SoCal Jet Boats
Tech Talk => Jet Pumps => Topic started by: trido on November 02, 2015, 04:25:35 PM
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Hello all!
I have an 18' 1978 Tahiti with a What I'm assuming is a standard marine GM 454 and a Panther Jet. This is my first boat and so far I am absolutely in love with it. I bought it mid season just this year and have already made a lot of great memories on it.
Now for my questions:
My last trip out to Avi, there was a little storm that brought a lot of rain and run off into the river. I launched in the morning and had a great day except for a few clouds and a lot of debris. On our way back to the Avi to pull the boat out of the water, my girl was driving and all of a sudden the boat slows down but the RPMs stay the same. She slows down and we switch positions. I jump on the gas and the boat just revs and goes very slow. I figure there is debris in the pump grate and drive quarter throttle back to the beach. I check the pump and no blockage or debris. We sit for a little bit as we enjoy a beer and the sunset. I then start the boat and start making my way out of the bay to the launch, I gas it and it reacts normally, comes to plane and then I let off as I'm already at the launch. Get the boat in the trailer and inspect the pump and grate and no signs of debris or damage externally.
My questions are as follows:
1. Is this signs of pump slippage?
2. If so, I want to energize the Panther Jet as most posts I see regarding the Panther Jet recommend. Anybody have any experience with this? (I've only found a couple posts regarding it and all the posts say is to "Just do it!").
3. Anybody know how much the labor would be or is it something I can do myself? (I spent years working in the motorsports industry so I'm not completely unskilled with my hands, but it has been a while since I've turned a wrench.)
4. If it's something I can do myself, any board members local to the Orange County area willing to help if needed? I can pay you for your time.
5. If it's something that is recommended to the pros, anybody know of a reputable shop in the Orange County area that does this type of work?
Thanks for any direction you guys can give!
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Forgot to mention I do have a manual diverter on the jet. Not sure if that matters. I'm assuming not.
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Jet boat performance.com. makes an energizer kit for it. Worth it. Call Tom up
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I cut my panther out and put a Berkeley in it Tom sells the kit. It's called an Excelerator kit he sells for 2300 with your pump swap
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The Xcelerator kit was actually the kit I was looking at.
So to be clear, is this a bolt on kit for a Panther Jet, or does this require cutting the transom and converting to a Berk first?
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The energizer kit shouldn't require any cutting. To swap to Berkeley it would I belive.
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No u send Tom your pump he sends it back to you done
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You gotta have a pretty sweet boat to do this IMO cause you could buy a boat with a Berk for the price of the Energizer or Excellerator kit.
That being said the upgrade is a great idea if you love everything else about your boat and dont wanna punt away to start over. Its a hard lesson learned that I went through myself and Ill never touch another boat with a Panther myself
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I do love everything about my boat, however it has a leak somewhere and I believe it's coming from the pump area somewhere. I've been through the underside of the hull where I saw a couple repairs. Hopefully by redoing the pump it will fix the problem.
Anyone know if I re-gel the underside of the boat if that would take care of any small pinholes in the repairs if any?
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I do love everything about my boat, however it has a leak somewhere and I believe it's coming from the pump area somewhere. I've been through the underside of the hull where I saw a couple repairs. Hopefully by redoing the pump it will fix the problem.
Anyone know if I re-gel the underside of the boat if that would take care of any small pinholes in the repairs if any?
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Don't take any of this in a negative way.
Clean up what you have, sell it for what you can and find another boat spending the money you would have put into your Tahiti.
My reasoning is pretty simple.
The boat you have I would not consider to be your "forever boat". Meaning that once you get that far into it, you will either outgrow it or you'll see something you will fall passionately in love with. The problem will be you won't be able to sell the boat for anywhere near what you would have invested in it.
Do that with the boat hull you could see growing into.
Berkeley, Dominator, American Turbine etc. would give you more fun per horsepower and make repairs and service down the road easier and more economical.
Nothing against the Tahiti, but it sounds like it has a fair share of issues. It will still be a Tahiti when your done.
Take that same investment and find a hull that really spins your flywheel.
Just my recommendation based on seeing many people regret putting large amounts of cash into something they really aren't in love with.
Good luck.
GT
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I have a good idea of where your leak could be if you're interested leave your number and I could give you a few tips to
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Question do you have through transom headers? How are the flappers. You wanna make sure those are in good shape. If you lose one water could push backwards and go back into your block give you dead weight feeling and other issues
The pump connections through the transom could be leaking where the sealant is
If you havent caught it theres a video for Panther Jet that shows the quality its pretty awesome. If fact while driving my old Tahiti I found if I growled like a Panther I could pick up 2 mph.
Roarrr Meoooow
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So when I had my panther jet drive I seemed always to have water coming in the boat from somewhere and you could never find it when you're idling in the water or sitting in the water but at high-speed the water kicks back in between the rear Transam where the Jet Pump mounts to the back of the boat pull the pump off clean the two surfaces reseal it with marine grade sealant don't be shy on the sealant get enough on there then remount pump onto transom of the boat. I only found it after hanging over the engine compartment and having someone else drive the boat and I could see it being forced back in at a high-speed at low speeds didn't have enough water pressure to push through the ceiling surface