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96 SPX Drive Shaft, Again....

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  • 96 SPX Drive Shaft, Again....

    This ski is on it's third engine which was professionally installed by a Sea Doo Dealer. I'm almost sure that they would have aligned the engine properly upon installation. Last summer, after a good year of running it after the engine replacement, the engine ran fine, but it ran in the water without getting any power to the jet. Took the drive shaft out and found the splines to be stripped on the shaft. Replaced it, and believed that the engine did not need to be realigned. It was the original shaft and I thought that it just wore out.
    Saturday, on a jet ski camping trip, same thing! Engine running fine, but no power to the jet pump when I went over idle, like the shaft was just spinning in the PTO wheel. Also, there was about 4 inches of water in the hull. It made a sound that was similar to a whirr or a whining drone that it's never done before. Towed it back and pulled the drive shaft out last night. I found the rubber bumper on the front of the shaft to be broken in half and ground out. Also, the boot on the PTO has been torn up and partially melted into a powdery sludge. This could have been from using a zip tie instead of callilau(SP?) clamp????? Actually had a dealer in Texas tell me that it would be fine to use a zip tie for this. It ran for about 25 hours since I changed the shaft last time and used the zip tie. The shaft would slip when I turned it by hand. I cleaned off the rubber sludge from the shaft and the inside of the PTO and now it looks like it's gripping. The splines look pretty good on the shaft. Would this sludge, if it got into the spline area inside the PTO cause the shaft to slip? How could this front bumper be torn up so bad when the rear bumper was fine? Thanks!!
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  • #2
    Re: 96 SPX Drive Shaft, Again....

    That shaft looks stripped and the PTO may also be worn out causing the new shafts to stip out fast. It was slipping so bad it got hot and melted the boot. Yes you can use zip ties for that.

    One other thing to check is to grab the engine and try to move it side to side or up and down. It should not move much if it does then the mounts are bad.
    Providing mobile JetSki service to the Charlotte / Lake Wylie area.

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    • #3
      Re: 96 SPX Drive Shaft, Again....

      The splines inside the pto can be deceptive. When you first look at them, they seem fine because it is hard to see the splines that are back in there aways. If you look at the driveshaft splines, you will notice that they are crowned splines, not straight, but fatter towards the middle of the splines.

      When the shaft is plugged into the pto, the only part of the splines making contact with the pto is back in there about 1-1.5 inches, so the first inch of the splines may look great, but the splines further in can be totally wiped out.

      Replace the pto and the thing should be good to go for the next 10 years if you keep greasing it reguliarily. Tye-wraps work fine on the pto boot, been using them for years.

      Better take a good look at that carbon seal, as it got extremely hot when the shaft was spinning inside the pto, creating all of that heat.
      Bill O'Neal <br>
      WCM
      <a href="http://www.watercraftmagic.com"

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      • #4
        Re: 96 SPX Drive Shaft, Again....

        Sorry in advance for the length of this post! Decided to pull the engine out to change the PTO. Once I got the engine out of the hull and onto the ground, I cleaned the oil out of the bottom of the hull. While doing this, I noticed that two of my four engine mounts had gone bad. Dank, you were right. The right front mount was almost completely free of it's base, and the left rear one was only in a bit better shape. However, the engine did not move or shift when I applied pressure to it before removing it. Now it's all starting to make some sense, I think....
        First, the metal band coupling on my muffler has been a serious challenge and been frequently popping off during extended hard rides. This has also made for a very slightly noticeable bend in rubber hose that holds the stinger to the can. Didn't really think that much about it until now.
        Second, a drive shaft 20-25 hrs ago and now possibly another and a PTO torn up....
        Third, and I'm not sure if it's it, but there was about 4 inches of water in the bottom of the boat when this happened. Could the engine being offset bend the connection on the carbon ring enough to allow water to leak in???
        Now that I'm thinking about all of this, is it possible that this engine being offset has caused major engine damage? That whirr, sort of like a whining drone coming from what I thought was the PTO, could that have been major damage inside the crankshaft? I'm seriously hoping that this is not the case and it's just a matter of getting a couple of engine mounts, new PTO and a few other small parts. Bill O', what do you think??? I'd really like you to tell me that I can just call you for a parts order. Thanks in advance!
        Last edited by dundeels; 04-19-2005, 02:20 AM.

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        • #5
          Re: 96 SPX Drive Shaft, Again....

          1-626-914-9509
          Ask for Bill O'neil, he'll more than likely be answering your call.
          SHOOTER

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          • #6
            Re: 96 SPX Drive Shaft, Again....

            No engine damage will occur, the whirring sound was the splines slipping in the PTO.
            The driveshaft may have lived to see another day, but you will need a new pto and some rubber bumpers for the ends of the driveshaft and a new rubber boot for the pto.
            Bill O'Neal <br>
            WCM
            <a href="http://www.watercraftmagic.com"

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            • #7
              Thanks!
              Last edited by dundeels; 04-23-2005, 04:55 PM.

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