Jet Boat Cavitation (High RPM, little power) Seadoo Challenger 180 Supercharged 215 hp Loss of power

After 2 years of trouble shooting the cavitation (shortage of power, high RPM's) of my jet boat I finally discovered it was the small dings in my impeller shown in this video. Please message me if you have any questions.
Link to impeller uninstall:
• SeaDoo Impeller Instal...

[@senorbeene]

acer372 sorry for the late response but yes these very small dings made by boat rev very high but move very slow. It is definitely worth a shot. This is the second time I have done this and it has fixed the problem. Also, check the wear ring around the implellar, if you shine a flashlight and see gaps around it then you have a problem, good luck

[@TiberiusStorm]

The boiling water molecules caused by Cavitation can cause the edges of an impeller to erode!

[@jrbonner5858]

If they told you that impeller was good I would never go back there

[@mhpronet]

Nice video! Is it possible to grind and polish the edges to fix the problem? My Sea-Doo cavites and my impeller looks like yours. Thanks

[@senorbeene]

I'm not sure about the polish, I would think polishing would make it worse. Thats because its not only the dings causing the issue its the gap between the impeller and the wear ring on the boat. Polishing would be removing a small amount of the metal from the impeller and cause a bigger gap therefore more issues for you. Its also a pain to remove the impeller I would recommend replacing it if you are going to the trouble of taking it out in the first place. If you end up polishing it comment back letting me know how it worked. It could be once the dings are removed its not causing air to be pushed through the jet.

[@f143744]

Stainless steel impeller, last a whole lot longer especially with a stainless wear ring. I’m replacing mine with only 10 hours, going up 1-inch launch and top end.

[@Bossdom121]

How did it work out with new Stainless steel was it faster and any part numbers. Thanks

[@DarrellDomes]

@@Bossdom121 I want to know too

[@qawsalla1]

I have a see doo challenger 1800 with mercury M2 V6 and at first it started that when we switched off for fishing some times id did not wont to start then we changed the stator and coils plugs and even cleaned the carburettors and changed fuel now the boat is working but rpm are not as before and in the water I see that we have same issue when giving it full throttle it goes like a 15 hp motor I will have a look at this impeller what I remember is that once a small rope was sucked by the impeller and from that time it started going slow I'm 100% that all rope and dearth has been removed could it be the same issue Thanks for you great video it helped me a lot to understand more about these boats Cheers Mario

[@seanbruton3778]

My brother was riding sea-doo wake 2006 with 60 hrs and it went from performing perfect to not more than 11 mph at almost full throttle. I can see the same small dings and a gap between ring and blades, but how much space should be there?

[@senorbeene]

Did you make sure there is nothing stuck around the impeller? I have had a similar issue to this happen to me several times. I was cruising around 30-40 mph then shut the boat off to relax and started it back up to head back home. I tried to go fast again but the boat would only go about 5-10 mph and it would cavitate, rev high, and the entire boat would vibrate. I pulled the boat out of the water and got out and looked underneath it. There was something stuck around the impeller. One time it was a small piece of plastic from a milk jug, another time it was a small twig, and the last time it was a piece of a shell. Once I dislodged the tiny piece of debris the boat ran fine. However, if the impeller is running with something such as a shell in it it can quickly wear down the wear ring which you would need to replace to achieve optimal performance again. The game around the impeller should be very tight, like tight enought for a piece of paper to barely pass through. If you rub your fingers on the wear ring (the plastic around the impeller) and there are grooves then you probably need to replace either the ring or impeller itself.

[@seanbruton3778]

it was clear, and the gap could slide a nickel through

[@seanbruton3778]

i tried to share the pics

[@senorbeene]

+sean bruton a nickel is way too much space in between, you should be able to slide a piece of paper through and thats about it

[@seanbruton3778]

Did you just reply?

[@irprubber]

Senonbean, have the same boat with the same issues, almost at the point on giving up and selling it. I did change the with the following one stat trak 3 blade swirl pitch, didn't help, what impeller did you use?

[@senorbeene]

+Richard Mallett I replaced with the same OEM impeller that came out of it, haven't had any issues since. You could also try replacing the wear ring if you haven't done so already

[@thewayner51]

have a 2003 seadoo sporster le, checked impeller,looked new,is there anything else that can cause cavitation ?? the wear ring had a few small cuts , will that cause cavitation? thanks...

[@senorbeene]

Hi, make sure you look very closely at the impeller for marks. If you see any dings at all it can cause cavitation. Since you see marks on the wear ring I would say at least replace that. It is a lot of work to take it all apart so I would highly recommend replacing both the impeller and wear ring at the same time. The easiest way to replace the wear ring is to place the entire housing in the freezer for a few hours. This will cause the plastic to contract and you can slide it out easily without cutting it!

[@acer372]

These dings will cause poor performance? my 96 sea doo challenger will rev high rpms but will move slow in the water 10-15 knots at most my impeller looks like yours but worse i`m trying to figure it out.

[@bladerxx1]

hello I bought a Seadoo challenger 180 215hp. however, I do not exceed 25 miles per hour even at 8000 rpm. what do you think?

[@senorbeene]

Does it sound like the engine is just revving very high with no movement? I think this is definitely a wear ring being worn out and/or the impeller being dinged like I mention in the video. I would call a few seadoo places and see If they can check it out for your, it is a pain to get it off but I hope my video helps!

[@dohaman4630]

Hi is it possible that very tiny dings will cause a loss of power? why? is it because the edges are not straight anymore? what if you do fine grinding to the edges of blades (1mm shaving) i appreciate your reply

[@jrbonner5858]

Doha Man It creates air in your pump Air compresses liquids don’t . Pushing air in water means you don’t go anywhere

[@hardlyyoung3638]

Doha Man did you ever get an answer...seems like cavitation should mean a cave in of some sort.