96 XP and SPX Restos

[etemplet]

Busy Weekend and not enough time to get R done but werkin on it. I'd love to put it in the water but I have to restrain myself. I want it looking righteous before I get it WET. My goal is not perfection but a nice looking ski. I dunno... maybe the seat is growing on me. LOL My dear schweet wife is working on the hood for me. I think I'm gonna ride this one while I restore the other one.

 

[Matt Braley]

Great job on the yellow hood. That seat cover is not too bad for a local job and it seems well fitted.

 

[etemplet]

Great job on the yellow hood. That seat cover is not too bad for a local job and it seems well fitted.

Cover came with the ski Matt and I really didn't give it a close look before I brought it to the guy. The seat foam was damaged so I paid a guy to deal with it. I want to do a JetTrim seat which will stay with the ski I keep. LOL

 

[etemplet]

Ah wouldn't pull the rub rails on any ski unless I was painting the ski and even then I'd have some trepidation. They are all cleaned now and look great though. My wife helped me out putting the registration numbers on the ski and the mats. It was definitely "how out there today. The handle bar cover was way ugly so I spent a good bit of time on it today. Sissy's says too much yellow so I painted the cover black metallic. It's not great but it'll do. All I have left is the choke cable and handle bars for assembly. I don't wondering about the trim and gauges working now but I just wanna ride it like I stole it.

 

[etemplet]

Took the XP out for a water test. Failed. Bad leak on the water control valve. I think I have a stale fuel issue as well. Looks like Monday before I can do a test drive. I"m really looking forward to riding this ski for about 45 minutes. I haven't ridden one of deez before. LOL

 

[etemplet]

Rough day... lots going on nip and tuck but the XP made it to the water today. Good thing I brought my screwdriver. Water leaks repaired. I had to open the high speed adjusters to get some top end. First 1/2 turn, then 3/4.... then 1 turn. each time... it went faster. Water leaks secured but I gotta get the trim working and hook it up properly. I haven't touched the back of the ski yet so that will be interesting. I'll check alignment while I'm back there.

I know one thing... this ski is fast enough for me "As Is" DANG was I impressed !!! I think there is still a couple MPH left to get out of it as I can't adjust the trim at present and I can tweak the tuning some. All in all... Genie Happy !!

 

[mikidymac]

Told you that you would like the 96' XP's. Nice job.

 

[etemplet]

Dunno what I'm gonna do with the OTHER XP with all the performance mods. Needs a complete engine rebuild. I'm gonna do it though.

 

[mikidymac]

After a few summer months of riding the stock XP you will want more power. It's just like having too much money, it's a myth.

 

[etemplet]

2nd trip to the water for testing. Ski is a little weird. I thought I fouled a plug but it got its act together and ran like a scalded Coyote. I just spent a few hours doing the propulsion end. Prop was dinged up so I cleaned up another one and installed it hoping for another 1mph and I got it. We're at 55mph now and there is more. Ski is not reaching top out and holding it... kinda gives back a little bit. I think it's carburetion. As mentioned I'm 1.5 turns out on high speed on both PTO and Mag carbs.

I installed a new trim electronic box and a new trim motor. I'm gonna solder the wires as the connector is no correct for the ski. I'm gonna pay close attention when I get to this project. I"m gonna play with the speedometer a bit and other stuff to see what I can get working.

Got a water leak on the steering cable inside the hull. I just wish I had the time to just mess with this ski. Freaking thing ROCKS !!!

I'll post a couple of finished pictures in the next few days.

 

[etemplet]

Trying to figure out why the ski needs the high speeds open. They were at 1 turn out not 1.5. I gave the ski a little more fuel to see what happens. Spark Plugs were a little darker than tan but not bad. Engine has been acting funny all along. I think the problem was the small ground wire in the back near the battery was deteriorating. It finally broke all the way off when I looked at it to hard. I think the ground was breaking down under load.

I also pulled the Rotary valve cover to check the surface and the timing. I ended up machining the surfaces and putting everything back to spec. I don't think it was a problem but it won't be now. I just did the fuel system and checked it twice. Taking the ski back to the water this week for some tests.

 

[etemplet]

Got my azz kicked. What should have been once and done, 3 hours trying to get this system working properly. After much work, modifications and testing.... I removed the trim module I thought was new and replaced with another one I had. Bam !!!! spot on.

I'm looking forward to better performance since I found the bad ground wire. I'm even taking the fuel away I added even before riding it. I'm going the other way now.

I bought a Speedometer which will be in later in the week. We'll see how that all goes. Ski is getting close. Might be my keeper.... maybe but I got the one with the Factory Pipe, Buckshot Carbs, Nozzle and other such things on it. I just need an engine for it and it no doubt will need lots of tweaking and finessing like they all do.

I wanna do some ridin !!!

 

[JeremyD615]

What speedo did you wind up picking up? I like the idea of adding one to my 96, more to get rid of the non-working gauge that’s there now than anything else...

 

[etemplet]

I just bought the one for a 96 XP off Ebay. $39 + shipping. I asked if it worked. LOL My XP has an empty hole all the way on the right of the dash. I actually have 2 complete XP hoods with gauges but I want to leave them in tact.

 

[JeremyD615]

I gotcha. I’ve been debating on doing a GPS speedo in mine. I think my factory gauge is just dead, but a GPS unit would be much more useful than the stock paddle wheel anyway.

 

[etemplet]

Post up some pics when you get it in there. I am delving into gauge troubleshooting and repair. Not so much the gauges but the systems. If the component is good then the gauge is faulty.

 

[etemplet]

Well the Trim system seems to be working as it should. I'll set it once and never touch it again. I gotta find out why I have such large amperage fuses in the rear electronic box. I need to investigate.

I pulled the steering cable... out a bit so I could reseal it. Boy O Boy was that an adventure. I think I'm gonna make a wrench to tighten the nut on the inside. This is why I don't like parting with my skis... too much blood, attention to detail and time. LOL If I name this one... I'm keeping it. Hmmmmm.....

 

[etemplet]

25 amp fuse in there for the Trim System. You gotta wonder... "What are these clowns thinking?" I traced it out and put the correct 7.5 amp in there. Then.... other issues surfaced. See Below.

 

[etemplet]

I noticed this ski, which I have not ridden other than testing behaved oddly when starting. About the time I'd give up and call it a "no-start" it would fire right up and run pretty darn good. Last time out I rode it and it ran bad for a couple minutes but cleaned right up. I planned on addressing this issue in the final tidying up. Boy ) Boy what a time I had with this one. I did confirm the ski would not start as long as the start button was held in, but immediately on letting go of the start button the ski fired right up almost every time. So.... I figured a had a voltage draw that was preventing the coil from getting what it needed. My spark checker agreed with me. I checked, checked, checked and checked some more. I pulled the starter, tried to swap starters but didn't have the right one so... I cleaned the stater and replaced the brushes. Re install.... "No-Joy" Starter always spun the engine very well. Everything else worked fine... charging system.... no issues.

What threw me was the voltage drop to 11.6. on start up. I remembered reading that under 12 volts the ski won't fire. I was getting fire but the spark was dim on my spark checker. When the engine cranked it was much brighter. So.... I planned on replacing the coil this morning and ended up changing the whole rear box. I did that and the ski fired right up. I felt better knowing I musta got the carbs right the first time cuz I pulled them again to re-check for the hard start problem. Anyway.... soon as I touch the start button this thing is running. Genie Happy

So... to prove something to myself I did a voltage drop test again. Voltage drop exactly the same... 11.57 volts while the starter is engaged. Had to be the coil causing the problems. I'm buying more coils to have on hand. Happy landings all.

 

[GGuillot]

Had to be the coil causing the problems. I'm buying more coils to have on hand. Happy landings all.

The coils on these things rarely go bad, but they do develop poor connectivity at the spark plug boots and at the coil. Did you pull it apart and clip the wires back 1/4" or so? I'd try this first before buying new coils.

 

[etemplet]

Took this ski out today for a test as I addressed some final issues. Sum bish quit running at full throttle twice then started right back up and took the fuel well. I rode it another 1/2 hour and played around I just didn't hold it wide open long term but it has me wondering whether it's fuel. I went through the fuel system like always. I did have to insert the key 3 times to get my two beeps for start up. I got a "one long beep" while doing this. The ski definitely is not completely happy. I get little surges as I am riding. I also have the high speeds open 3/4 of a turn. I did have them open 1 full turn. closing them down some cost me 2mph on top end. I have not quite figured this out. I went through the fuel system. I'll check it again.

I also have a leak that is becoming a pain. Leak is on the steering cable through the hull. I'm gonna check on what parts should be in there to seal it up properly. I am very tempted to silicon the hell out of it but it's difficult to get in there.

Gonna start on the speedo next week. We'll see how that goes.

 

[etemplet]

Boy O Boy how time flies. Busy with other skis and some vacation but did some work on the XP this week trying to figure some things out. I call it TWEAKIN.

I finally installed the speedometer. Ebay repaired fuel baffle works ($60 with shipping). I found a bad fuel line clamp while replacing the baffle. Not sure this is the reason I had to add fuel on the high speeds. It would be nice if it was.

I got a battery light flicker on the info gauge. Bad rectifier. Might be why the ski killed out at Wide Open throttle after a couple miles.

I'm leaning towards keeping this ski.

I

 

[matt.born]

I didn’t have time to read the whole post. Is the motor all stock if so your highs should be at 0.

 

[etemplet]

Gave these bad boys a bath. I Have some commercial purple concentrate degreaser which I mixed with water. I soaked them for hours after doing (3) 30 minute sessions at 70 degrees C. Never again will degreaser be put in that tank. I believe it pulled all the impurities out of the metal in the carbs and deposited on the surface. So I had to clean them again by hand. Ick !! I need a good mixture/product for the ultrasonic. This thing is bad to the bone for sure.

We'll see what it does now. Ski is ready to ride. I have good expectations

 

[JeremyD615]

Be very careful, most of the normal degreasers like purple power, super clean, and the regular simple green are not aluminum safe... Look for aircraft degreasers which tend to be made for aluminum.