Rattling type noise?

[R/C-PILOT]

Recently purchased a 16ft Tahiti , Hardin Marine 350 Chevy, Berkley 12JE-A. Just drove it for the time today. OH MAN, was that a freakin BLAST. Was only able to take it for about 40 mins. I was amazed at how incredibly fast it was. I was hearing a rattling, clattering, type noise at a idle. I'm thinking it was the pump? Let me guess, thats not normal and it needs to be rebuilt? Amazing how fast this thing gets rpm's, and is on top of the water! Damn, I almost had to have a cigarette. I've been reading about place diverters and droop snoot, can I put them on this pump? 47 yrs old going on 16, I'm hooked. Any info would be great. Thanks in advance. Mark in Illinois

[pw_Tony]

The rattling at idle could be the u-joints, make sure they're greased real good, and make sure all ofther grease fittings are good and the pump is full of oil. Mine makes a rattling noise too at idle with everything well lubed and it hasn't broken so far:confused:

[squirt'nmyload]

my old boat started to make a rattle/humming noise at idle. within a hour run time the thrust bearing went out. you will have some that say they have a rattle/vibration/humming at idle. my new boat with a fresh pump makes no noise at all.

[MADDOG355]

Check the Ujoints and the coupler. If they are good remove the hand hole cover and see if you can wiggle the shaft.

[SmokinLowriderSS]

A slight rattle at idle, especially with a lopey idle cam is USUALLY looseness in the splined connection from the coupler to the shaft, and is not a problem.
That said, ANY noise, especially if accompanied with a vibration, and noise that continues at steady rpm above idle, should be investigated untill it's cause located. The only thing that can really be catastrophic to a jet pump (other than blowing up aluminum impellers with blower-motors) is thrust bearing failure. That can wreck the engine crankshaft too.
Advice to check the u-joints and thrust bearing for looseness is sound advice.

[dragboat]

A slight rattle at idle, especially with a lopey idle cam is USUALLY looseness in the splined connection from the coupler to the shaft, and is not a problem.
Thats what I found was making the noise on mine. Rex sent me a new one, noise gone, problem solved, piece of mind restored.:D

[edog_103]

Recently purchased a 16ft Tahiti , Hardin Marine 350 Chevy, Berkley 12JE-A. Just drove it for the time today. OH MAN, was that a freakin BLAST. Was only able to take it for about 40 mins. I was amazed at how incredibly fast it was. I was hearing a rattling, clattering, type noise at a idle. I'm thinking it was the pump? Let me guess, thats not normal and it needs to be rebuilt? Amazing how fast this thing gets rpm's, and is on top of the water! Damn, I almost had to have a cigarette. I've been reading about place diverters and droop snoot, can I put them on this pump? 47 yrs old going on 16, I'm hooked. Any info would be great. Thanks in advance. Mark in Illinois
I have a 1988 16' carribean with a 350. It has a place diverter. The place diverter is nice. im not sure if a droop snoot would actually be a positive change. I think the 350 lacks the torque to keep it out of the water.

[IMPATIENT 1]

A slight rattle at idle, especially with a lopey idle cam is USUALLY looseness in the splined connection from the coupler to the shaft, and is not a problem.
That said, ANY noise, especially if accompanied with a vibration, and noise that continues at steady rpm above idle, should be investigated untill it's cause located. The only thing that can really be catastrophic to a jet pump (other than blowing up aluminum impellers with blower-motors) is thrust bearing failure. That can wreck the engine crankshaft too.
Advice to check the u-joints and thrust bearing for looseness is sound advice.
(other than blowing up aluminum impellers with blower-motors)
are you talking about me???:D :D i'll send it to ya if i break mine:eek: :D

[UltraJet]

Is there an easy way, for dummies like me, to check the thrust bearing and/or U-joints. What is the easiest way to access these parts and what should I be looking for?? My boat has this rattling noise as well, at idle only, and promptly disappears when I give it some gas. Reading all of these types of threads is making me nervous:confused: Any help would be greatly appreciated guys.:)

[SmokinLowriderSS]

(other than blowing up aluminum impellers with blower-motors)
are you talking about me???:D :D i'll send it to ya if i break mine:eek: :D
Actually no. :D
I was refering to the blown apart bowl on a shelf at Hi-Tech that was caused by a guy with a blown drag boat not listening when Duane told him not to run Aluminum.
I think it blew on his first pass. The exploding impeller tore the bowl apart right aft of the bolt-ring, directly arround the impeller. It was recovered only because all the steering and gate cables did not break. Moderate miracle the boat didn't sink.
But I DO keep you in mind every time I tell someone arround 500+HP that they need to get away from Aluminum. :) I will continue to call you a lucky some-beach,,,,, untill your luck runs out. ;)

[SmokinLowriderSS]

Is there an easy way, for dummies like me, to check the thrust bearing and/or U-joints. What is the easiest way to access these parts and what should I be looking for?? My boat has this rattling noise as well, at idle only, and promptly disappears when I give it some gas. Reading all of these types of threads is making me nervous:confused: Any help would be greatly appreciated guys.:)
THRUST BEARING:
Some is kind of tough connected to the motor.
Best access is thru the cleanout/hand-hole. Open it up (out of the water!!!) and grab a hold of the shaft. try to move it up, down, sideways. there should be virtually no movement. There could be a tiny ammount of fore-aft movement, but not a great deal there.
If the motor is disconnected, spin it and feel for roughness, listen for roughness/grinding.
The thrust bearing in front is a large, heavy, double-row ball-bearing assy. It should be smooth, quiet, very little play, but all pressure on it is toward the bow so could have some slack there.
The rear of the shaft is supported by babbit sleeve bearings, 2 in my Berk, bathed in GL-5 gear lube (90/140wt). It should have no movement either laterally, but is free to slide fwd/aft.
The U-joints are especially hard to check with a 3-point mount (like mine), due to the bellhousing covering them. open the access plate and reach in, feel, wiggle, rattle, try to find slop. Flashlight and mirror to try to find rust.
Same for a 4-point mount but much more accessible usually.

[R/C-PILOT]

Hey guy's, thanks for the replies. I just checked the shaft through the hand hole, very tight, extremely small amount of movement for and aft, virtually none any other way. I haven't been able to take the inspection plate off yet, do to time restraints today. I'll get time tomorrow, to look at the u-joints. What type of grease should I use on the rear fitting? (on the housing closest to the transom) Can I grease the u-joint throught the inspection plate hole, as well?