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

Fro Diesel

Fro Diesel

creative control
Location
Kzoo
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.
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Can you enlighten us as to HOW you honed the bore of your pumps, then. It may be my lack of machine shop knowledge but aside from some sand paper I don't know how you could clearance one of these pumps solas or skat without just wingin it. Even to find dead center and take a few thousands off where the bearing rides makes me want to invest in unicorns.

So, you say it is not just a solas prob, never heard of skats with the blown bearings after one ride. Now a race ski could be different, I have no experience there.
 
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kevbo

kevbo

Location
dfw
Fro Diesel said:
Can you enlighten us as to HOW you honed the bore of your pumps, then. It may be my lack of machine shop knowledge but aside from some sand paper I don't know how you could clearance one of these pumps solas or skat without just wingin it. Even to find dead center and take a few thousands off where the bearing rides makes me want to invest in unicorns.

So, you say it is not just a solas prob, never heard of skats with the blown bearings after one ride. Now a race ski could be different, I have no experience there.
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I sanded my last Solas with some 600-1000 and oil. I spun it in a lathe and then pressed a bearing in and out until I had the fit loosened up a bit. It took three tries before I was happy. Dont do this unless you are willing to check and recheck the fit carefully because you must get all the way to the front corner and it is easy to remove too much in spots.
 
RSKI

RSKI

Location
Oregon
kevbo said:
I sanded my last Solas with some 600-1000 and oil. I spun it in a lathe and then pressed a bearing in and out until I had the fit loosened up a bit. It took three tries before I was happy. Dont do this unless you are willing to check and recheck the fit carefully because you must get all the way to the front corner and it is easy to remove too much in spots.
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It would be much easier if the bearing didn't press up against that shoulder. I don't think a hone would work since it's not a through hole, but I guess sandpaper does!
 
badvinny

badvinny

Location
Saskatoon,SK
Enlightening: using a rigid hone like a 'sunnen' not a flex/spring hone. It is a thru hole but shouldered, use new or good stones and you can taper them a bit to get at the shouldered area better. (most small outboards are blind holes so honing to a shoulder isn't too hard)
Stainless is tougher to bore small diameters straight with no taper when the hole is over twice as long as the diameter (that may be why so many pumps have this problem of being tighter at the shoulder area)
Race skis are no different btw., and don't forget to measure as you go!
 
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augustaf

augustaf

Location
central florida
I have a Lisle CHJ (now 16000) hone but the stones cannot reach close enough to the bottom. Could chuck it up in a lathe and use a new sgl stone manually as suggested above. However I no longer have access to a lathe and can't think of anyone I know that has a lathe and enough patience to sand/grind the bore for a better fit
 
kevbo

kevbo

Location
dfw
rileym21 said:
It would be much easier if the bearing didn't press up against that shoulder. I don't think a hone would work since it's not a through hole, but I guess sandpaper does!
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This was a case where the operator was more important than the tool. My bearings had a large edge radius, otherwise I would have undercut the inside corner while it was on the lathe. Next time I will cut the shaft for a 5205 bearing.
 
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orangefinger

orangefinger

Location
Reno,NV
on my second rebuild I just took some sandpaper and sanded it by hand, no measuring .......( throw the first rock ) the baring went in well and have approx. 50 rides on it with no problems
 
stagesrt4

stagesrt4

see ya out there
Site Supporter
Location
St Charles IL
i heated my pump with heat gun n put my bearings in the freezer

this allowed the bearings to fall into place with out a press or even hammering them in. They literally just fell in....

but once both pump n bearings were at room temperature the tollerance seemed to get much worse. It was so tight that i could barely spin the shaft/impeller by hand.

I went ahead n installed pump on ski anyways. The tight tolerances n my very high compression made it very hard to even turn motor over during startup.

after around 10 minutes run time the tolerance in pump seems to have diminished a little. After i fell off ski i few times n during start up i noticed ski turning over as normal n not struggling like it 1st was.

So as pump stands I have roughly 20-30 minutes run time. Ill be pulling pump tonight for inspection so time will tell
 
NVJAY775

NVJAY775

My home away from home.
Location
Gardnerville, Nevada, United States
I ride with Orangefinger occasionally and his pump is doing great. My first build on mine burned up in about ten minutes. Second build (wsm bearings) was done by a machine shop and has been fine for many tanks of fuel all summer. I also had the pump out and cone off a few weeks ago and all is smooth and oil looks great. (knocks on wood)

I do wonder if it is an inconsistency in moulding though? Kind of makes sense to me, but I'm far from a machinist. Heck, I still can't do the ride fast in a straight line trick.
 
tor*p*do

tor*p*do

Squarenose FTW
Site Supporter
Location
NW NC
went back to my OEM pump and it sucks (air) and washes out unlike the Solas mag
really liked how it handled, may get a machine shop to mod mine and
give it a second try next season
 
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