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About Superchargers: Inherent Flaws and Preventing Failure with Metal Washers
From 2004 to the present day, every single supercharged Seadoo watercraft comes from the factory with a wet clutch design consisting of ceramic washers and steel ball bearings. For years now, we have seen time and time again these components weaken and cause catastrophic failure to our motors that would otherwise have been extremely reliable. While Seadoo has yet to change the design sadly, and while we continue to complain about its design, there are a few things you can do to ensure that your precious ride time in the summer is preserved.
If your machine is under warranty, of course the failure is covered, BUT… it’s a very precise process and it’s been many peoples’ experience that dealers are not properly repairing the machines. In addition, sometimes parts are on back order and you can be looking at weeks and months of downtime while your machine is repaired. You make the choice, is it worth waiting for it to blow up so you can HOPE it gets fixed properly and quickly?
SYMPTOMS OF A FAILING OR FAILED SUPERCHARGER
Your machine lost top speed and acceleration
Your machine is sluggish and only reaches about 45 mph and 6500-7000 rpms
In rough water, you feel the machine surging and lunging like power is engaging and disengaging
At WOT (Wide Open Throttle) your RPMs don’t hold steady, they tend to drop a few hundred rpms from what they are normally.
WHAT HAPPENS IF/WHEN YOUR SC FAILS
Your supercharger can be slipping slip causing a drop in boost pressure and performance… This is the best case scenario as you caught it before it released the clutch pieces into the engine.
You supercharger can let go whether it be a bearing failure or a ceramic washer failure. In this case, the parts list ALONE can be close to $2000 dollars. When these components fail, the ceramic pieces go through the motor and destroy your oil pumps, covers, you need a new rebuild kit, and in some cases your SC impeller gets destroyed as well as the housing. In addition, the motor needs to be removed to find all the pieces and properly clean out the oil passages and screens.
If your motor is not properly repaired or cleaned out, you will slowly starve the motor’s internals of oil and risk throwing a rod through the side of your engine which is a disastrous repair bill.
WHAT YEARS AND MODELS of Skis FALL IN THIS CATEGORY
2003 GTX SC – Only prone to supercharger slippage (ceramics not present in this design)
2004 RXP / GTX SC
2005 RXP / RXT / GTX SC / GTX Limited
2006 RXP / RXT / GTX SC / GTX Limited
2007 RXP / RXT / 215 Wake / GTX Limited
All of the above models, REGARDLESS of your level of modifications (stock or highly modified) will benefit from these upgrades… Also, regardless of the current state of your warranty, this is all still recommended. The decision is up to you, is the cost of upgrades worth saving your ride time in the season and preventing failure.
HOW TO PREVENT FAILURE & ENSURE YOU PRESERVE YOUR SUMMER RIDE TIME
****** I ALWAYS ALWAYS recommend having an extended warranty on your machine. Check with your local dealer and see how they feel about aftermarket modifications and their effect on your warranty. Certain components do not jeopardize reliability and should be no problem. In fact, many of the parts and modifications we perform are in an effort to solve the inherent problems of the 185 and 215 horsepower powerplants.
METAL SUPERCHARGER WASHERS! It does not matter if you have a used machine with 5 hours or 250 hours or a brand new machine with zero hours just home from the dealer. They are ALL susceptible to failure with ceramic washers. There are slightly different metal washers depending on the year of your machine. If you have a low hour 2004-2005 machine you can add these:
http://www.4-tecperformance.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=18_63&produ cts_id=448
However, in 2006 Seadoo introduced a slightly more heavy duty supercharger assembly, but still with the same concept and flaws. Therefore, if you have a high hour 2004-2005 machine, it is recommended to rebuild the whole supercharger with new components that are not worn so you have new bearings as well.
***NOTE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KITS depending on your motor***
215HP Rebuild kit
185HP Rebuild kit
If you have a 2006+ machine, you already have the most up-to-date supercharger assembly. In which case, all you need is to swap in the metal washers for your stock ceramic ones:
http://www.4-tecperformance.com/inde...roducts_id=381
Various ALTERNATIVES
http://www.4-tecperformance.com/inde...roducts_id=549
FURTHER READING & INFORMATION / TESTIMONIALS / ETC
I'll be sure to edit this thread and try and keep it as up to date as possible. These are the basics that I was able to put together off the top of my head. I think it would be helpful to forum members and newbies that we put all the supercharger metal washer and bearing information here so we can continue building up info to cover all the aspects of this component of the 4-tec power plant.
So if you have a particular questions about how this applies to your application, or any other related questions, feel free to post right here in this thread!
New Information coming next season for 2008 Supercharged 4-tec Models.
From 2004 to the present day, every single supercharged Seadoo watercraft comes from the factory with a wet clutch design consisting of ceramic washers and steel ball bearings. For years now, we have seen time and time again these components weaken and cause catastrophic failure to our motors that would otherwise have been extremely reliable. While Seadoo has yet to change the design sadly, and while we continue to complain about its design, there are a few things you can do to ensure that your precious ride time in the summer is preserved.
If your machine is under warranty, of course the failure is covered, BUT… it’s a very precise process and it’s been many peoples’ experience that dealers are not properly repairing the machines. In addition, sometimes parts are on back order and you can be looking at weeks and months of downtime while your machine is repaired. You make the choice, is it worth waiting for it to blow up so you can HOPE it gets fixed properly and quickly?
SYMPTOMS OF A FAILING OR FAILED SUPERCHARGER
Your machine lost top speed and acceleration
Your machine is sluggish and only reaches about 45 mph and 6500-7000 rpms
In rough water, you feel the machine surging and lunging like power is engaging and disengaging
At WOT (Wide Open Throttle) your RPMs don’t hold steady, they tend to drop a few hundred rpms from what they are normally.
WHAT HAPPENS IF/WHEN YOUR SC FAILS
Your supercharger can be slipping slip causing a drop in boost pressure and performance… This is the best case scenario as you caught it before it released the clutch pieces into the engine.
You supercharger can let go whether it be a bearing failure or a ceramic washer failure. In this case, the parts list ALONE can be close to $2000 dollars. When these components fail, the ceramic pieces go through the motor and destroy your oil pumps, covers, you need a new rebuild kit, and in some cases your SC impeller gets destroyed as well as the housing. In addition, the motor needs to be removed to find all the pieces and properly clean out the oil passages and screens.
If your motor is not properly repaired or cleaned out, you will slowly starve the motor’s internals of oil and risk throwing a rod through the side of your engine which is a disastrous repair bill.
WHAT YEARS AND MODELS of Skis FALL IN THIS CATEGORY
2003 GTX SC – Only prone to supercharger slippage (ceramics not present in this design)
2004 RXP / GTX SC
2005 RXP / RXT / GTX SC / GTX Limited
2006 RXP / RXT / GTX SC / GTX Limited
2007 RXP / RXT / 215 Wake / GTX Limited
All of the above models, REGARDLESS of your level of modifications (stock or highly modified) will benefit from these upgrades… Also, regardless of the current state of your warranty, this is all still recommended. The decision is up to you, is the cost of upgrades worth saving your ride time in the season and preventing failure.
HOW TO PREVENT FAILURE & ENSURE YOU PRESERVE YOUR SUMMER RIDE TIME
****** I ALWAYS ALWAYS recommend having an extended warranty on your machine. Check with your local dealer and see how they feel about aftermarket modifications and their effect on your warranty. Certain components do not jeopardize reliability and should be no problem. In fact, many of the parts and modifications we perform are in an effort to solve the inherent problems of the 185 and 215 horsepower powerplants.
METAL SUPERCHARGER WASHERS! It does not matter if you have a used machine with 5 hours or 250 hours or a brand new machine with zero hours just home from the dealer. They are ALL susceptible to failure with ceramic washers. There are slightly different metal washers depending on the year of your machine. If you have a low hour 2004-2005 machine you can add these:
http://www.4-tecperformance.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=18_63&produ cts_id=448
However, in 2006 Seadoo introduced a slightly more heavy duty supercharger assembly, but still with the same concept and flaws. Therefore, if you have a high hour 2004-2005 machine, it is recommended to rebuild the whole supercharger with new components that are not worn so you have new bearings as well.
***NOTE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KITS depending on your motor***
215HP Rebuild kit
185HP Rebuild kit
If you have a 2006+ machine, you already have the most up-to-date supercharger assembly. In which case, all you need is to swap in the metal washers for your stock ceramic ones:
http://www.4-tecperformance.com/inde...roducts_id=381
Various ALTERNATIVES
http://www.4-tecperformance.com/inde...roducts_id=549
FURTHER READING & INFORMATION / TESTIMONIALS / ETC
I'll be sure to edit this thread and try and keep it as up to date as possible. These are the basics that I was able to put together off the top of my head. I think it would be helpful to forum members and newbies that we put all the supercharger metal washer and bearing information here so we can continue building up info to cover all the aspects of this component of the 4-tec power plant.
So if you have a particular questions about how this applies to your application, or any other related questions, feel free to post right here in this thread!
New Information coming next season for 2008 Supercharged 4-tec Models.
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