1998 Seadoo Speedster project

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I also got what I hope is the last set of parts orders for this thing. It seems to really be nickle and diming me to death near the end.

Both engines were installed and aligned. After installing the 2nd engine I realized I forgot to attach the starter cable. As is my luck, I was just starting to snug down the nut and the terminal on the starter just snapped and was laying loose.

After many many curse words the engine was back out part way and starter pulled off. This was the starter I used an aftermarket brush kit on because my 2nd OEM hadn't arrived yet. The plastic insulator just snapped in half.

Luckily my oem had arrived by now and it went back together without issue. Just another lesson in only using OEM again.

Engine went back in and after troubleshooting and replacing a bad starter solenoid on the port engine, both turn over without issue.
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I had a speaker shootout today at lunch to decide what to order for the 3rd pair of 6.5s. I got a great deal on some kicker 6.5s with LEDs as a package deal with the tower. I also picked up a pair of JLs with LEDs which I planned to have 4 of in the boat.

They were surprisingly close, but JLs win overall in sound and build quality. The kickers have just slightly louder highs but just a slight bit of a distortion cranked all the way. $50 more for the JLs but looks like that's what I'm gonna order.
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This boat continues to fight progress every day. I got my 2nd pump rebuild kit and put that together quickly. My issue was now that both pumps turned freely with cones just snug. Tighten them down a few more turns and now the pumps were tough to spin by hand.

After taking them apart 3 times to ensure bearings, seals, thrust washer were fully seated and the anti rattle pushers in correctly they still had the same issue.

I bugged Braley over text to ask for other ideas but we still couldn't figure it out. I finally tore down another big hub I had in the attic and found that the plunger was just slightly shorter and the end that hits the prop shaft was slightly thinner.

After using some sand paper to make the white one the same size/thickness of the blue one, everything spun freely.

I am assuming that someone put regular 140mm plungers in both pumps making them turn stiffly. Blue = big hub and white = regular pump. I also assume both pump bearings were just fine and the plunger making them stiff made me think they had issues and needed rebuilt. Oh well, I now have 2 completely rebuilt pumps with 3 oil changes each, although I lost about 3 hours messing with them [emoji17].
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You and Nick are gonna cause to spend a ton of money on the Kracken. Lookin good man. Stay off that 4tec distraction and get this baby on the lake:cheers:
 
Haha thanks. I think you are already spending enough on your trailer project. I doubt the wife is going to let you go blowing more on the boat lol.

I can't win with this thing. I have 2 full sets of carbs from the 2 boats. I cracked them open earlier and both are crusty and rusted. I'll be lucky to salvage one good set out of both and my box of spares.
 
I haven't been keeping up with the thread but I have made progress.

Carbs were rebuilt which was a nightmare (seems to be the theme here). Out of the 2 boats I had 4 sets of carbs. Even the running boat the carbs were a mess and had rust in them. It took me two evenings and all 8 carbs to make 2 pretty good sets for the boat.

What's worst than having your carb look like this???? Having all 8 look like this.
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I got the carbs installed and finished water line and oil line routing once I got my new oil tank grommets. Boat then got pulled outside for a test fire and another bath.

Good news is it fired up and sounds good. I set idle to 3k bit plan on placing some hose on the set screws so I can tweak it on the water without having to take the air cleaners off.

Last night I spent 3 hours buffing the exterior. It's not perfect but I'll do the wet sanding in the off season.
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I just went through your project thread.
Amazing job!!!. Can't wait to see the finished project!
I'm blown away by the talent of people on this forum.
 
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I'm still running air, but I'm looking to make the change to a cordless wrench.
I almost bought a cordless wrench online for $150 but now I will have to check out my local Lowes and Home Depot.:thumbsup:
 
I've got some of the m12 and m18 after our work van for broken into and all our dewalt got gone. The m12 stuff is nice and light but still packs a decent punch. Never gonna be better than air other than not having a hose attached and being so damn loud.
 
BoLongo said:
I just went through your project project thread.
Amazing job!!!. Can't wait to see the finished project!
I'm blown away by the talent of people on this forum.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I know mine won't be as perfect as Nicks but since it got so late I just want to get out on the water. I plan on wet sanding over winter and having new graphics made.

I was up till 3 last night and back at it at 8 this morning.

- steering nozzles and reverse buckets on (after finding out I was missing the spring for the locking mechanism on the reverse buckets, so had to tear down again). Also, weirdly one set of reverse buckets has white spacers and the 2nd set has them molded in. I assume someone replaced a set at some point since they are both 98s.
- New bow light installed
- cleaned the scupper valve and hoses which were full of debris.
- 2nd battery wired in with new 2 dual battery switch.
- ran all cables for amps, LEDs, and speakers. They are all marine grade then covered in the plastic protective wire wrap. This probably took 2 hours just getting them in all these damn plastic things.
- cut hole for subwoofer
- hour meters installed on each engine

Doesn't seem like much for 12 hours of work but this thing is still throwing me curve balls at every step. Fiberglass splinters have been a real b*tch. I've got 2 in my fingers right now.
 
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Yeah, i love my little m12 ratchet. I dont know how i got along without it. The extra large capacity battery I never use since it makes it so much more bulky.
 
While we're talking tools another must have is the Panduit zip tie gun. This paired with quality zip ties is a real must own of you work on a lot of skis. I always get 2-4 clicks tighter on zip ties and it cuts the excess off automatically.

I also like the zip ties with the curved head for hoses.
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BoLongo said:
I'm still running air, but I'm looking to make the change to a cordless wrench.
I almost bought a cordless wrench online for $150 but now I will have to check out my local Lowes and Home Depot.:thumbsup:
Click to expand...

snikwad003 said:
I've got some of the m12 and m18 after our work van for broken into and all our dewalt got gone. The m12 stuff is nice and light but still packs a decent punch. Never gonna be better than air other than not having a hose attached and being so damn loud.
Click to expand...

Ankeneyou said:
Yeah, i love my little m12 ratchet. I dont know how i got along without it. The extra large capacity battery I never use since it makes it so much more bulky.
Click to expand...




I'm old school, I only use hand tools. I rarely use the impact gun on lugnuts, and that is only to remove them. I hand torque the lug nuts, installing them with an impact gun should be outlawed. I want to feel the screws going into the threads every turn. I have assembled equipment for the past 22 years for a living day in/day out. A lot of the machines I work on now are sold for 6 and 7 digits, screwing up a part that could potentially be worth thousands is not an option. The last machine I built took me 22 months to build and test. I often chase threads just to make sure there aren't any chips left over. This has translated into working on my own toys. Air tools are kinda barbaric to me. Just my opinion.
 
In new school. If it can save me time and cramping in my hand from turning 35 hex head bolts then I'm doing it. I start by hand then use the Milwaukee to just barely snug them, then hand tighten.

I'm not working on anything expensive though.
 
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Ankeneyou said:
In new school. If it can save me time and cramping in my hand from turning 35 hrs head bolts then I'm doing it. I start by hand then use the Milwaukee to just barely snug them, then hand tighten.

I'm not working on anything expensive though.
Click to expand...

LOL, at 43 year old my hands are feeling the effects of daily wrenching for sure. I'm also never in a hurry, there's always tomorrow. I say this as I'm wrenching on my 98 SPX that has a engine with 1 hour on it that I finished 2 years ago. Never put registration numbers or the sticker on it, oh and it expired LOL. Yes, I just got the new one in the mail today. Gotta have it finished now by 2019.


Deck lid looks awesome! Amazing how they come back and pop again. Keep up the great work!
 
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