RESTO 951 gtx rebuild

[- BiRkS_]

Well i finally pulled that engine from the donor 1998 hull and have it on the bench ready to be gone through. First time pulling a 951 and only took 1.5 hours. That damn bottom exhaust bolt was a B**ch. Ended up pulling the carbs to get it off!

Re checked compression today and i'm at 130 and 123. So the top end is still healthy, but I'm still going to split the cases and see whats going on. When it came to taking the pistons off, those damn wrist pins went EVERYWHERE. Managed to get all of them but damn that was a pain. How do you get those suckers back in when I go to re-install the pistons? Cylinders look good and so do the pistons.

Also, when I pulled the reed valves out, some orange goey water came out the mag side.. Sure enough there was some water down inside. I drained it all out and filled that side of the case with a little oil to help the bearings, but looks like im due for a new crank. With water down in the bearings, i dont think its worth the risk. Crank spins smoothly without grinding, but i don't think its worth it.

Now since its getting a new crank...do i replace the counter balance shaft as well? Who do you recommend to get these parts from? Figure i'll hone the cylinders and throw a new set of rings in the thing as well while its apart. Need a seal kit too. I just finished a skidoo motor, and finished my last tube of the 3M gasket sealant for the cases that i used to use. Went to pick up another tube, and they discontinued it. So for those rebuilders out there... What is your preferred sealant for cases?

Here's a couple pictures of the engine..

 

[BMANN06]

Wow awesome pics! I'm going to be rebuilding my 2 stroke skidoo engine this summer so you might see the odd question come from me via pm.

I use loctite 5910 for sealing the crankcases, I wouldn't replace the cb shaft unless its been damaged or rusted out.

 

[- BiRkS_]

Thanks bmann, I've heard about the loctite product may check it out. Just looking around for the best crank to go in. I want this ski running for may 24 weekend!

And yea if you have any ski doo questions, let me know.

 

[BMANN06]

I've heard good reviews about seadoo clinic on crankshaft rebuilds and there turnaround is pretty good too.

 

[racerxxx]

The case sealant I use is Threebond 1211, Hondabond and Yamabond are supposedly the same, I'll stick with the Threebond. I used the recommended Loctite for the cases and had nothing but air leaks. As far as the CB shaft, I'd be putting new bearings on it for sure. No sense in dropping all that coin to cheese out on the CB shaft. Unforutnately the bearings are on the inside for you so it looks like you'll have to press the counter weights off to get to the bearings and press them back on in exactly the same spot unless they are keyed which the 787's are not. By looking at your first pic of the piston, there seems to be a decent amount of blow by on the piston, you might want to go ahead and have the cylinders bored. Also an OEM reman crank for a 951 is $394.39, and SBT 951 crank is $375, that is a no brainer right there, OEM is the way to go. You will have to ship back your old core though. Wrist pin bearings, order new OEM ones, they come packaged in a cool installer that makes it a snap. I get my parts from SHSpowersports.com, although seadoowarehouse.com will match pricing I think. Also SHS will ship to Canada and if they can get it to ship via the USPS they will.

 

[- BiRkS_]

Thanks racer for the insight. I just found a new racing pwc shop not far away and see what they can do for cranks. Stuff in the states is good, but its the duty at the boarder that is a killer. Bought a rear axle for my old honda fourtrax last month from the states, 70 bucks shipping and 30 at the boarder, and of course it looked like it was used for a punching bag when it got to me.

I've heard about SES cranks.. are they any good? or is it worth just buying the OEM one and shipping the old core back?

I'm going to bring out the calipers tomorrow and measure the bores and pistons, see if they are still in spec. They are OEM pistons. The engine has never been messed with fortunatly. Actually while pulling the carbs, I found out why the engine was running like crap.. The base gaskets to the carb had fallen into the reed valve housings so there must have been one huge ass leak LOL.

 

[racerxxx]

As far as duties, you could be correct, but even going with a crank from SES, you'll still have that battle, I'd still call SHS and speak to them or Seadoowarehouse and see if they can give you insight, perhaps a relay to get it to you if you know someone across the boarder, if your close enough. As far as a core, there are some on ebay or perhaps someone on here has a bad 951 crank and could do the return shipment for you to save the money that way. I'm an OEM guy, I know the quality and the longevity already.

Here is a core for $80 with free shipping. So instead of getting back your full $200 USD core charge for the crank you'd get $120. Gotta get creative.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SeaDoo-951-..._Watercraft_Parts&hash=item3a7e84de00&vxp=mtr

 

[- BiRkS_]

I'll give SHS a call this week and see what sort of arrangement we can make. Literally just split the engine this afternoon to see what i was up against, so just starting to source out the parts now.

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

add up all those parts, time, and see if it's more than just sending it to a shop and getting a no fault warranty.

I don't bother w/engines any more. swap the whole damn thing.

 

[Jetskigoodies]

There is always the satisfaction of doing things yourself. As long as you have basic knowledge of rebuilding motors and a manual it should not be a problem doing it yourself. Plus then you KNOW what really went into your motor. All rebuild shops void their warranty if you open up the motor. So you have to take their word on what they did. Also a 1 year warranty is not really that good either unless you live in a warm climate. I know alot of guys who only take out their machines 5-6 times a year, we only have a good 4 month season here. We ride more but alot of people do not. So while your seadoo is parked in the garage for 8 months the warranty is just ticking away.

 

[- BiRkS_]

I agree with goodies here. I can't stand other people working on my stuff. Its done once with the parts I want, everything is torqued to spec. All gaskets are good quality and not pinched or creased. Pressure tested, etc.

I just went out and measured the pistons, they are well within spec Took the brass wire wheel to the tops of the pistons and the carbon came right off no problem. Almost look like new. Talked to this local rebuild guy.. he wanted 875$ for a crank, 70$ for rings PER PISTON, 145$ per piston,and 30$ per wrist pin bearing. I was like thanks... I'll go somewhere else lol. Those pistons better have some platinum coating for that money.

Racer, where did you find an OEM crank for 395$?

I found this rebuild kit... for the price, it seems fairly reasonable.. and I may just sell the new afternarket pistons and keep the OEM. Has anybody ever used this? http://www.atlanticjetsport.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=3271 Also no core charge for crank..

 

[racerxxx]

I know you measured the pistons, but how about the cylinders themselves?

I'm like you, I'm not paying anyone to do my work. I did that in the past on my Speedster and got burned and now trust no one. Get the right parts, pay attention to the details and you'll have a stout mill for sure.

www.shspowesports.com Call and ask for Jen, tell her Dan with the Yellow and Gray Seadoo XP sent you. Create an account on their website before you call her, then while talking to her have her sign you up for their buyers program(free) but use the same email that you created your account with. Then when you log in you can see the discounted pricing right online. If she can do anything with the shipping she will try. I get ZERO from them if you mention my name, I just told Jen I'd throw her some business and her customer service is tops! If she can't help you out any try seadoowarehouse.com has also mentioned they would price match.

1 VILEBREQ.REFAIT*CRANK-REBUILD 947 Includes 1 - 5.
421000711 (replaces 290887762) 1 $492.99 $394.39

http://www.shspowersports.com/fiche...y=Watercraft&make=Sea-Doo&year=1998&fveh=2323

 

[- BiRkS_]

Thanks racer. I'll definitely give her a call tomorrow. I see they're also a honda dealer, Might even order some parts for the quad at the same time. They have some pretty good prices.

As for the cylinder-piston clearances. I got 0.003 inches and 0.0065 inches which is like a hair under the wear limit. (0.0078) I haven't honed them yet either. So am i going to be on the edge of being okay with new rings and keep the OEM pistons, or bore them out and get aftermarket?

 

[- BiRkS_]

Also looking for best deal on a couterbalance shaft. I don't want to tackle that one myself and risk pressing the weight on wrong. SBT has them rebuilt for 75$... I cant even get all the parts for that price, let alone my time. Are they any good? I've heard mixed reviews about their bearings. Are there any other reman units that are better?

Still looking into this rebuild kit..http://www.atlanticjetsport.com/inde..._detail&p=3271 Might talk to them tomorrow about what their cranks are like and parts used, etc. 150$ for shipping. No crank core return. That's pretty hard to beat.

Placing an order for some misc parts soon for my quad with SHS. Shipping and duties at the boarder are going to kill me. I just wish there were some honest shops around just to get parts! but when they're hosing you for almost 900 for a rebuilt crank.. I'd love to see them suffer.

 

[Robj]

Just a word of caution, it is the small details that can bite you in the butt. Some things to look out for may not even be in the manual, but the engine builders know them. I was talking to Tom at SES and he was mentioning things too look out for when I was considering rebuilding my 787. I decided to send it to him instead.

 

[- BiRkS_]

I appreciate the advice, but coming from my background of racing sleds, these seadoo's don't seem much different. Only thing is my sled shop i go to can't access seadoo parts. They are a skidoo dealer, not seadoo, and for some reason, can't get parts. BRP does some weird things with their dealers.. Anyway, I've got the cases apart, and super squeaky clean, theyre hiding in a nice rubbermaid hamper so they dont get dirty, All the bearing journals look great. Gasket surfaces are prepped. Just looking for the right parts!

Boy if i knew parts would be so hard to find, i would have started searching months ago!

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

U you are using "brp parts" and finding part numbers, right?

Check google and osdparts.

 

[- BiRkS_]

Yes Sabre, but unfortunatly many people wont ship to Canada. I've gotten 3 quotes for cranks around here.. they want 800+tax (13%) for a crank. I could get a hot rods crank and ship it for that price. Its ridiculous.

Racer, I talked to Jen today, Unfortunatly BRP no longer allows them to ship to Canada. They were fined a little while back. So unfortunatly that won't work out. Actually they aren't shipping to Canada at all right now.

I'll try seadoowarehouse next.But if BRP are cracking down on them too, I'm expecting the same response.

For a counterbalance shaft, I can have a guy rebuild it locally for 150$ with OEM bearings and seals..

SBT has it on for 75$ but there's shipping involved as well. I think for the slightly extra coin, I'll go with the local guy

Just got off the phone with Jim from atlanticjetsports. Their cranks are Hot Rods cranks no core charge. for 450$ or full rebuild kit for 720$
I'll check out seadoowarehouse but I don't think I can beat that.

 

[- BiRkS_]

Just thought I'd update the progress. I just sent back my core to the rebuilder. Was able to get a OEM rebuilt crank, gasket kit, piston rings for $540 and picking up my rebuilt 951 crank wednesday. So all in all, I'm just under 700$ and that's still with an OEM crank and cb shaft.

Just started cleaning the cases and prepping the gasket surfaces. Unfortunately Cant reassemble the bottom end until I get the CB shaft.

Now I went through my carbs and everything is good, cleaned the filters out with carb cleaner just to make sure there was no varnished gas. They are in pretty good shape, but I'd like to give them a coat of paint... I have a bead blaster.. will that hurt the aluminum casing at all? What do you guys use for paint?

Thinking about doing the engine too.. There is no way it would fit in my sandblaster whole. So can I put piece by piece in there and just be careful of the mating surfaces? Just tape them off? What High heat paint is recommended? I like the grey and black pipe. Actually I'd love to line the engine compartment with diamond plate but that's extra weight and would be a waste of time I think...

 

[Jetskigoodies]

[MENTION=57920]racerxxx[/MENTION] bead blasted his complete engine after he got a few runs in the paint, he also blasted his carbs. Check out his 96 xp restoration for all the details.

 

[- BiRkS_]

Yes I remember seeing that thread a while back. I figure I better step up my game if I post any pictures of my rebuild haha. Normally with a sled its -20 Celcius and you just want to get the thing running and broken in for the next powder day! Ive tried painting my sled engines but it seems the hot engines and cold snow make the paint bubble and flake off within the first couple rides..

Unfortunatly my Bead blaster is not big enough to fit my engine in whole... I guess I'll tape off my mating surfaces and be careful. 3-5 layers of painters tape should be enough protection I hope.

 

[racerxxx]

Birks,

Use duct tape on the mating surfaces and journals etc.... Just make sure its all taped off. When you pull the tape just clean, clean, clean with acetone to make sure ALL the residue is gone. As far as carbs go, just get some scraps of aluminum or alternative and trace your gasket then with a jig saw cut it out and drill the holes. For the air box side you need to get creative and trace the carb body. The if you can put some screws in from the back side (or set screws from the front) of those holes so the end of the screw would just be proud of the air box surface and you can use that to transfer the holes to the aluminum then drill those out and saw cut the traced part of the body. Again, use duct tape as a gasket and put the caps over the duct tape. Remember the glass beads will sneak into just about anyhwere, you have to out smart the beads! For paint on the carbs I use Duplicolor Engine enamel with Ceramic, gloss black, and Duplicolor Wheel silver for the engine. The silver will be a tad bright at first but spray the engine down with Seadoo Lube a few times and it will "darken" the silver to just about match the OEM silver.

Engine Paint for the Carbs
http://www.duplicolor.com/products/enginePaint/

Wheel Paint for the engine
http://www.duplicolor.com/products/wheelCoating/

I'm stoked for your build and glad you got a good deal on the cranks and other parts!

 

[- BiRkS_]

Thanks Racer for the paint ideas. I'll pick up some cans this week. Do you recommend painting everything once it is all together or piece by piece? And, yes I am glad to see light at the end of the tunnel! Almost time for BRAAP. Picking up my used MPEM and jet pump next weekend. Hoping to have the gtx done for the first week of june. Just cleared the atv project out of the garage. Now Almost room to put the ski in. I'll have to make one of those little dollies. They look so handy.
\

 

[racerxxx]

I prefer to paint it complete, but that is me.

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

what ski is this going in? the 98 951 had a few changes for the 99-02 models... you may have to swap other parts.