My suggestion is to take the pump off and inspect, three bolts on pump and one for steering. I replaced my intake grate and it's a 3 hour job to take off. The three intake grate bolts have nuts on the inside, so you have to take the ski apart to access them.I just bought a 2up spark last month, took it out to the river this past weekend, and after possibly sucking in some rocks, it stopped working properly. I pull the throttle, and the engine revs, but the ski barely moves, not even fast enough against the current of the river. I ended up having to tow it back to the ramp with my VX Sport.
I've done a little googling and some people mention that it could the wear ring being destroyed. I have been looking at it from every angle I can with a flash light, but I can't seem to see any problems with it. It doesn't look busted or even cracked. The impeller looks like it's in good shape as well. I can't figure out how to get the bottom intake grate off to give it a closer inspection. I am using a ratchet with a 13mm socket, but the bolts just spin forever.
Does anyone have any ideas as to why the bolts don't seem to want to loosen? I can turn them in either direction and am met with the same amount of resistance, it doesn't feel like the bolt is tightening or loosening.
Am I on the right track trying to pull the intake grate off to give it a more thorough inspection?
Thats sad. Considering I take less than 10 minutes to replace wear ring on my non ibr unit. Ive seen the instructions on replacing with IBR and its not that much more difficult.Dealer charged me $400+ for 3 hours labor and a new wear ring and seal.
If you have IBR have them install the flush kit when they do the wear ring repair. It would be easier to get to the two screws and hose clamp.
I am using mine in salt water with a lot of debris floating in it . 20 hrs. and no wear ring issues. The first time I do it will be replaced with a stainless wear ring and a Solas impeller. With the ibr this doesn't look like an easy job.Had this same issue within the first hour on our Spark. Dealership called yesterday and said broken wear ring. They agreed to fix it for just the part cost, because we had literally just picked it up the day before. They also said it was a piece of bark the size of a quarter. So, my question is this: if the wear ring breaks that easily, where am I supposed to ride? Will BRP eventually take a closer look at this situation? I have seen posts all over several forums regarding broken wear rings. The wear rings were already on back order until mid June, so now I have a brand new Spark that will sit for almost half of the summer. A little frustrated to say the least.
I am using mine in salt water with a lot of debris floating in it . 20 hrs. and no wear ring issues. The first time I do it will be replaced with a stainless wear ring and a Solas impeller. With the ibr this doesn't look like an easy job.
$7200~ for a machine thats $4999 MSRP + freight? I know CA registration is high but...???So I got it back, and total it cost me over $800 to repair it. I know I got ripped off. They told me it was some tiny nicks in the impeller and the wear ring. I had them save the parts they removed so I could look at them myself. I am not a mechanic, or an expert in jet propulsion, but I don't think the "damage" on the impeller would be enough to cause the ski to act like it did. I'm attaching some pictures of the "damaged" wear ring and prop. I had less than 2 hours on it at this point, and the stickers hadn't even worn off yet!
Just a heads up, if you don't know what you're doing when it comes to mechanical things like repairs, do NOT go to Bert's in So. Cal. I knew it was a bad idea to take it to such a big dealership, but the convenience of them being only a few miles away outweighed it. I know, now, to not deal with Bert's Mega Mall again in the future.
Side note: I bought it from Bert's as well (about 3 weeks before this happened), and it's the bare-bones 2up model, and it still cost me over $7200 out the door after taxes and big dealership fees.
$1039 Freight and PREP and a $65 doc fee! WOW !!Here's my cost breakdown:
$4999.00 MSRP
$1039 Dealer Prep & Freight
$65 Document Fees
$550 Sales tax
$37 DMV Fee
$949 Sucker Fee / Extended Warranty (which doesn't cover stupidity, sadly enough)
Comes out to a little over $7600 total out the door. They are definitely not the inexpensive toys BRP advertises. Throw in the $800 Stupid Tax (Repairs) and this thing cost me as much as my 2012 VX Sport.
Side note: I think I got a check from the DMV in the mail for $16 a few weeks ago stating that excessive fees were charged, so the DMV charges were only $21.
