1997 Seadoo GSX 787 Semi-Resto/Refurbishment

[noviceskier]

Now that the HX project is starting to wrap itself up, I figured I'd find myself somewhat of a cruiser, happened to spot a 97 GSX not too far from me for a really good price. Eight hour drive later and a blown out bearing on the trailer and it made it safely to the garage lol.

(Also yeah I know the bunk isn't adjusted lol, got that taken care of now)

Two beeps on the key, compression is 150psi on each cylinders, vts works, gauges look brand new, decals are in very good condition, small blemish on hood that is really bugging me for some reason. PO said that leaving vts plugged in drains battery? Any clues on what that is?



Either way, only thing that has me puzzled is that air baffle, air box, flame arrestor, and mount/bracket are all missing and PO said he lost them?? Don't know what's up with that but hoping to buy a set off of west side powersports.

Looking for some pointers on servicing the RAVE valves, what parts am I needing to order, would oven cleaner be the best to get all the carbon build up off them?

Carbs already taken off and rebuild kits ordered along with needle and seats. PO used wrong oil so flushing that out and replacing the 3/32 tygon lines are getting replaced. PO used tygon lines in place of the fuel lines? Forgot about the tank being pressurized when i cut the feed line to the carbs haha. Anyway, the usual is being ordered for it, new fuel filter assy, fuel selector valve, and oil filter.

Owner said it only went 35mph, which definitely doesn't seem right, when I took a look at the jet pump looked like a stainless steel wear ring so I hope nothing to expensive is damaged.

(Didn't run the ski at all, but thought it looked nice in the water)

 

[noviceskier]

Everything ordered, looked on a thread on servicing the rave valves and ordered some base gaskets and orings along with everything else. Went on ebay and found everything i was looking for, (airbox flame arrestor, metal bracket and base for $60.00 along with the airbaffle/vent for $28) hope I didnt overspend on those items but honestly I was expecting to pay more for them so budget wise, I think I'm doing well.

Although I've had issues with communication in dealing with procaliber I'm hoping for it all to go smooth this time around. Everything I've ordered on ebay so far should be here before the end of the month.

Will update this thread once the work begins because as of right now I've just been in the disassemble, clean, and evaluate stage lol

 

[mikidymac]

Let me know if you have any issues with Pro Caliber. They have been pretty thin with COVID-19.

 

[noviceskier]

Will do

 

[gazzaskirepair]

While the Jet pump is off check the drive shaft splines. Other ends and Pto flywheel splines too
Put new gas in too

 

[andy.262]

For cleaning the RAVE valves, I had very good luck with putting them in a ziplock bag with ammonia overnight. The next morning all the crud came right off. Another member here recommended that to me and that's how I've been doing it since.

 

[mikidymac]

Easy Off oven cleaner works really good on the RAVE's too.

 

[noviceskier]

I have some leftover 5/15 fuel line from the HX, was wondering if I could use the same on my GSX or do I need to buy a 1/4 spool for it?

 

[mikidymac]

The HX and GSX should be 1/4".

 

[noviceskier]

The HX and GSX should be 1/4".

dont know how I got 5/16 in my head, just went and checked and the fuel line is 1/4 in the shed. Thanks for the confirmation

 

[GGuillot]

Nice pick up with the GSX. From GA I see, bought my 96' at Lake Lanier in North Atlanta, about 2 hrs away for me. I've heard the 97' tends to drain the battery if you leave it hooked up, something with the MPEM design. Looks to be in good shape, you'll enjoy that ski, this past Sat I rode my 96' so hard I almost got sick and two days later my legs and arms are still sore. I guess it's a cruiser, but I save the cruising for when I ride the GTX.

 

[noviceskier]

I guess it could be considered a cruiser to me compared to the HX haha, the skis side by side it looks so small.

Now I'm just waiting for all the parts to come in before I can do anything really, would like to degrease the entire engine bay but will probably wait till i get the intakes covered properly.

 

[noviceskier]

My main order from procaliber just shipped, hoping to get the gsx on the water next weekend. we'll see how it turns out, will update thread once I get everything installed on it.

 

[DanBBB]

I love the GSX. I actually just sold mine for financial reasons, but I hope to get another one someday. Here's a picture of what mine looked like after I fixed it all up and made some vinyl lettering using my desktop vinyl cutter.

I think if I had to do it over again I would make the GSX lettering a little bigger, but anywhoo, If you have any questions about the GSX let me know as I did quite a bit of work on it.

-Dan

 

[andy.262]

I actually just sold mine for financial reasons

Dan, I definitely saw your GSX on Craigslist a few days ago. I was very tempted to make a move on it, but it was just a little too far away and I would need to figure out a place to store it.

Awesome job on the cosmetics, looks amazing!

 

[DanBBB]

Dan, I definitely saw your GSX on Craigslist a few days ago. I was very tempted to make a move on it, but it was just a little too far away and I would need to figure out a place to store it.

Awesome job on the cosmetics, looks amazing!

Thank you so much! I had tried like 3 or 4 different variations before I settled on that last one. I just picked up a 96 GSX and man this thing is roached. It sat in a yard for YEARS so I might actually have to part it out rather than fix it. (seized motor w/ rusted crank, cracked block, seized cylinder 2, scored piston, etc etc etc) If you end up needing any random parts, let me know as they might fit.

-Dan

 

[RockwallRick]

Good Luck! I also have a 97 GSX project. It has been sitting for a couple years but now I finally have some time to work on it! I am going to start off with a compression test, hoping it turns out as good as yours did!!

 

[noviceskier]

Alright carbs were a mess, PO did them completely wrong. Aftermarket kits, ,mangled springs, leaking needle and seats. Will probably finish them tomorrow and report back with the results, once I'm happy with them. Time to start the process of getting the ski ready for its first ride out on the water.

Of course I got new carb base gaskets, orings and gaskets for the rave valves, new fuel lines, fuel filter, and fuel selector valve. Just being thorough. Oil filter, and oil still hasn't came in from procaliber, o well.

Gonna put the new 3/32 tygon lines on it just because access is easy right now. Going to flush the system and replace filter when that comes in.

Jet pump looks brand new, PO said he replaced it with a brand new one? I mean I believe him, looks like cleaner than what came off my HX. Still need to take it out on the water to figure out why he said it only went 35mph in the water. Honestly I think it was just his attempt at rebuilding the carbs but thankful his mistakes didnt take away from the health on the motor.

 

[noviceskier]

Good Luck! I also have a 97 GSX project. It has been sitting for a couple years but now I finally have some time to work on it! I am going to start off with a compression test, hoping it turns out as good as yours did!!

best of luck, if you have any questions lmk

 

[noviceskier]

Alright fixing this ski was pretty simple, not bad for only $400. Looked like the PO attempted at fixing it up himself and did a pretty bad job. Carbs were a mess, looks like he used the wrong size tygon fuel lines when redoing the fuel system, one of the 3/32 oil lines looked like it was about to come off. Looked to be the original fuel selector valve with some of that green goo still on the barbs, same with the old yellowed out fuel filter.

New fuel lines, selector valve, fuel filter, rebuilt carbs, drained tank, cleaned up the old carb base gaskets and put some new ones in when reinstalling the carbs. new battery and plugs, put some fresh gas in and it took about less than 30 seconds for the fuel system to prime and it fired right up. Took it to the ramp this weekend and ran it for about a couple hours. Ski says had 94 hours when I had first gotten it, now I'm close to 100. Runs great, a whole lot faster than my HX, but having been only riding the HX this season the GSX is a bit boring for me.. Does have a little bit of a cavitation issue, might just be the wear ring after taking a look at the gap between impeller and wear ring.

Only thing that doesn't work electronically is the fuel gauge. Not really an issue for me at the moment though, although its really nice having vts and a tach, also pretty cool how the ski measures how many miles you put on it during the trip.

 

[RockwallRick]

Congrats on your rebuild! I was still having problems after doing carbs with bogging/ stalling. I decided to bypass the fuel selector and now it runs great! I guess I should buy a new one. So how hard is it to replace the fuel selector valve on the GSX?

 

[noviceskier]

Congrats on your rebuild! I was still having problems after doing carbs with bogging/ stalling. I decided to bypass the fuel selector and now it runs great! I guess I should buy a new one. So how hard is it to replace the fuel selector valve on the GSX?

It isn't that bad, the cap where the selector goes is a bit stubborn sometimes, scuffed the sides up a bit when I was trying to remove it, although not that big of a deal because the surrounding plastics covered it up, after that there's a plastic nut you have to remove. I had just used a small flathead and a hammer to tap it loose, there was some zipties from factory holding the fuel lines in place was a bit hard to get out without taking everything out but you should be able to get at it.

when installing the new one I found it easiest to put on the new fuel lines on the fuel selector valve first then remount it back. Hope this helps

 

[RockwallRick]

Yeah, I should be able to do it, just hard to see up under there! I ordered a new one this morning. I will just run with the bypass until it comes in. I also have a problem with my speedometer, just reads zero all the time.

 

[noviceskier]

Yeah, I should be able to do it, just hard to see up under there! I ordered a new one this morning. I will just run with the bypass until it comes in. I also have a problem with my speedometer, just reads zero all the time.

I used my phone camera and a light to help me see things

 

[RockwallRick]

Replaced fuel selector, removed bypass and restored fuel lines back to normal. Test run was good, Wife did'nt have to tow me back with her Spark! Got maint message at 99 hours, cleared by holding set button down for two seconds. Currently at 100 hours, still needs more work but just going to ride for now!