Super Jet Solas Mag Pump Ate My Bearings- How About You?

badvinny

badvinny

Location
Saskatoon,SK
Chris and the rest of the guys are spot on with the 'too tight'' of fit in the bore. This is not just a Solas problem, I have honed and polished quite a few Skattrak Mag's too loosen them up because we couldn't keep bearings in race skis. The simple fact is that a roller ball bearing is supposed to be tight on the moving part (shaft) and not tight on the OD, bearing manufacturers all list the bore fits in their catalogs.
 
kevbo

kevbo

Location
dfw
badvinny said:
Chris and the rest of the guys are spot on with the 'too tight'' of fit in the bore. This is not just a Solas problem, I have honed and polished quite a few Skattrak Mag's too loosen them up because we couldn't keep bearings in race skis. The simple fact is that a roller ball bearing is supposed to be tight on the moving part (shaft) and not tight on the OD, bearing manufacturers all list the bore fits in their catalogs.
Click to expand...

Were you having problems with C3 and C4 fits. I would expect a standard clearance bearing to fail in these pumps. The big engine guys should be turning their shafts to accept double row bearings like the early OEM 155 pumps used. Even better try a pair of opposed spindle bearings.
 
W

WB800BLASTER

X
Location
Plymouth, MA
looser, and the peen tool locks them in place over the lip, kinda like lapping the metal over.

augustaf said:
SS does not conduct heat well, unlike aluminum. When the bearing heats up under load it will grow and with no place to go will squeeze the balls- ouch. Mr. WB800BLASTER, are you making your pulley bores size to size or a few tenths looser? I hope that's not proprietary info.
Click to expand...
 
RSKI

RSKI

Location
Oregon
Interesting thread, I just installed my Solas mag two weeks ago with a Hooker 9/15. I put about four hours on it without issue so far, but now I'm nervous. My ski felt slower after install (It just felt sluggish and heavy), but I tuned the b-pipe a bit and it helped. I had no issues during install with anything that seemed too tight to press in to place.

Overall I was disappointed and questioned if the pump was worth the money because the performance gain was virtually unnoticeable with my 701 b-pipe and ada head. Maybe the bearings are so tight it's just robbing power? Hopefully I don't explode a bearing this weekend... I guess after reading a lot of positive reviews I was expecting more, but maybe there is an issue in my pump bearings or alignment that is holding me back.

On a side note, I used the same shims on the screws of the reduction nozzle as I had with the stock pump. Hopefully I don't need to redo drive shaft alignment to mate with mid-shaft housing? I would hope these two pumps are close enough to parallel on the front and back faces to not require realignment of the entire pump assembly.
 
JetManiac

JetManiac

Stoked
Site Supporter
Vendor Account
Location
orlando
Finally got in touch with a helpful person at Solas USA and he is looking into this issue!!

Very receptive and wanted to address problems.
 
Last edited:
fox river pwc

fox river pwc

When in doubt, gas it!
Location
Southeastern Wisconsin
My Solas story, so far:
http://www.pwctoday.com/showthread.php?t=409218&p=3913304

Just pressed in my 3rd set of bearings, with my beautiful new Jet Maniac shortened VXR driveshaft. Sure as heck seems like my Solas has a slight taper (which makes sense, since I'm only trashing front bearings). The bearing that was smooth as butter pre-install certainly gets tight and a tad notchy once pressed into the Solas. I just took it all back apart. This is getting old. Pressing it apart sure seemed to confirm a bit of a taper.

I love the performance of this pump stator when it works. I sure hope Solas is willing to pony up a fix, and it'd be nice if they'd recoup a couple seals and sets of bearings. My time is worthless anyhow ;), so I'll eat that part...
 
kevbo

kevbo

Location
dfw
fox river pwc said:
My Solas story, so far:
http://www.pwctoday.com/showthread.php?t=409218&p=3913304

Just pressed in my 3rd set of bearings, with my beautiful new Jet Maniac shortened VXR driveshaft. Sure as heck seems like my Solas has a slight taper (which makes sense, since I'm only trashing front bearings). The bearing that was smooth as butter pre-install certainly gets tight and a tad notchy once pressed into the Solas. I just took it all back apart. This is getting old. Pressing it apart sure seemed to confirm a bit of a taper.

I love the performance of this pump stator when it works. I sure hope Solas is willing to pony up a fix, and it'd be nice if they'd recoup a couple seals and sets of bearings. My time is worthless anyhow ;), so I'll eat that part...
Click to expand...

The 6205 is a very poor choice for axial loading in the first place. If a C3-C4 became rough when installed then the fit is indeed too tight. If you installed a standard clearance bearing, well, what did you expect?
 
rossthaboss11

rossthaboss11

Location
CT
I also have shot bearings in my new pump. Noticed unusual and unwanted wear in the wear ring and come to find the front pump bearing was basically gone. Maybe 10 tanks through my ski tops. Not sure exactly when the bearing failed. Prop and pump seem okay. Need new wear ring, bearing, seals and drive shaft.
 
RSKI

RSKI

Location
Oregon
fox river pwc said:
My Solas story, so far:
http://www.pwctoday.com/showthread.php?t=409218&p=3913304

Just pressed in my 3rd set of bearings, with my beautiful new Jet Maniac shortened VXR driveshaft. Sure as heck seems like my Solas has a slight taper (which makes sense, since I'm only trashing front bearings). The bearing that was smooth as butter pre-install certainly gets tight and a tad notchy once pressed into the Solas. I just took it all back apart. This is getting old. Pressing it apart sure seemed to confirm a bit of a taper.

I love the performance of this pump stator when it works. I sure hope Solas is willing to pony up a fix, and it'd be nice if they'd recoup a couple seals and sets of bearings. My time is worthless anyhow ;), so I'll eat that part...
Click to expand...

This makes me want to take mine apart and check it immediately. I don't want to ruin my shiny new driveshaft either. Mine wasn't "notchy" after install, but I'm still nervous. I wish I would have known about this sooner, I have inside micrometers to measure and see if the hole is in fact tapered or not. Didn't even think about it at the time...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom