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Hello all,
I am currently toying with the idea of purchasing one of my Dad's friends old skis. It's a 2000 GTX Millenium with the carbed 951 motor. He is currently looking to simply get rid of the ski altogether. The engine needs rebuilt and that brings me to my questions. The engine was submerged after the guy's son forgot the drain plug (yes, he's not the brightest) and was submerged for around a half hour while it was towed out I believe. It hasn't ran since the 2016 season and the current owner had a local powersports store take a look and they recommended an engine rebuild (this is a reputable shop; I personally know their mechanics and head of service). Would it be smarter to rebuild or replace the engine entirely with an SBT?? As far as I know the other components like the MPEM and electronics are all still solid according to the shop, so the engine would be the only thing I'd have to spend a lot of time on. Also, what would be the difference in cost between these two options? Any advice or knowledge is much appreciated!
 
IF it has been sitting with water in it everything is junk. You will need a new crank, balancer, possible reed cages, reeds pistons, rings, piston pin and bearings, gasket kit and if it is full of water possibly new carbs if they were sitting with water in them.

Your cheapest rout would be a SBT reman. You will still need to verify the electronics and carbs are salvageable, new reeds and genuine Mikuni carb kits. Easily over $1,200 if you do all the labor yourself.
 
Question on SBT. Owner still has to ship their engine to SBT at the owner's expense correct? Then SBT gets to say if any parts are not usable as a core. If I am mistaken please correct me. That scares me off buying a rebuilt engine. Help is appreciated.
 
IF it has been sitting with water in it everything is junk. You will need a new crank, balancer, possible reed cages, reeds pistons, rings, piston pin and bearings, gasket kit and if it is full of water possibly new carbs if they were sitting with water in them.

Your cheapest rout would be a SBT reman. You will still need to verify the electronics and carbs are salvageable, new reeds and genuine Mikuni carb kits. Easily over $1,200 if you do all the labor yourself.

Thanks for the info! I wanna say they got the water out of the engine after they towed it out of the lake, but I’m not entirely sure. I’ll definitely look into the reman though!
 
No. SBT sends you an engine and you pay them for shipping then you have to pay them for the shipping back which for me has always been more expensive than I can with UPS but they won’t let you do that. Then if your core is damaged they deduct that from your core charge.
 
No. SBT sends you an engine and you pay them for shipping then you have to pay them for the shipping back which for me has always been more expensive than I can with UPS but they won’t let you do that. Then if your core is damaged they deduct that from your core charge.

I've dealt with SBT a couple times on a core swap within the last year, but not with an engine swap, but I'm sure it's the same process. After you purchase online they call you and go over specifics for the
core policy. They explain the shipping and return in detail. My experience is it's one shipping charge that includes the return. Both of mine were through fedex. If it doesn't meet the core policy or you don't agree to shipping cost, your online buy never gets processed.
 
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Thanks for the info! I wanna say they got the water out of the engine after they towed it out of the lake, but I’m not entirely sure. I’ll definitely look into the reman though!
If they got the water out and ran the engine for a while it might be ok. People sink at least 4 skis a year at the launch by me.
 
I've always rebuilt my engines myself but it's not a whole lot cheaper. Of course you "know" it's done right. I bought rebuilt cranks and counter balances from pwcengine.com. I just looked and he has the 951 carb engine for a grand plus shipping and you send the core first. 2 year no fault warranty sounds pretty decent. Don't know what turn around time is.
 
Yea.... that is about what I am running into. I like building my own because I enjoy it.
 
I haven't checked out the prices lately. I've never bought a reman engine. I like building my own because it's cheaper. I never really had the money to buy new so that's how I started working on these. I work on a lot of skis - my skis, some friends skis and I have a dozen new people calling me in May, June and July as they got my phone number from someone at the launch when they don't start. I don't mind it too much but I absolutely hate working on my stuff. That's why I keep my junk stock. It's more reliable and if it isn't fast enough then get something that is stock and faster, or do an engine swap.
 
I haven't checked out the prices lately. I've never bought a reman engine. I like building my own because it's cheaper. I never really had the money to buy new so that's how I started working on these. I work on a lot of skis - my skis, some friends skis and I have a dozen new people calling me in May, June and July as they got my phone number from someone at the launch when they don't start. I don't mind it too much but I absolutely hate working on my stuff. That's why I keep my junk stock. It's more reliable and if it isn't fast enough then get something that is stock and faster, or do an engine swap.

I would totally agree with all of this.

For me I like to build my engines to last and so I know it is done correctly. All of the rebuilders use aftermarket parts that in my opinion are not the same as OEM. I have seen a lot that are good but a lot that just fail with no good reason but they do offer a warranty.

When I do it myself I use all OEM parts, cranks, bearings, gaskets and seals and have only 1 shop I trust to bore cylinders. In 25 years I have never had a single engine that I built fail. As far as cost since I don't charge myself labor it is the exact same price for me to build an engine using all OEM parts to OEM specs as it is to buy a reman with shipping and I don't need a warranty.

Now if someone wants and engine and can't do it themselves like friends and family I say SBT or FullBore as I don't have time to do builds for others.
 
I don't mind it too much but I absolutely hate working on my stuff. That's why I keep my junk stock. It's more reliable and if it isn't fast enough then get something that is stock and faster, or do an engine swap.

Very true on the getting something faster, buy something designed to be faster and keep it stock. It is the cheapest most reliable way to get what you want. Except exhaust pipes.... gotta go for the sound that says.... "lets go for a ride!" I have yet to delve into the possibilities of cool sounding jet skis. Does that even exist? If it does... I'll be all over that. :D
 
Back in the day a loud ski was “cool”. Now it is annoying and a good way to get skis banned from lakes. I like to ride for a few hours at a time and the loud exhaust gets to my ears and nerves.
 
I am rebuilding my 4 stroke 260hp at the moment, it worked out 1/2 the price than buying a recondition motor of SBT
I live in Australia so the cost of shipping would have been a big part of the cost which you would not have
I have never worked on a jet ski motor before but I have got a lot of advice from this forum which has helped me a lot
 
Very true on the getting something faster, buy something designed to be faster and keep it stock. It is the cheapest most reliable way to get what you want. Except exhaust pipes.... gotta go for the sound that says.... "lets go for a ride!" I have yet to delve into the possibilities of cool sounding jet skis. Does that even exist? If it does... I'll be all over that. :D
I don't think it does for Sea Doo. They have the best pipes from the factory. Changing the exhaust is a real waste of time and money. The only thing you could try is a different or modified waterbox. Which is still foolish. I'm sure you'd be playing with the reliability factor.
 
The seadoo pipes are good and were made by West Coast Performance that made lots of aftermarket parts back in the day. That being said the true aftermarket pipes still make more power like APE, Rissier, Coffman’s and Factory pipe. But with any aftermarket parts you do have to tune the carbs and do loose some reliability.
 
I'm basically thinking of a little attitude with the exhaust note. I don't need power. :) I put headers and expansion chambers on all my motorcycles. Stock exhaust is the first to go.

But to get back on topic in building a 951.... I am doing my first 947. It is a silver engine top end and I am doing it in place. Is there a trick to installing the cylinders? The studs are long so you need to plan on putting them in place. Anything we need to be aware of? Pit falls, special attention and such?
 
Is this a boat? I don't think you can remove the cylinders in a 947 ski as the engine is on a 30 degree angle. The cylinders will hit the hull and you won't be able to get them off. You're better off removing the engine and replacing the crank seals too. And checking the reeds, crank bearings, counter balance and the other gaskets and seals.
And now I understand you wanting a louder ski to match your bikes. I had a Harley once and have had nothing but Beamers since. You can't hear the exhaust on a K bike unless you really try to.
 
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