water intake grate

[sparetime2]

All week I have been at my cottage with my family jetskiing and having a blast. My 97 GTX is working like a top. However, while using it today I had some debris get caught up in the water intake grill under the machine. After inspecting the impeller and shaft and not finding any damage the machine worked great the rest of the day. Later on though I was putting it on the trailer and noticed that one of the bars on the grate had broken off. I hadn't noticed this the first time. The piece that broke is about 3 inches long. It did not affect the machine at all. I am just wondering whether this should be replaced immediately or is it okay to operate the machine without it. The intake and impeller are fine after further inspection and the grate itself is in good shape other than this small piece that is gone. I still have about another week off and am looking forward to getting a lot of useout of my machine. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

[Technical Support]

As long as it's JUST the bar that broke, and the rest of it isn't cracked and ready to fall off, you will be fine until you can replace it. Performance will suffer a tad, but it should be safe.