Disappointed, Distraught, & Disgusted With My Ultra 150

[steve45]

I had to pull the engine out of my Ultra 150 to get some corrosion pinholes welded up in my cylinders and expansion chamber. I have never run it in salt water, but our local lake is brackish. I've mentioned this before and I'm going to come up with a solution to it.

What really has me upset is that I tried to spin the driveshaft while I had the engine out to make sure it spun freely. It's locked down. Corrosion has formed between the pump case and the liner, pushing the liner against the impeller. I've replaced the pump case once about 5 years ago. The problem now is that this part is no longer available. I was afraid this might happen and I've been looking for a spare for about 2 years and I've come up empty handed. I'm fortunate because I purchased another 150 with a blown engine a few years ago with the idea of installing a 4-stroke. The pump on that 'Ski is good, so I can get my 150 running--for a while. However I don't know what this means for my dream of building a 4-stroke out of it.

I suppose I could try to install a pump from an STX-15F, but I don't know if my fiberglass work is up to that kind of challenge. Getting the tunnel, etc. to flow properly doesn't sound like much fun.

Oh, I know some will say that the liner can be replaced--but I don't know how. The Ultra 150 pump isn't straight, it's tapered, and the liner is tapered. I don't remember if the taper is straight or if it has a curve. One idea that I had would be to remove the stainless steel liner and use a spray metal technique to coat the inside with a hard coating. I don't know if the inside of the case can be cleaned up enough for the coating to stick, I don't know what coatings will stick to the aluminum, I don't know how evenly the coating can be applied, if it could be machined after coating, etc.

After I get the pumps swapped I'll tear into the bad one and take the parts to a local spray metal company and see what they can do.

If anybody has any experience with spray metal, or changing pumps, please share your thoughts!

[cocacolaxyz]

I have used this product in other applications

https://www.corrosionx.com/products/corrosionx

In my mind....this is way past PB Blaster or WD40

maybe find a way to add a port or fitting so you can reapply as necessary.

[steve45]

Thanks, cocacolaxyz! I'm familiar with CorrosionX, but I've never used it. I'm not sure how the liner is secured to the housing since it is tapered. I don't know if anything could effectively seal the water out where the case and liner meet. I've thought about trying an anaerobic sealer, but I don't know that enough could soak in to do the job. It's probably to late to treat my replacement case, but I'll give it a try.

[cocacolaxyz]

I am pretty busy at work right now (name is actually David).

2 of my Ski's are Kawasaki's and not sure what kind of pump maintenance I need to do.
The Seadoo I am familiar with.

If there's a thread on greasing/oiling Kawi pumps....please advise. (1100ZXI & 900STX)

when I raced RC boats, we put CorrosionX on all our electronics.

Have you seen the TV running underwater?
cannot find video

see this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VBQgzJWavw

[FL_Rider]

I have one that did the same thing. My thoughts were to remove the liner, clean the corrosion, then devise a way to re-install the liner securely. I'm thinking the distortions in the liner could be restored with heat and pressing/hammering. The liner has locking tabs that hold it into the aluminum. I collapsed the liner enough to see the tabs, but it was still stuck hard.
I found a used replacement to keep me riding, and kept the old part for another day. I'm interested to know if you come up with a solution.

[TMiller]

What is the I.D. on the wear ring at the front ? I would measure but do not have any more 150 pumps

[beekermartin]

I am sorry to hear you are running into issues steve45. You help more people here than anybody. You have helped me countless times. I have an Ultra 150 with a pump installed but no engine that I picked up in a parts deal. I have no idea if the pump is good or not. If you need me to inspect it let me know. My ultimate plan is to rebuilt that Ultra 150 and get it on the water again. That probably won't be for a long time though. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you.

[TJS0712F]

Steve45,
Can you post some pics of the 150 liner/pump housing. My thought is to remove the liner altogether. Then weld build up the impeller, machine it on the lathe to get your clearances tight. Albeit, yes the housing is prone to more wear in sandy conditions. I can help you if you want. I am in CT. Pretty sure you saw my post on how I did this to my 12F. However the liners in the 12f/15f are avail and press in. You do have to cut the old ones out without messing up the housing.
T.J.

[steve45]

Thanks to everyone!

I'm not out of business yet, I'll find a solution eventually. As I mentioned, I'm going to look into the spray metal idea some more, but I'm sure it would be very expensive and it may be difficult to get the coating evenly spread over the surface. I believe that they can do the process while spinning the part in a lathe, but I'm not that knowledgeable about it.

Yes, TJS, I certainly did read your thread and I've been thinking about the possibility of building up the impeller and cutting it to fit a spray metal liner, but I didn't consider just removing the liner. That may work. I'll let you know.

I'm think that if I could get a spray metal liner made of tungsten for example, that may hold up better than stainless. I suppose that plastics or epoxies could even be used.

[TJS0712F]

Steve,
Check out Abom79 on Youtube. He is one of the top machinist creators on youtube. He does spray welding to build up on shafts. He has vids on it. He uses products from a company called Eutectic. Not sure if that can be done on aluminum.

[steve45]

I'll do it! I love Abom79 and have watched a number of his videos, but I guess I missed that one. I even bought a Gould & Eberhardt shaper! (He's got several videos of his).

[FL_Rider]

What is the I.D. on the wear ring at the front ? I would measure but do not have any more 150 pumps

It has a 130mm inside diameter at the front. The aluminum case is approx 132mm inside diameter. Maybe a steel block with a 1mm lip that matches the radius could be fabricated to press the ring out...The tabs in the aluminum case that lock the ring in could be drilled out...

[FL_Rider]

Here's some pics of the liner/pump.

[TJS0712F]

I would imagine someone skilled with a slip roll machine can make this cone shape part. Then it would be a matter if fitting the stainless piece in there nice and tight(a few thous bigger) and tig weld up the seam. Grind/sand it smooth.
T.J.

[steve45]

Its not just a taper, it's straight on both ends and tapered in the middle.

I've been researching the spray metal technique and it looks like the housing is probably too thin for the heat required. That leads me to think that building up epoxy or other industrial coatings, then machining it in a lathe might be feasible.

I've decided to put a large water tank on one of my trailers to take to the lake for flushing. I don't know if flushing will really help with the jet pumps, but it should help with engines and exhaust systems. I need to figure out what kind of water to use; distilled, de-mineralized, de-ionized, RO, etc. Also have to find a source for it. Nothing is easy...

At least I got my 150 pump swapped with my project 'Ski. I'll be back in business as soon as my welder has time to finish fixing my expansion chamber.