2000 gtx Millennium Edition

[hotrodssnova]

Carbs have new bolts. Looks like an osd type kit was thrown at it.

I literally spent all day getting 3 gallons of oil sludge from the hull. Worst one for me so far.

 

[mikidymac]

Sounds like you are going to have a sweet ski come spring.
Still trying to convince the wife she needs a 951 GTX. But she loves her GTI.

 

[manolocross]

Pics.... you have to post them! When you say the engine is toast I want to see why!

 

[hotrodssnova]

I posted 2 pics of the crack in the lower case. Starts in the bottom of the case and runs up to where the pulse line nipple is. The jugs have score marks and rust a plenty. The engine has new gaskets and new oil lines. All the bolts came out with little effort. One in the pictures you can see was never tightened.

 

[garrettb]

I like my 951. With a fresh engine including crank and balancer you will have a great ski as long as you....
1. Keep the water out of it.
2. Feed it good oil.
3. Fog after every ride.

Do you really take that airbox off after every ride? I have a hell of a time trying to get everything lined up right with that whole intake assembly, let alone trying to spray anything in the carbs. I just winterized mine this past weekend, but only ran it for a bit with sta-bil added to the gas. I took the plugs out, fogged the cylinders, turned it over, and put them back in. Am I in for trouble next season?

 

[mikidymac]

I actually do and it has become very quick. I pull the latch hair pin then push the airbox back towards the hull just enough to slip the hose into the carb mouth. Push the airbox back on and reinstall the clip. I don't remove the box completely.

I wouldn't let mine sit without fogging the crankcase through the carbs seeing how many 951 cranks try to escape the cases but that's just me.

 

[hotrodssnova]

So, why do the cranks try and escape? I have seen quite a few engines that have major damage.
I did trace the failure to a leaking oil bleed screw. The injection lines had lots of bubbles and the bead screw had a trail of fresh blue oil.

Besides the obvious wrong oil and leak, are these engines designed to fail?

 

[mikidymac]

They are not bad engines but they are extremely high strung and with anything high performance the life expectancy is lower. To get 130+ horsepower all other brands went to large triple cylinder engines, the seadoo is the smallest engine making this kind of power.

For some reason the 951's get moisture and condensation in them after being run more than the others. This is my suspicion as to why so many fail because 95% of owners don't fog them after every ride. This little bit of rust over time on the bearings is what takes out the crank bearings and thus the crank goes through the cases. At one time there was talk if the bearings being bad because they have plastic retainers but I am not sure if that was ever proven.

As you said using the wrong oil is especially bad for these engines too because they are running so hard and need the extra protection provided b the API-TC full synthetic oil. The junk outboard oil that most people that don't know better use just is not enough for the 951's.

 

[hotrodssnova]

Makes sense. All my skis now use the synthetic oil. And I always fog due to being salt water skis. I think I will be good to go when I get an engine.

 

[racerxxx]

At one time there was talk if the bearings being bad because they have plastic retainers but I am not sure if that was ever proven.

The SKF bearings with the plastic cages are actually a higher rated RPM bearing than a steel cage bearing. They're rated up to 17,000 RPM, take higher temps and longer use. All that info was from my local bearing supplier when I was looking for them. They're very difficult to find here in the states as they're really a European style bearing.

 

[glsmohio]

Pull the engine and have a look at the cases then make the decision.

i sent 2 951s to tom at ses with holes in the case and he fixed both and rebuild them for 899 each and that was shipped both ways. so i wuldnt care about the case.

 

[hotrodssnova]

That's actually a good deal. Thanks for the info!

 

[snikwad003]

I have always liked the color scheme on them gtx's. My favorite 3 seater hull of all time also:cheers:

 

[hotrodssnova]

Finally got an engine. Local shop had a sbt with little to no hours. Looking in from exhaust ports, the pistons don't even look like they have ever seen a spark. Sbt sticker is still on it. The ski it was pulled from had a bad mpem.
Compression seemed rather high. Showed 150 in each cylinder. That could be caused by the fogging oil that was sprayed in it when he pulled it out. Even came with new raves and starter.

I finally got around to pulling the original engine engine apart. Looks like one cylinder went lean and detonated, blowing the rod out. Too bad, it looks to be a fresh build too. The case has fresh sealant, and new end plugs and seals. The carbs we're never touched. New engine, old grey lines, boom.

I have the new engine placed in the hull, and debating on buying an alignment tool. I do have 3 skis, so an investment might be in order.

Oh, new engine set me back 800.00.

 

[garrettb]

Buy the tool. I paid a little less than $160 for mine last year. I initially wasn't going to mess with it, but I am glad I made the purchase. I was about to install an engine that way WAY off alignment!

 

[Coastiejoe]

I rent the tool to fellow members. But having three skis it would be easy to justify buying the tool.

 

[hotrodssnova]

Thanks [MENTION=43374]Coastiejoe[/MENTION]. I agree. Time to make the buy.

 

[Marky_Marc]

On the Fogging subject, I drilled two small holes on the back of the airbox for fogging, then used little crommits to cover them. I also selotaped the straw to the fogging can to ensure it doesnt fall off while fogging.

The picture of the air in the lines has me slightly concerned.
How did the air get into the lines? I imagine something changed that allowed air into the lines thus causing the failure? I ask as I changed my lines earlier this year on my 951, it ran the season no problem. It's been sitting for 6 months and I just noticed 1 or 2 tiny air bubbles in one of the lines. I also noticed I have a leak which i believe is coming from the rubber cone at the bottom of the oil reservoir (which is great as I am using the rather expensive XPS oil!). Not sure what could have caused the 2-3 tiny bubbles as it's been sitting for 6 months and was fine before i winterised it.

I also noticed that when i started the engine for 10 seconds or so the tiny bubbles didnt move even when pulling the oil pump to full.

Any ideas on the next move? Should i remove the oil from the lines and bleed them again?

 

[hotrodssnova]

On the original pump the previous ower had put a screw in the original bleeder. This screw showed a small stream coming from it in the off position. It was easy to see since it was BLUE.
Your bubbles should move. Mine would move with just using the starter and holding the pump wide open.

 

[Marky_Marc]

Ah I see, So the wrong oil and air was able to get into the lines through the bleed screw, causing the failure.

Yeah that's what I thought so it leads me to think of other possibilities:

A) They are not bubbles
B) Congealed oil in the line
C) Oil pump is not working

Think I will go over the whole oil pump system.

Good luck with the build!

 

[hotrodssnova]

[MENTION=75551]Marky_Marc[/MENTION] yes that and lean carb also. The fuel tank still has premix in it. When I open the carbs, I expect to see a mess.

 

[hotrodssnova]

Update.....long overdue. Carbs rebuilt to specs, bought the alignment tool (seemed logical since I have 3 skis) and got engine bolted down. Primed carbs and oil pump. Fired up instantly!
With the engine installed correctly, drive shaft slid right in. And the pump install is easy enough, I won't cover that.

This is my wifes ski, so I know she won't be doing full throttle pulls. Remember, newly built engine from sbt. New full tank offuel, 40:1 mix with the xps oil and oil pump verified working, off to the lake. Her in the red jeep, with her red ski, and me in the truck with the xp and gsx.
We rode for about half an hour, getting used to the red couch, docked and looked for leaks on all skis. The gsx and gtx both use the carbon style seal. Xp still rocks the bearing seal. Not a drop of water! No oil leaks! Had some water to drink, and back at it.
Ran for about another hour, and ate lunch, recheck everything. No problems. Ran another hour, xp low on fuel (little tank) had to head back.
All in all, very successful build. Used half a tank of fuel that day in the gtx and gsx to my full tank on the xp. Oil consumption looked normal, marked before the ride. Battery charged good.

Now to get the seat cover.

 

[mikidymac]

Nice work! I feel your pain on the XP fuel. Last Sunday I finally got to use my 96' after the break in and I was on reserve and my wife on the 01' XP still had 3/4 tank.

 

[dean.mohr]

Congrats on getting it back up and running! I too have a new to me '00 GTX and LOVE the color scheme.

 

[hotrodssnova]

Thanks!
We had it out again last weekend. Went through another tank of premix, so i should be broke in. She never hit dull throttle, and doubt she ever will. She just likes to cruise.
I jump her wake and do circles around her. She says its like an annoying bee buzzing around.