1996 HX bent drive shaft

[Tzinskis]

hello,

new to the forum and sort of new to the scene. Last year I picked up a 1996 (I think) Seadoo HX. I test drove it, and it ran great. Checked compression and had great compression. And ran good for about a week. Since then I've had the fuel lines replaced and carburetor rebuilt. Anyways long story short, I just found out that the drive shaft is bent (which is annoying cuz when I got the ski back from the carb rebuild, the shop I had it done said the ski ran great. But as soon as I put it in the water I could feel the pump slipping) So as of now I have about $1200 invested into a ski I bought for $1550 with trailer. The shop wants $550 to install a used shaft and used bearings.

My question is, how difficult of job is this to do on my own? Does it require any special tools? are there any detailed write ups or videos on this? Is it worth doing? I feel like I fix this and I'll find something else wrong. My wife is over it. I'm about there as well. But I really don't want a $2800 paper weight.

Thanks

 

[racerxxx]

Does the ski accelerate hard or just rev up and not move too fast? Could just be a wear ring and a carbon seal.

 

[Tzinskis]

The ski revs up, shakes, and doesn't go anywhere. It has progressively gotten worse to the point where is doesn't move. I do trust this guy that I take it to. All eh does is work on personal water craft. but I am annoyed that he didn't catch this when I brought it in for the carbs. If I would have had the quote for $1100 for carbs and shaft, I would probably have walked and used the money to invest in a better condition ski.

 

[JustSteve]

Assuming that it really is the shaft, then swapping it out isn't a big deal. You just pull the pump and slip the new shaft in. Getting the pump off the hull can be a challenge but you can find the procedure in this forum.

 

[Tzinskis]

I just called to hold off on the work. I said maybe next spring I'll be back to have the repair done. I just can't justify putting any more money into it right now. Also, I really only have a month left of riding here in Michigan. We pull our dock at our cottage just after Labor Day. He already pulled the shaft and will returning it to me as is. I don't know how I really feel about that. It will make putting it back together more difficult since I didn't do it myself. Also, I got the price break down: $450 for parts and $100 for labor......not really going to save that much doing it myself.

 

[Triorieel]

hmm...be careful to not lose your needle bearings in your sleeve if that is the style you have, if you are moving/trailering your seadoo without the driveshaft installed.


Edit: I wouldn't wait until next spring...thats when those guys get busy. You could be on a long wait list at that point