2005 Supercharged RXP

[JMcMusicman]

Ok total noob here, so if this is a dumb question, forgive me in advance.

I have been looking for a PWC Project, something I can get relatively cheap and can work on and repair/rebuild. I have a line on an 05 RXP that isn't running, but that I can get pretty cheap. My biggest concern is the current owner says it won't turn over (only ciicks when trying to start)... I really just want to be able to make sure that the engine isn't seized... is there a way with these engines that I can manually turn the engine over?

Any problem area's or other things to check out with this year/model?

 

[Sea Dood]

It is not easy to turn these over externally. You can slip a small pipe wrench up the intake grate and turn it over that way, it will booger up the plating on the shaft so if you run in salt water use caution.

Probably dropped a valve(s). Very common for this year. Take out all the spark plugs first, usually when these drop a valve the spark plug electrode will be smashed shut or missing. If it dropped a valve, the head is toast, and you won't know if the block can be saved until you tear it all apart. Another possibility is a thrown rod, look for oil in the hull and a ventilated block. Most typical failure on this year were broken ceramic washers in the supercharger. Some people don't fix and clean these failures properly, leading to broken timing chains, spun mains, all kinds of havoc. Another weakness was the flywheel bolts, they shear off and booger up everything in the PTO housing. With this failure, the engine won't turn over by starter, but you can easily turn it over with the pipe wrench trick.

These skis are generally not thought of as good projects, unless you are doing it for fun and have good mechanical skills. It is very expensive to rebuild these, especially if you have a blown engine as noted above. I wouldn't pay over $1K for that year, and would only pay even that amount if it looked pristine with good hull and seats. Otherwise you will sink more money into it than it will be worth when you are done.

 

[JMcMusicman]

Thanks for the info and advice... The guy is asking $1200, I'm sure he'd take $1k but I'm not sure I'd pay more than $800 especially after your comments...

Any advice on what year/models make for good projects? I am doing for fun but don't want to end up spending more that I would to get an already running pwc.

 

[Sea Dood]

They came out with the upgraded valves in mid-2006, as well as better flywheel bolts. So 2007 and newer gives you better valve reliability. They came out with the steel supercharger washers in 2008.

It is generally considered that 2008+ engines are much better for long term reliability. I would look at projects that year and newer.

I used to be a mechanic, both my personal skis I have now were blown up projects. I did total rebuilds and spent plenty of money, but I knew when I was done what I had in the engine vs taking a crapshoot with someone elses rebuild. They have both run flawless for 5 years now. That is another reason for taking on a project, you know what you have.

 

[Coastiejoe]

Basically the 07 and newer are safer "gambles". As noted above, 08 and newer have steel washers in the SC. That said, any SC 2003 up should have been rebuilt if it was maintained as it should have been. And once rebuilt the ceramic washers would have been removed and replaced with the updated washers.

 

[Greg Moore]

You can pull off the inlet to the supercharger and usually spin it by hand against the motors resistance. If it spins freely, it's also fried. If you can barely turn it by hand but the motor turns as you do, there's your answer. If it won't spin at all by hand, motor could well be seized however it could range then from a totally destroyed motor to a locked piston from oil or coolant. Pull the plugs and try again, if it still won't budge, then it's a mechanical seize. The S/C is geared around 8-1 so it takes several turns on the SC just to roll the motor once..