FX-1 FX1 144mm pump swap.

[yamanube]

Since I finished building my FX1 I have longed for more hookup. I wanted to get a Bonzai Bob modified pump but could not afford to spend that much on a ski I don't ride. Considered the 650sx pump swap and had some of the parts but didn't want to shop around for a pump and modify the bearing housing so I decided to make my hull fit an off the shelf 144 pump. With some help from WaveChaser I lowered the area where the front pump ears sit and will shim the rear to match.
So far its been a breeze, I am hoping I am not overlooking something but I should have it running by next weekend. The benefit is if I ever trash a wear ring or reduction nozzle I can buy another and not have to worry about sending it out to be modified to fit. I also only had to purchase a 144 pump and prop.
The only downside I can see is having to grind and shim my rideplate to fit and grind my pump shoe (until I buy a 144 one and fit that) but it seems that all these issues would come up weather I modify the hull or pump.
Pics coming sometime this weekend.

 

[yamanube]

Didn't get any pics this weekend, I will shoot some as I assemble everything. Hull and rideplate are ready just need to get my prop off and swap the driveshafts.

 

[Shadow7874]

How much work is involved in doing this and about how much would it cost? Theres a good chance im buying an fx1 tomorrow and ive heard alot about swapping pumps, but i see blowsions kit is over 1300...

 

[yamanube]

Took it for a quick spin today, I will post more details, pics and a total cost tomorrow.

 

[yamanube]

I lowered the area for the front mounts (lowered meaning the ski was upside-down and I cut into the hull) 10mm. When I ground that far down the very front, outside corners got real thin and even broke into the foam/void underneath so I mixed up a some chopped strand and really filled in all in well, did a little sanding to get it all nice and smooth again and used more chopped strand to fill in all 4 mounting holes. On the front areas where you grind down you also have to clearance the edge of the mounting surface towards the rear of the mount to clear the flange on the pump (as seen in the pics) slide the pump assembly in and mark for the rear mounting holes, and drill them out. The stock FX1 pump to hull hardware is smaller than the SJ ones so in front I used SJ sized bolts with the heads countersunk into the tray this holds the wear ring section to the hull much tighter and makes it easier to line up. For the rears I cut rectangle recesses into the tray to hold the stock FX1 "nuts" then glassed those in. This is less than desirable for most because if you ever want to remove the wear ring you have to remove the turf, you could use sleeves on the stock FX1 bolts to make alignment easier then use the same method I used in the back to eliminate the problem...I decided to go the easy way since whenever I pull a pump I remove the 2 rear mounting bolts and the 4 long bolts holding it all together and leave the wear ring in, making it easier to re-install and not fight with getting the pump seal pressed in tight.
Due to the FX1 having its thru-hull cooling fitting on the opposite side I pulled the dowel pins out of the stator section and just flipped it 180*. Hammered the blaster driveshaft out, pressed the FX1 driveshaft back in its place.

 

[Wave Chaser]

Took it for a quick spin today, I will post more details, pics and a total cost tomorrow.

So you got it finished?

What do you think? After the fact was it worth it?

 

[yamanube]

The stock pump shoe is much smaller in diameter than the 144 pump, I opted not to do all the work to chop my hull up and put in a 144 pump shoe and just went the easy way out. I was told you could easily open the stock shoe up to 130mm so I just spent some time with the dremel and opened it up as best I could while keeping it smooth and uniform....later I would use silicone to ramp the back of the shoe down to the wear ring, reducing the air pocket in that area and cutting down on cavitation. It is not "optimal" but after testing it seemed to work pretty damn well.
For the steering cable you have 2 options, protec steering cable extender, quick and easy just screws on. Or a PVC irrigation fitting that is the same size as the through hull fitting for the cable, not sure how it works if you do a search Wave Chaser did it this way.
For the turn nozzle you have 2 options, due to bottom mounted steering position on the stock nozzle it sits pretty much exactly where the rideplate will sit and that is a problem. The protec nozzle has a mid-mounted steering arm that works well, I am cheap and so I cut of the stock arm and made up a quick piece of angled aluminum, drilled a hole for the steering pivot and bolted it to the nozzle with 2 button head cap screws...this was just a quick and dirty till I can afford a protec nozzle but it seems to work very well (not sure on how well it will hold up though).
Also the steering cable will then hit the stock outlet for the yamaha pisser fitting on the reduction nozzle, I just cut mine down.
To make it all line up right I had to add 4mm of shims at the rear pump mounts. Once it was all in I had to address the rideplate problem.
The pump area on the FX1 is frankly just not big enough for this pump and my rideplate was not even close to fitting (DG finned plate) I had to use a grinder and clearance the plate where the rib between the stator and wear ring sat, had to nearly grind through the plate to get that to fit, not wanting to totally butcher the plate and compromise its integrity I decided to add 2 washers at each plate mount to space it down...it sits nearly on the pump but barely (if at all) sits below the bottom hull surface and seems to fit fairly well. (ignore the dirty ass hull, the stray fiberglass strands and crappy paint, it is the beginning of riding season here I just want to get on the water, I will clean it up over winter.

 

[yamanube]

So you got it finished?

What do you think? After the fact was it worth it?

Yep its finished, thank you for all the help. It worked pretty damn good, the lake we where on was extremely windy/choppy and 58* air 58* water temps made testing it pretty tough but it hooked up 100 times better than it did with the busted up stator, swollen wear ring and skattrak 19-24 in the 122mm pump. I cannot compare it to a nice, properly working stock FX1 setup but I can say it hooks as well as a superjet with stock intake grate and blaster prop, the stupid open bar intake grate is really holding it back now...when the water is flat it rocks but in the chop I still get some cavitation. It is awesome just to be able to pick a wave, drop into the trough and grab a handfull of throttle and fly out versus having to give extra time for the pump to catch up. It is a totally different ski now, I have to tweak a few things here and there but I am very pleased with the results.

The only cost for this mod are for a superjet or blaster pump - cost varies depending on how good of a deal you can find (generally $125-$150?)
A prop - stock blaster props work well and are cheap
Protec steering cable extender - $8
2 new bolts for the front pump mounts (not needed) ~ $10
Some fiberglass, grinding and some time. Totally worth it IMO.

I am going back out on the lake today and will post my thoughts on flatwater hookup.

 

[SUPERJET-113]

I'll bet it makes a big difference!
I just picked up a 94 FX-1 and want to do this mod eventually. Mine just has a Pro-tec intake grate and rideplate with stock impellor.

What driveshaft do you use?

 

[yamanube]

FX1 driveshaft.

 

[SUPERJET-113]

Cool, so it all lines up and works with the 144mm pump. Thats awesome!

 

[yamanube]

Just got off the lake and this setup ROCKS! So much more bottom end hit and it seems it picked up some topend too. There is a little bit of cavitation due to the difference in pump shoe and wear ring sizes but it is barely noticeable. IMO it hooks up just as hard as a superjet with the same engine, grate and prop setup. It is a totally different ski and much more enjoyable to ride. Throw the 122 pump in the trash and swap in a 144 now.

 

[Shadow7874]

As far as the grinding/glass and stuff is it something i could do even though i dont have any experience?

 

[yamanube]

As far as the grinding/glass and stuff is it something i could do even though i dont have any experience?

Sure, take your time, and measure often...its hard to mess up. If you grind to far, glass it back up and try it again. It's only fiberglass :bigok:

 

[LIVE2RIDE Powersports]

Thats awesome Yamanube. I hope my 650 pump hooks nice to. Should be in the water this weekend. NICE JOB.....

 

[Shadow7874]

Couple questions. When you ground the spot for the mounts down 10 mm, did you reinforce it from the tray side or how did you do that? Also, how much more work is it to add a 144mm pump shoe? Also how much time did you spend doing it? My season is hopefully days from starting and i have yet to ride my fx1, but i have a 550 as backup so after a month or so if i decide to switch pumps, can it be done in a few off days?

 

[yamanube]

I did not reinforce it from the back...its probably not a bad idea though. I guess we will see. My ski does have 2 layers of 18oz biax across the entire tray though, just for general reinforcement.
Maybe somebody else can chime in on the 144 pump shoe but from the looks of it, it requires a lot of grinding and I would imagine that you end up grinding into the foam so probably takes some glassing too. I considered just grinding the stock shoe all the way to 144 then epoxying the voids but ran out of time.
If I had all the parts on hand I could take care of it in a weekend, the only thing that requires a lot of time is waiting for the fiberglass to dry. Measure twice, cut once, that will make things much easier...the 10mm is a rough measurement I took (but should be dead on, just avoiding any liability in case you mess it up), make it fit your pump, whatever that may be.

 

[brett]

great job...makes the swap seam much more accessable to those of us without unlimited budgets...this should a have a "sticky" in the fx1 forum

 

[LIVE2RIDE Powersports]

great job...makes the swap seam much more accessable to those of us without unlimited budgets...this should a have a "sticky" in the fx1 forum

x2 that

 

[spazzit]

yea yea sticky if i cant get my kawi sh*t to work im goin this route


nice job man

:bigok: