aligned drive shaft not centered in ride shoe

[96challenger787]

I am installing a new engine in my 96 challenger, a 787. I used the alignment tool and got the drive shaft and engine in alignment. However, the drive shaft is not centered coming out of the ride shoe into the engine compartment from the pump housing. The drive shaft is angled noticeably down and to the left.

What should I do to fix this? It would seem to me that the drive shaft should be centered in the housing in addition to the engine being aligned with the shaft.

Please let me know...I'm a bit confused.

[Colin GSXL]

Did the pump have any shims on it when you removed it? Seadoo sometimes shim the pumps and you will need those in place when you fit the aligning tool.

[96challenger787]

Yes it did have shims in place, but even using those shims with the alignment tool results in the off center shaft placement. Without using the shims at all the shaft is WAY off.

My concern is that even with the alignment of the engine if the drive shaft is crooked in relation to the ride shoe into the engine compartment, the carbon ring will not meet squarely with the ring seal carrier,and i'll have cavitation

[Colin GSXL]

I'm not familiar with the settup on boats so I don't know if they are similar or totally different to the skis so the following may be totally wrong.

When the pump is off and the seal carrier is removed, does the flywheel look central to the through hull fitting when viewed from the rear of the boat? You did remove the seal carrier to align the motor? Is the seal carrier on correctly (is it in a rubber hose with a jubilee clip?). Has the pump been off before and the shims not put back correctly or some missing? Do the engine mountings look like they are in the correct position. My experience is that there's not a great deal of adjustment possible on these.

Bet it's something really simple.

[Bill O'Neal]

They always hang down, and sometimes a little off center too. Don't worry about it.
The drive shaft has crowned splines. It hangs down because of no support in the rear without the pump and impellor installed.

[C.Hills]

I have a 97 Challenger, and I think i know what your refering to. Mine is not quit centered when coming through also. Yet, the engine and pump are aligned. Seeing that is the most critical of things, as long as you have a good seal between the pump and ride shoe, i wouldnt worry about it. If its that far off when shimming, you might have to make a slight adjustment to your steering to compensate. And yes, mine also came with the pump shimmed. The original engine was shimmed with 2 plates under each of the front mounts. When i installed the new SBT motor, I removed the shims, and still couldnt get the engine low enough. So i shimmed the back, and still couldnt get it low enough, so i ended up having to go back to the pump and shim to top 2 bolts on the transom to get the perfect alignment.....

[Colin GSXL]

Now Bill's answered your question I understand what you were asking. Guess I didn't interpret the question correctly. If you rotate the motor a few degrees the shaft will probably angle to the right instead. If the aligning tool says it's right then you're good to go.