I bought this boat in 1988 when my son and his high school buddies wanted to ski the river. There had been some serious prop accidents and I liked the safety of the enclosed impeller.
He married in 98 and I pickled the engine and put it in the back of the garage. The grandsons ... 10 and 8 spotted the boat last year and I told them I would get it going this year.
I pulled the distributer to prevent damage when I took the engine out of the boat to freshen up the jet pump.
All was remarkably clean ... I lubed it monthly when it was being used. It had 197 hours on the meter and all has been fresh water.
Still.... after 25 years, I wanted to look at the pump.
I did find bad u-joints .... not from lack of lube, but rather from lack of a full compliment of needle bearings in three cups ... they were each missing one needle from the factory .. this caused the needles to not sit straight and that caused the crosses to develop slanted marks on the hardened surfaces.
I suspect the saving grace was that the driveshaft was near 0 degree to the engine and pump ... rear mount bell housing attaches to pump snout.
The pump thrust bearing was in excellent shape as well as the bushings in the bowl that support the shaft's rear past the impeller.
I added new rubber seals and packing rings.
So, for sure, pulling the engine was a good thing because of the u-joints and seals.
I replaced the distributor and timed it with a 12 volt light replacing the coil ... the dual points open just as the mark is at 32 degrees BTDC.
I will time it under load once I get it back in the water.
I just needed a starting point to get it warmed up before I left the dock.
Many Thanks !!
Don in Huntsville
