Can Anyone Give Me A Quick Rundown On Outboard Jets?

[Jason R.]

Specifically I am going to look at a guy's used boat with a 30 hp johnson jet on it. I have a tiny bit of experience buying prop motors but I just don't know what to look for with a jet foot. I think the motor is a 2 stroke and its mounted on a jack plate- has a plate welded to the boat to feed the jet I suppose. This is all just from pictures the guy has sent to me. Is there any way to tell if the impeller or liner is chewed up? The motor itself looks really good in the pictures. Thanks.

[Ham]

^{Specifically, Is there any way to tell if the impeller or liner is chewed up?}

^{Lots of handy stuff can be found on line. I'd point you there rather than have you trust my memory, but if you drop the foot you be able to look at the impeller and the cone to inspect for wear. IF the motor has been used, there will likely be wear. That doesn't mean you should rule it out. You can dress the impeller up with a file and get dings out. There are hints at the proper way to do that online as well. Cones can be replaced for not too much money. Impellers can also be replaced, but they are a little pricey.}

[Jason R.]

Thanks Ham, I have been reading a bit about the subject. My wife is not too keen on me acquiring a new boat so I may have to overcome that hurdle first anyway. A jet sure would be handy on the Little Red.

[Ham]

I sort of stumbled into the world of jets. I was not intending on having one, but I found a deal on a used boat in good shape and went for it.

Whole lot different loading a boat on a trailer. You have to maintain power to maintain steering, no more coasting the boat up on the trailer. I have been putting boats on trailers for 40 years and my first few efforts with a jet looked like I had never been in a boat before in my life.

I don't like running at full throttle thru big, boat kililng rocks, BUT you need to run at WOT or dead idle thru the scary stuff. I have no qualms about running shallow over gravel.

Grass, leaves,and woody debris ARE NOT you friend when you run a jet. BUT you never have to replace props or gearcases in the lower unit.

[fishinwrench]

You can look at the impeller shaft nut area and tell roughly how many shims have been removed by the amount of threads showing. Most begin life with 7-9 shims behind the impeller, and once you get down to 2-3 shims it is time to order a new liner (and maybe a impeller as well).

The condition of the foot and grates are the easiest/quickest way to guesstimate the condition of a used jet pump. All in all they are a pretty simple and durable piece of machinery and not difficult at all to service or to teardown and repair.

[grizwilson]

The coontail on parts of the little red are not the jets friend either

[Ham]

You can look at the impeller shaft nut area and tell roughly how many shims have been removed by the amount of threads showing. Most begin life with 7-9 shims behind the impeller, and once you get down to 2-3 shims it is time to order a new liner (and maybe a impeller as well).

The condition of the foot and grates are the easiest/quickest way to guesstimate the condition of a used jet pump. All in all they are a pretty simple and durable piece of machinery and not difficult at all to service or to teardown and repair.

That's good information. Mine were in great shape BEFORE I started using the boat, LOl.

[Jason R.]

You can look at the impeller shaft nut area and tell roughly how many shims have been removed by the amount of threads showing. Most begin life with 7-9 shims behind the impeller, and once you get down to 2-3 shims it is time to order a new liner (and maybe a impeller as well).

The condition of the foot and grates are the easiest/quickest way to guesstimate the condition of a used jet pump. All in all they are a pretty simple and durable piece of machinery and not difficult at all to service or to teardown and repair.

I knew wrench would have some good advice. Thanks yall. That will really help. I've been looking at lots of stuff online and it does not seem all that complicated. Hopefully I will be able to convince the Mrs. that I need to purchase this boat and sell the Shawnee/9.9 suzi that I just bought and fixed up 5 months ago... we will see.

[Ham]

I knew wrench would have some good advice. Thanks yall. That will really help. I've been looking at lots of stuff online and it does not seem all that complicated. Hopefully I will be able to convince the Mrs. that I need to purchase this boat and sell the Shawnee/9.9 suzi that I just bought and fixed up 5 months ago... we will see.

The heck with that, convince her that you need to keep the other boat for use on the Buffalo and get the jet for the other rivers.

[Jason R.]

The heck with that, convince her that you need to keep the other boat for use on the Buffalo and get the jet for the other rivers.

Hey you're preaching to the choir man. I keep trying to use the "Its an asset" angle and its not going too well. Its not like shoes or clothes that are just burnt cash- you can sell a boat as long as you don't lose it/destroy it/ it gets stolen.