Slapine5252

Hi, I am new to this forum and have a slight problem with my jetski. I went to start it up, after sitting for a few years and put a fresh battery in the jetski and can't get it to turn over. It cranks from the starter but just has a hard click. I poured oil in the cylinders hoping to free them up, thinking they may have seized and still nothing. I then took off the cover and tryed starting it with the cover off and notice the pistons move slightly but still seem like they are jamming up. Is it a common problem for the impeller to seize up??? And is there a way to turn the engine by hand or test if its the engine or impeller that aren't turning... Any help would be great, I am totally lost on what to do...

Thanks in advance and hopefully someone has the anwser to solve my issue.

ggauvin

Do you get the sense that the starter is energized, and trying to crank (probably drawing a lot of juice, and getting hot???), or is the "click" just the relay in the e-box??
Impellers can seize, usually because the cylindrical "wear ring" swells up from corrosion behind it and it squeezes down onto the impeller itself... salt water usage is particularly hard on these rings. Reach down inside the engine compartment and grab the drive shaft. Does it wriggle at all? It is directly splined into the impeller on the back end, and coupled to the engine via a rubber-spyder type coupling at the front end. With the spark plugs out, you should be able to turn the shaft by hand. You could try a pipe wrench or similar to help see which end is seized... impeller, or engine. Either way, something will have to get taken apart. Even if the engine is frozen, then loosens a bit with WD-40, I'd still open it up and check for rust / corrosion damage before putting it under full load.

Slapine5252

Thanks for the help, I actually was able to take the jet pump out and the motor turned over. I am sure now that it is the jet pump, and believe it is what you were talking about the wear ring expansion, Is there a way to free it up or do I need to replace the whole unit?

ggauvin

Here's a few options...
If minor swelling, have a local machine shop re-bore it.
Or search the forums... some guys advertise they can remove the old wear ring and install a new stainless steel one... these are locally fabricated parts... the factory just says its not a serviceable part... and do-it-yoursef attempts are usually failures.
Or search for a complete used pump in the forums, craigs list, or e-bay, etc.
I recommend the last option.