The following are several good examples why you should remove the stock intake grate and install a captivated grate. I am convinced the HydroSurge grate is a poor design. The facts speak to the truth of the matter. I would encourage all Mercury SportJet owners to closely inspect their HydroSurge grate, with a bright light, to
determine if you are the next to be bitten by Mr. Murphy !!!

JetWild Without Tines in Your Pump !!!
SpeedSter240EFI
Rj

*******************************************************
Ok here's the story. I went out on Mission Bay, San Diego about 2 weekends ago with my 2001 Islandia. All went well. Came back to the dock with no problems at all. All was running smoothly. I didn't hit anything. Maybe I ran over some seaweed but definitely no rocks! Got home and flushed out my engine. I hosed off the intake grate when I noticed that one of the tines was missing. On closer examination, the tine was broken but still in the pump. Fortunately no damage. Even when I was flushing the engine I didn't hear any unusual noises. That's my story.

"
"
*******************************************************
Bob - Found tine broken off and didn't even know it had happened.
www.network54.com/Realm/Rjsworld/bobsgrat.jpg"
*******************************************************
I am 17.ks who started the hydro-surge thread on your forum. I can't get pictures of the Hydro-surge at this time because the broken pieces are at the dealer's shop which is 60 miles away. But they are being saved. The Hydro-Surge grate did not break, it simply opened and allowed in debris which included tennis ball size rocks. The incident occured on June 1, 2002 in Long Island Sound near the Norwalk Islands in Connecticut. I knew I was near shallow water, and was creeping to find passage way. I was moving at idle speed. When I realized that I was in too shallow water I steered hard to the right. The stern swung to the left and the engine took in large rocks and oyster shells, and immediately groaned and shut down. I never grounded the boat (the dealer's mechanic concurs based on lack of scratches on fiberglass). The Impeller, stator, and wear ring needed replacement. The boat was towed into harbor by Sea-Tow Inc. The boat was then trailered 60 miles back to the dealer's site in Clinton, CT, behind the dealer's truck. After servicing it was trailered back to Norwalk, CT, where it lives in Indoor Rack Storage. The Sea-Tow was free of charge. The trailering and servicing cost $2263. I believe that had I taken your advice, and insisted on something other than the Hydro-Surge grate, I would
not have suffered this damage. NO PICTURE
*******************************************************
Keith Z. - NO STORY
"
"
*******************************************************
I have a 2000 Sea-Doo challenger 20' with the HydroSurge Grate. For no apparent reason, One of the Tines broke off and was sucked into the impeller. You Can guess the result. New impeller and New Surge Grate.
Labor and parts $1,400. I have been talking with Mercury to see if I can get them to pay for at least part of the repair. They said to take it to a Platinum Mercury dealer get it apart and then call back. My feeling are that they have a bad cast. The boat is at the shop right now. As soon as the boat it taken apart I am going to have the grate sent to Mercury. I will try and get pictures before it is sent. Mike W. - 8/22/03 UpDate: Picture

*******************************************************
Recent 7/13/2003
DanaT over on the www.jetboating.net forum link: http://www.jetboating.net/jetboating/forums/postview.aspx?forumid=1&postid=20402

Picture posted on link.
*******************************************************
Recent 7/13/2003
SadSeaDoo - No picture, End of boating fun after a number tines broke off and destroyed their jetpump while in 20 feet of water.
*******************************************************

Now where do you get the replacement grate from??

Recommended Version, 6 Tine Aluminum P/N 852962T

Stainless Steel Rock Grate, 11 tines P/N 854810T 1

SeeYah!

I have my 2000 C2K in a lake in NJ. Unfortunately lots of weeds; little to no rocks. Any opinions on the fixed grate (aluminum) vs the stainless steel (tines much closer together, but tougher to break). I'm worried that I'll be constantly jumping overboard to clean off the grate. I already have to stick my hand through the hydro surge grate to pull out weeds. I have a broken tine, so I need to replace soon! Thanks!

I have the 6 tine grate. I've driven directly through large weedbeds at 45mph many times. I don't go out of my way to find the weedbeds... it just happens sometimes while cruising around in Lake Winnebago near the shore.

I once turned off the 240EFI after driving right into a massive weedbed. I thought for sure I would have to take a swim. I started her back up and idled my way along. Once I found a slightly clear area I punched it and flew right out of the weedbed. I was on the way to the boat dock when this happened. Once on the trailer I looked underneath and there was only one or two tiny weeds hanging from the grate.

The moral of the story. I believe the 240EFI is plenty strong enough to eat the weeds. I imagine it is possible to plug it tight but you would need mighty thick weeds to doo so. As a general rule, if caviation occurs and you think weeds are to blame... doo take a swim to remove the weeds. The 240EFI must be able to intake water to cool properly. Also, if caviation is occuring you are in effect "sandblasting" your pump. Lack of cooling and caviation are both undesirable. Don't allow either of these to occur for any length of time.

I would much rather take a swim than pay thousands on a pump rebuild. All attempts by industry to create a weedless feature have failed without creating other problems and/or issues. The HydroSurge and the CleanOuts on the Yamees... they both have nothing but trouble. The industry should simple provide a good healthy grate and a sticker i.e. Don't run your boat in Weeds!

Hey, send a pic of your grate I'll add it to our record. Get that broken HSWG changed! You better go with the 6 tine grate because the 11 tine grate will definitely get plugged in your weed-situation.

JetWild Weedlessly!!!
SpeedSter240EFI
Rj

Thanks. I got the 6 tine grate. Just got back from a business trip so I haven't had time to pull the Doo out of the water. I'll send pics when I get done.
Joe

The grate is aluminum so don't crank down on any one bolt until all of them are nearly snug. If you tighten one all the way... the others will appear not to fit. Just like bolting down a head etc... Tighten each bolt a little at a time. And, don't over tighten, snug and then alittle more is perfect.

You will really enjoy this grate. Less noise, faster planing, faster idling speed, all around better and NO CanonBalls in your Pump!!! Let us know what you think!!!

Jetwild with a 6 Tine Grate!!!
SpeedSter240EFI
Rj

I have trouble with rocks took out my impeller the 6 tine grate
sucks for rocks which caused much damage deal with the weeds.
their not hard

If you are applying full throttle in shallow rocking areas... you will suck up rocks. In fact, if you gun it in shallow... you will pickup just about anything not nailed down. They make an eleven tine stainless steel rock grate for your type of Jetting Wild!

JetWild in 3' or more of water!
SpeedSter240EFI
Rj

I think the stainless steel grate will be better for the boating I do which can involve salt water and oyster beds. I like the idea of no corrosion and a smaller opening between the tines. However, I don't want to loose performance. Has anybody installed the stainless grate?

Two visitors posted messages about using the Stainless Steel Rock Grate. As I remember, they said, the performance was about the same. Both of these guys were running mountain rivers... so weeds weren't an issue. If your area waters are mostly clean from weeds, I would say go for it! The small openings between the tines will help cut down on the material which travels through your pump. However, if you have weeds... you better plan to take a few dives. I think there is eleven tines and at least that many openings. In order words, the openings are rather small. I wouldn't get over confident and gun it in the shallows but these extra tines should help keep the larger harmful items from damaging your pump. Be sure to post your pics and/or comments if you doo doo the Rock Grate.

JetWild !!!
SpeedSter240EFI
Rj

They should call it RockSucker Grate!!!

Whew... Calm down Anonymous... it isn't that bad
JetWild In the Deep End!!!
SpeedSter240EFI
Rj

JetWild
SpeedSter240EFI
Rj

First of all, let me thank all of you for submitting the pics on this thread. We have a 20' 2000 Seadoo Challenger which we've owned for 2 years and run on a lake and never had a problem. The other day we were out for a put at about 10 mph and when we went to open her up the boat died. No noise, no nothing. Didn't hit anything (which was confirmed by the shop as well). After restarting and putting it in reverse, it made a terrible noise. We were able to limp back to the dock which is close by and listened to a terrible noise the whole way. Went to load her up on the trailer, and during the back up it appeared that the tube cleared and the noise stopped and sounded fine. Turns out the that (3) tines were sheared off for no apparent reason and the tines blew a hole and completely wrecked the stator, impellor and the entire housing assembly on it's way out.
The shop couldn't even believe the damage! We were in approx. 20' of water with no debris. I trully believe this is a defect and it should be recalled by Seadoo. So, now we've been told that it's going to cost $3900.00 to repair it and to top it all off they just informed us that it's going to take 4 weeks for them to fix it, because Merc has the housing assy. on back order! I can't believe it!
Atleast reading everything that you've all written, reaffirms that I didn't do anything wrong, and it's a problem with Seadoo...that they should be taking responsibility.
Any additional information anyone has regarding this fiasco, please write in.

You are so fortunate that you didn't have far to travel. We like to take long cruises of 30-50 miles and there are areas where nothing is around. I am so glad we didn't keep that HydroSurge (HS) on our 240EFI! When I originally started talking against the HS, people thought I was nuts, just trying to bash SeaDoo or Merc! I felt strongely the design was flawed and should be recalled. I even spent the money to change my grate because I didn't want to destroy my jetpump and/or get stuck in the middle of nowhere.

I don't know whom should be held responsible Merc or SeaDoo. With the SeaDoo 4-Tec's induction in the SpeedSter 2004 line, I think this problem will be forgotten if it was even considered in the first place.
I wonder what type of weed control device the 4-Tec's will have? Nevertheless, I believe SeaDoo will sell fewer jetboats without the Merc inside. They are making a costly mistake. I could list the reasons, but that's for another post at another time.

My advice to you is to see if any broken tines are still inside your jetpump. Is so, examine the breakpoints on the tine and on the toothless grate. If the color is consistent across the entire break... they will insist you picked up a large rock or clam shell etc... But, if there is a noticeable change in color in and around the breakpoints, perhaps you could nail them on a bad casting of the tines i.e. Merc would be responsible for the damage.

I think you should push on both SeaDoo and Merc. Losing the use of your JetWild machine is unacceptable!!!

Merc should at least send out a public notice concerning the risk of using the HS and perhaps offer a discount replacement. The replacement fixed six tine grate is less than $130. They could win alot of points with their customers this way, but I wouldn't hold your breath, we are only a small portion of their concerns.

Check out this site for parts: http://www.mercruiserparts.com/select_models2.asp?type_id=SJET

FYI On parts... Order them early and often because their distribution/delivery system is junk! Rumor has it... Three times as many people shipping 1/3 the amount of parts... now, doesn't that sound like progress LOL!!!

I wish your jetboat a speedy recovery that allows you to JetWild soon!!!

SpeedSter240EFI
Rj

I took his advice and bought the fixed tine grate immediately upon taking delivery of my Utopia (200 Opti). I had a couple of weeks using the Hydro grate before the new one showed up and I wasn't impressed with the performance. Number 1, it really didn't seem to be that effective at clearing weeds. There was plenty of times I plugged off. 2.) Once, while running the river, the damn thing opened up and sucked rocks the size of golf balls into my pump. No lasting damage but the engine came to a halt and we had to paddle back to the launch to clear the rock from the nozzle (it was jammed between the impeller and the nozzle).

Since changing, I've had no trouble with weeds, they just turn into salad and I've never had to stop to rake. I routinely operate in a foot of water (coming into and leaving the shore) and have never had a problem with anything large enough to do damage getting past the fixed tines.

So thanks Rj. You spoke so passionately about the fixed tine grate and provided sufficient evidence of the failings of the Hydro grate for me that I was totally convinced. Praise be to Rj. JetWild for President!

Cheers, AL

Once in while every squirrel finds a nut-grin

I really appreciate your kind words. Forum bashing and personal attacks are all over on the forum neighborhoods. I don't know why people vent on forums and then personally attack others when they can't convey their point(s). For all the bashing I have received on all the other forums, including this one... thanks again Al because, today, you have made it all worth it

I have been reading several posts on the www.jetboating.net forum and it appears there are many more incidents of hydrosurge failure than what I have heard about. I wish I had the time to copy the failure reports and picture to add to my list, but I just don't have the time. Anyone reading this post should also visit www.jetboating.net because the truth of the hydrosurge will set you free!!! Don't let an hydrosurge broken tine ruin your jetboating experiences!!!

JetWild !!!
SpeedSter240EFI
Rj

I to have a Utopia 2001 with the 200 Optimax. When we go on vacation we take the boat to a lake in Minn. The last time we went the lake was very weedy. You mentioned a fixed grate that you purchased for your boat, could you give me that part number as I would like to get one. The tines on my boat are still in good shape so far but want to change before they break off.

Can miss it.

I also have lost 2 tins while in the middle of now where, just open water. I took grate off and discovered 2 broken tins in the pump. Luckly no damage, a little rough up of the casing just filed it a little to smooth it. This happened on July 28/03. Waiting for marina's responce. They dont believe Mecury will warranty it. I would like to know if Mercury covered anybody elses.

They have covered select repair costs. They haven't admitted responsibility for the poor design and will fight most extreme cases of damage. The design is prone to destruction. Remove your HS and save your fun factor!
G

I brought it to Berts in So California which is not the place I bought the boat from and they were able to get Mercury to pay for all parts and I paid for labor. They cleaned up the pump, new impeller and a rock grate.

This is a fundamental change for Merc. This is grate news for all who have less than great grates.

Well done!

http://www.jetboating.net/jetboating/forums/postview.aspx?forumid=1&postid=24478

That design sucks!

Which one would be better. The 6 Tine Aluminum or the 11 tine Stainless Steel? I bought the Aluminum one and I hope this will be ok.
2001 Speedster

Thanks Marty

Our 6 tine grate is working excellent. Not a problem... Be gentle installing it. Once its installed... forget it. You will not have another worry down under-grin
Rj

Adding my 2 cents worth.

Was out in my SeaDoo 205 SE and started it up in shallow water.

Turns out that I was over some loose rocks. It sucked one up - at the time i did not know what the clanging noise was. I drove the boat slowly out to deeper water, put on my goggles and dove under to look at the grate.

I reached pushed up the tines and managed to pull out a rock the size of my fist - not an exageration!

It was just clanging away in front of the impeller. Wow! what a close call. Certainly glad I did not take the boat up to speed and have a 2k to 4k repair like what I have seen on this blog.

I am now in the market for a better grate. One of the tines is bent a bit and i am wondering if it will break off.

Thank you to all of you for the info and impetus for me to get on the ball and replace it.

Mark

Yupp, those HydroSuck grates will allow anything to enter your pump. Definitely DON'T Jetwild until you replace that HydroSuck. If you have a bent tine... it will break off. Normally, they just break... they don't bend. You are very very lucky you had the knowledge and wisdom to doo an inspection... You saved yourself big time bucks and weeks of lost JetWilding time!!! This is perfect time to explain to your wife or MSO... "I saved us approx 3.5K... Can we now get that " (fill in the blank). Abuse the good karma you earned... "Screw You Murphy!!" ;-)

Rj