jet questions

[tahitijet]

Well after 3 years it finally looks like my boat will be finished this year. I have a question though.
Tonight i was out cleaning up the pump and I noticed that i could move the impeller up and down. It only moved up and down it was fine in and out and side to side. Is this the way it should be when the bowl is uninstalled? also a little back from the shaft splines is a part with 2 bolts going through it. these were both very loose. I sinched them up some and the slop went away.
How tight should these bolts be? and is this normal?

[Squirtcha?]

Those two bolts are for the packing material and if you tightened them up, you'll smoke the packing and it'll have to be replaced. They should not be "cinched up". You're gonna create work for yourself if you run it like that. The packing is designed to let a certain amount of water past and it won't do that with it all tightened down. According to the book it should be tightened down just until some resistance is felt when rotating the shaft.
I would say that by attempting to tighten the packing gland up you may be masking a problem elsewhere. I'd put the bowl back on and then check the up/down play in the shaft again. There are bushings in the bowl that the shaft passes through and I'm sure it'll reduce the amount of play when it's completely assembled and supported as it should be.
Hope it helps in some way.
[ June 12, 2003, 06:51 AM: Message edited by: Squirtcha? ]

[Moomawnster]

Squirtcha is more of a guru than I.... but I wouldn't worry about the shaft play when it's apart ..... Only the "racers" run pumps that need to be coddled wink [tight clearances].
squirtcha ...what book are you refering to ... I may want one !
[ June 12, 2003, 02:19 AM: Message edited by: Moomawnster ]

[beached 1]

Moomawnster:
squirtcha ...what book are you refering to ... I may want one ! Marine Jet Drive by Seloc is pretty good.

[Squirtcha?]

I'm no guru. I'm a parrot, I do lots of reading, and learned the rest when my stuff breaks and has to be fixed. The information I was referring to is a .pdf on American Turbine's webpage and can be downloaded by anyone. Freeeeee public information is a good thing! I'm not sure I agree with everyting that's in the document, but I'm sure it's pretty close. Just go to American Turbine's Webpage click on support, then manuals, Berkeley overhaul, right click on it and tell it to save target as.........
It sounds like Beached 1 and lots of others have used the Selocs manual and I've heard that it's real good, but I don't have it.
[ June 12, 2003, 06:52 AM: Message edited by: Squirtcha? ]