panther pump question

« **Reply #25 on:** March 04, 2010, 03:01:21 PM »

well if it is as good as you claim mark me down for customer number 1.

i looked over your other thread. it was very interesting.

« **Reply #26 on:** March 05, 2010, 11:04:41 PM »

Thanks Auqaholic. I want to get some more seat time. That way I can give a real evaluation. I was just a little suprised at the lack of refinement in Panthers machine work. So of course I had to take it apart and see if there was anything I could do inexpensively to bring it up to performance level I thought it should offer, for the $750 price tag Panther gets for the mod. I plan on heading out to CFW within the next couple weeks, and make a few short videos from shore and in the boat. That way I can also compare to the videos that I have made previously. If your intersted in any of my previous videos just goto Youtube and search for "Smactek" thats me.

« **Reply #27 on:** March 10, 2010, 03:22:38 PM »

I had a panther on my 1986 Eagle 18' and the thing was bulletproof. I loved how easy it was to work on etc. etc. Never leaked a drop and just kept going no matter what. Also it seemed to not get as fouled as my Berks with Moabi weeds and Avi Vegetation. I dont knock them and it served me well.

Chris

« **Reply #28 on:** March 16, 2010, 10:21:55 PM »

OK finaly got to go out and make a couple videos of the mods I did to my Panther Jetovator (Panthervator) I am suprised how it looks from shore

Heres a link http://www.laidbackboatersboard.com/modified-panthervator-videos-t623.html
hope you mods dont mind.

« **Reply #29 on:** March 17, 2010, 02:23:10 PM »

is that duck tail split in your roost from the spliter upright within the pump?

it looks great. I would really be happy with my boat if i had that addition to the cool factor.

My stock panther hits 57 MPH. and that is not bad. that is why i have not done the energizer kit yet. panther claims you can get another 15% out of it. but i dont see my boat doing 65 MH. buy hey maybe. just got to wait for this pump to go bad.

oh and if there is any question on the panther just ask the guys from the lake mead trip. LOL

« **Reply #30 on:** March 17, 2010, 04:37:57 PM »

Quote from: AQUAHOLIC on March 17, 2010, 02:23:10 PM

is that duck tail split in your roost from the spliter upright within the pump?

it looks great. I would really be happy with my boat if i had that addition to the cool factor.

My stock panther hits 57 MPH. and that is not bad. that is why i have not done the energizer kit yet. panther claims you can get another 15% out of it. but i dont see my boat doing 65 MH. buy hey maybe. just got to wait for this pump to go bad.

oh and if there is any question on the panther just ask the guys from the lake mead trip. LOL

LOL! Yup, the steering fin splits it. makes it kind of unique. Like I mentioned before, I did this by cleaning up Panthers Mods. I am actually pretty amazed with the Height and Length of the tail. I did lose a little top speed, like 3 mph by my speedo. But I havent played with my ride plate or anything yet. One new trait though, is a little cavitation right out of the hole. Which I am investigating currently. other than that I am pretty happy with the outcome compared to how crappy this diverter worked at first.

« **Reply #31 on:** March 17, 2010, 07:23:46 PM »

your panther did not cav at all before the mod? cause mine will cav just a bit if i drop the hammer from a dead stop. i am under the ipression that panthers are supposed to come out of the hole better than most.

anyway i love this thread and i have been researching the panther mods for a long time.

« **Reply #32 on:** March 18, 2010, 01:16:30 AM »

Quote from: AQUAHOLIC on March 17, 2010, 07:23:46 PM

your panther did not cav at all before the mod? cause mine will cav just a bit if i drop the hammer from a dead stop. i am under the ipression that panthers are supposed to come out of the hole better than most.

anyway i love this thread and i have been researching the panther mods for a long time.

my boat didnt cavitate at all before switching exit housings. Im trying to kind of set a baseline. The Sac River does have a lot of crap in it at the moment, I did find a 8" weed partialy trapped in the grate when I pulled it out yesterday.
Then it appears we are comrads in arms. I've been foolin around with my old Tahiti and these goofy Panthers for a little over 20 years. I too, have watched & read any info I could could find out about these pumps. the one I have in my boat now is a sleeved version. much better performance than with out it. I simply cant justify $3000 worth of work to make my boat do 65mph, maybe.

So I just keep tinkering with little things, that I believe will make it better.

Its getting there though.

« **Reply #33 on:** March 18, 2010, 05:58:15 AM »

My buddys panther does the opposite it cavitates for days on acceleration until it gets on plane.... What do you think is the cause of it??

« **Reply #34 on:** March 18, 2010, 12:53:14 PM »

from past experience, with mine anyways. The Panthers create enough suction to steal air from around the back of the pump. or also if there is to much impeller to pump case clearance. If the tailshaft bushing hasnt been lubricated enough, the bushing wears and allows the shaft to wobble. In turn the heavy stainless impeller will gouge out the housing (creating excessive clearance) the factory clearance spec. is .025" to .030" on each side of the impeller. If it is a sleeved pump you can reduce this to .010" to .012". the biggest clue to excessive wear is cavitation at take of (according to Panther) it is also much more noticeable on bigger DayCruiser Style Boats with Big Blocks. the smaller boats and boats with little blocks dont seem to have as much of an issue when the pump gets worn.

« **Reply #35 on:** March 18, 2010, 04:18:08 PM »

ya i am going to run this season on the pump i got. then as soon as the river season is over (october) i am going to send my pump off for the panther repower package. i am not going to get the diverter on it though. it just does not seem worth it to pay extra to have a roost and slow your boat down a bit.

i am pretty sure my pump needs a rebuild. i can hear some noises coming from the pump if i start the motor when it is on the trailer.

i love that there is someone else out there reppin the Panther pumps. lol

« **Reply #36 on:** March 19, 2010, 12:26:07 AM »

Quote from: AQUAHOLIC on March 18, 2010, 04:18:08 PM

ya i am going to run this season on the pump i got. then as soon as the river season is over (october) i am going to send my pump off for the panther repower package. i am not going to get the diverter on it though. it just does not seem worth it to pay extra to have a roost and slow your boat down a bit.

I agree about losing any performance. beleieve it or not Im not sold on this Panthervator! I kept my original exit housing. in my honest opinion, a $750 additional pricetag above the cost of rebuilding the pump, by the manufacturer, with an end result of slower then stock performance, and only slight trim adjustment. a set of trim tabs tabs can do that. Panthers Diverter only offers 7 degrees of up and 7 degrees of down from center. mine gets 18 degrees up angle and 7 degrees down.

On a different note a friend of mine wants me to check out another Panther piece. a Droop Snout exit housing.

« **Reply #37 on:** June 20, 2010, 05:11:21 PM »

I am not sure if this will help anyone but I have an 81 galaxy 18 foot jet with a 450hp roller 396. Whan i first got the boat it did a disappointing 55mph. I took the pump apart and found it was pretty beat and had alot of erosion. So i ordered a rebuild kit from panther and a manual. My father works for an industrial pump rebuilding comany so I asked what they us to repair worn pump housings. He said they use loc tite nordback trowellable ceramic wear resistant putty and brushable ceramic coating. The stuff is pricy $300 for both kits. Anyways I used the putty to fill in all the pitting and raduis the area right befor e the impeller Then I coated the whole inside of the pump suction and stator. I also cleaned the stator edges with a file and matched the stator housing to the hub of the impeller before coating with epoxy. I got the clearance around the impeller down to about .020" with the ceramic coating. Now the boat does 71 mph on a gps after playing with the ride plate a bit. All for under $700 justspent a bit of time on it. I have two weekends on it now and no wear on the epoxy yet either.

« **Reply #38 on:** July 09, 2010, 01:30:07 PM »

Hey guys i am new to the forum. I have been reading all the posts about panther jet pumps with interest as i own one in a 21', 1977
Charger Day Cruiser with a 460. In 2009 after 32 years of problem free performance i sent the pump to Panther Jet for a rebuild,
performance sleeve and jet-o-vator. The pump in its wore out state pushed the boat to a speed of 55mph, never cavitated, launched
hard. I felt like it was time for a rebuild and wanted added performance. What i got was a pump that wont do 40mph, cavitates at
takeoff and under hard acceleration and a jet-o-vator thats worthless. Steve at Panther Jet was working with me to address the problems until the motor developed oiling issues. This spring i put in a 502 stroker 460 and tried to contact Steve but found out he is
gone. Tried to get help in addressing the pump issues but the are blowing me off and telling me i caused my own problems and the
pump is no longer in warranty. The cavitation is pretty bad and i am at a lost as what to do. If any one could give me some help i
would appreciate it.

« **Reply #39 on:** July 10, 2010, 10:40:51 AM »

i was trying to get some speed out of my panther as well. and to tell ya the truth tom at jet boat performance seemed to know more about the pump than panther. and at half the cost of dealing with panther he is the only guy i would recomend you talking to about your pump. he is always there to help he even does not mind if you call him on his sell phone when you are out on the water to let him know whats up.

i would suggest give him a call.

« **Reply #40 on:** July 15, 2010, 02:20:49 AM »

Quote from: AQUAHOLIC on July 10, 2010, 10:40:51 AM

i was trying to get some speed out of my panther as well. and to tell ya the truth tom at jet boat performance seemed to know more about the pump than panther. and at half the cost of dealing with panther he is the only guy i would recomend you talking to about your pump. he is always there to help he even does not mind if you call him on his sell phone when you are out on the water to let him know whats up.

i would suggest give him a call.

I agree with you there! Tom has been playing with them for a very long time. The energizer conversion is really sweet! Its just waaaay out of my price range. From the most recent conversation I had with Panther reguarding cavitation with their pumps (besides a badly worn one) is all about exit housing. for some reason when they hog out the tail of the pump for the diverter, it makes the pump cavitate. My sleeved pump works fantastic with my stock exit housing, however my other exit housing (with Panthervater) cavitates on hard acceleration out of the hole. Panther said they make a number of different exit housings. I did NOT Know this. There must be a fine line in an Axial pump like these where either to small or to large of an exit hole must cause the cavitation. Maybe Tom can chime in and help me understand a little better why.

« **Reply #41 on:** July 15, 2010, 08:11:35 AM »

Quote from: torquer460 on July 09, 2010, 01:30:07 PM

Hey guys i am new to the forum. I have been reading all the posts about panther jet pumps with interest as i own one in a 21', 1977
Charger Day Cruiser with a 460. In 2009 after 32 years of problem free performance i sent the pump to Panther Jet for a rebuild,
performance sleeve and jet-o-vator. The pump in its wore out state pushed the boat to a speed of 55mph, never cavitated, launched
hard. I felt like it was time for a rebuild and wanted added performance. What i got was a pump that wont do 40mph, cavitates at
takeoff and under hard acceleration and a jet-o-vator thats worthless. Steve at Panther Jet was working with me to address the problems until the motor developed oiling issues. This spring i put in a 502 stroker 460 and tried to contact Steve but found out he is
gone. Tried to get help in addressing the pump issues but the are blowing me off and telling me i caused my own problems and the
pump is no longer in warranty. The cavitation is pretty bad and i am at a lost as what to do. If any one could give me some help i
would appreciate it.

This is a very sad statement (above) and what appears to be less than satisfactory customer service and customer relations , please call if we can help you ,I take calls 7 days a week . When a Panther jet drive works and is in good condition they seem to work well , I have riden in (and owned) a couple of pretty decent Panther driven boats . We were a authorzed Panther Dealer at one time until a business "falling out" with the company . We now as most know custom build the "Energized Panthers" from a kit we "Proto'd for American turbine as well as supplying repair parts (brgs ,seals, etc) and we do blueprinting of the Jets as well ....Tom

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