings are common and that leads to expensive pump repairs due to granite ingestion

switching to a plastic wear ring setup reduces damage to the impellers in the long run in this situation as the plastic ring takes the hit and isn't tragic to replace, typically the impeller can be cleaned up with a dremel

in the open water market, I'd advise against, since sucking up some old tow rope or other debris could leave you stranded a mile or more from shore, and that puts you at considerable risk if you are riding solo

if you do go plastic, be sure to get a couple of extra wear rings for your spares kit as its not typically an off the shelf parts and most repair shops won't stock them

generally speaking, best to stick to stock, i offered the plastic setup to my customers spelling out the pros and cons. Then I sell them a sand anchor so they keep their skis off the beach

our lake, when water is high is huge, and folks like to go off to the less traveled areas to camp and party

opinions here vary so you'll find people supporting or denying either solution

[JonB]

its an age old argument

depends on venue and habits.

in my market ( lake) beaching and sandbar groundings are common and that leads to expensive pump repairs due to granite ingestion

switching to a plastic wear ring setup reduces damage to the impellers in the long run in this situation as the plastic ring takes the hit and isn't tragic to replace, typically the impeller can be cleaned up with a dremel

in the open water market, I'd advise against, since sucking up some old tow rope or other debris could leave you stranded a mile or more from shore, and that puts you at considerable risk if you are riding solo

if you do go plastic, be sure to get a couple of extra wear rings for your spares kit as its not typically an off the shelf parts and most repair shops won't stock them

generally speaking, best to stick to stock, i offered the plastic setup to my customers spelling out the pros and cons. Then I sell them a sand anchor so they keep their skis off the beach

our lake, when water is high is huge, and folks like to go off to the less traveled areas to camp and party

opinions here vary so you'll find people supporting or denying either solution

Thanks nmpeter, always appreciate your input and advice.

I’m in WA state so it’s all fresh water lakes. Having said that I’m always pretty careful of riding off the beach making sure I’m in 2 to 3 feet of water and I don’t beach my skis.

[JonB]

Thanks nmpeter, always appreciate your input and advice.

I’m in WA state so it’s all fresh water lakes. Having said that I’m always pretty careful of riding off the beach making sure I’m in 2 to 3 feet of water and I don’t beach my skis.

How often should you replace the bearings in the jet pump?

[TimeBandit]

That's great advice by Pete. The only other "Pro" I'd like to add is that the plastic wear ring comes slightly more thick, as I understand that is supposedly deliberate, as once installed, the impeller will bore/cut it's own perfect fit. I saw huge gains in hole-shot when switching from OEM to a brand-new plastic. That's been over 3 years ago, mind-you I don't ride like I stole-it everywhere I go.

Now I did ingest (cough cough - "process") a partial clam's shell once, and that event still resulted in bending one of the trailing edge blades (likely when it caught up in the stator vines, a slight spiral scoring on the ring. To fix, I bent the blade back, and sanded the ring scratch, re-checked clearances and decided the ring is still fine for another year. That was 2 years ago and 180+ hours.
"next" time the pump is out I'm going to drop a new one.

How often should you replace the bearings in the jet pump?

Looking in the service manual, there's nothing specific in the maintenance schedules on this. Impeller inspection every year.
Therefore, bearings are just going to be addressed when needed/defective.

[JonB]

That's great advice by Pete. The only other "Pro" I'd like to add is that the plastic wear ring comes slightly more thick, as I understand that is supposedly deliberate, as once installed, the impeller will bore/cut it's own perfect fit. I saw huge gains in hole-shot when switching from OEM to a brand-new plastic. That's been over 3 years ago, mind-you I don't ride like I stole-it everywhere I go.

Now I did ingest (cough cough - "process") a partial clam's shell once, and that event still resulted in bending one of the trailing edge blades (likely when it caught up in the stator vines, a slight spiral scoring on the ring. To fix, I bent the blade back, and sanded the ring scratch, re-checked clearances and decided the ring is still fine for another year. That was 2 years ago and 180+ hours.
"next" time the pump is out I'm going to drop a new one.




Looking in the service manual, there's nothing specific in the maintenance schedules on this. Impeller inspection every year.
Therefore, bearings are just going to be addressed when needed/defective.

Appreciate the input timebandit....... probably leaning towards the plastic wear ring. Which housing and wear ring did you use?

[nmpeter]

Appreciate the input timebandit....... probably leaning towards the plastic wear ring. Which housing and wear ring did you use?

I sold the Wsm housing as they had several warehouses then and I never had trouble getting a couple of spare rings so I could get my regulars back out on the water same day

Those bastards are going to miss me this year. Our lake is bone dry/low and right now it looks like I may not open this season at all for mechanical work. I’ve got enough projects to keep me occupied at home. Water hasn’t been this low since I moved here in 2008

I’ll still do some keys but that looks like that will be as far as I’ll go until the water come up at least fifty feet

Maybe I’ll post some pitiful pics next week

[JonB]

I sold the Wsm housing as they had several warehouses then and I never had trouble getting a couple of spare rings so I could get my regulars back out on the water same day

Those bastards are going to miss me this year. Our lake is bone dry/low and right now it looks like I may not open this season at all for mechanical work. I’ve got enough projects to keep me occupied at home. Water hasn’t been this low since I moved here in 2008

I’ll still do some keys but that looks like that will be as far as I’ll go until the water come up at least fifty feet

Maybe I’ll post some pitiful pics next week

Plenty of water in Lake Washington