A 95' 96' restore Project

[thekookortiz]

Hi guys I'm new to the forum and to the sea doo world. I just became the new owner of a 96 XP and a 95 XP. Both need a lot of TLC on the cosmetic side and hopefully im able to to get these motors back up and running. They were running before they sat in my grandfathers backyard for 5 years... The 95 has a fresh motor in it and the 96' has always ran solid until the end it started power surging at top speed. But well see what happens once I get them fired up and on the water.
Heres some photos


If I am correct that looks like black mold in the engine bay... Got any tips on how to clean that up beside bleaching the whole ski?

also have some water and oil build up in the 95' not sure where that oil is from.
My gut is telling me to gut them like a pig and start from scratch but my pops will kill me because he's already in the process of building a 454 BBC jet boat and needs the garage space.

 

[racerxxx]

Both good skis to start with. I love a good resto project. Look at the clapped out thread in my Sig line, you will find a decent about of info in there on the clean up. Good luck with the projects.

 

[Sloanman7]

Invest in some

it's amazing! !

 

[thekookortiz]

yea definitely going to pick up some super clean tomorrow. Will that help with the mold as well or should i stick to bleach or simple green.

 

[Dr Honda]

its on sale !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


got to get some more.


Oh... the project looks good too. (lol)

 

[racerxxx]

Super clean will get rid of the mold. It doesn't stand a chance.

 

[thekookortiz]

Alright so I started cleaning out the mold around the motor as best as i could without pulling the motor. That super clean is amazing. The spots of the hull that I could get to are like brand new. Anyways heres some photos. How do I take off the rivets in the footwell? do I have to drill them out?
Also Ive got the Carb out on the 720 and I'm nervous to go through it. This will be my first carb rebuild. The carbs are still together via linkage. How hard is it to reset this linkage? I just want to make sure the carbs are in sync after.

 

[thekookortiz]

so i cracked open one of the carbs on the 95 and it has all brand new components and it looks like its never been run at all. Should i crack open the second or just bolt them back on and see if she'll fire up?

 

[thekookortiz]

Anyone know the part number for this guy? it's part of the choke assembly on the carb it was broken when I first got to the carb. I'm thinking about drilling a hole sticking a cotter pin in it and calling it a day

 

[thekookortiz]

Update! I was rebuilding the carbs on the 96 and whoever had gone through them before stripped the shit out of the pilot jet. The new one came in from SBT and I got them back together and in the skis. Put some new fresh gas in them with some Marine Stabil. Got the new battery's charged up and installed. Compression tested both motors. The 717 is at 150 in both cylinders. The 787 is 165 on the PTO side and 170 on the Mag. Also put fresh sparkplugs in. The 96's beeper isnt working. Anyways after a little bit of waiting for the carbs to fill with fuel they both fired right up! Now they both fire right up with the push of the button! The 720 is smoking white smoke heavily. Is this because its been sitting for years? Also on that 720 it bogs hard with throttle maybe its running to rich and thats also what is causing the smoke? I would also like to point out it has a fresh motor in it and it hasnt even been broken in yet. The 787 purred like a kitten though throttle response seemed good but I wont know forsure until i get her in the water for a trailer test.
Heres a couple videos of the start up.
[video]https://youtu.be/davJ_Obu-Jc[/video]
[video]https://youtu.be/0UJxtR6hbZU[/video]

I also started buffing them out. I washed them and hit them with a heavy cut compound today and I will get them with a medium and a finishing paste tomorrow

 

[kevinz]

the smoke could be oil that has collected in the crankcase while sitting. I think you'll find that after it's run for a bit it clears up. I have a 96 GTi with the 717 engine and it smokes like that too. It stops after it runs for a bit. As for your bogging issue, I would go over everything in the fuel system to make sure the hoses and seals are good so you know it isn't sucking air anywhere. If either ski has hard grey fuel lines, replace them. Also pay attention to the fuel selector switch (it can leak air) and also the little o ring in the bowl on the water/fuel separator. Those have a tendency to tear and create an air leak (I've never seen one that wasn't torn!) After that, if it still bogs it might be too rich or the pop off pressure is out of whack, and I'll let more experienced members here chime in on that.

What I always have done is set my carbs to factory spec pus 1/8-1/4 extra turn open. This makes it a tad rich, which hasn't hurt performance much on my skis. It does, however, greatly reduce the chances of the engine running too lean and burning a piston up. I'd rather go through a set or two of spark plugs a season than a top end! The carbs for my GTi were set this way, and I have a 2000 Polaris Virage that the factory specs are way off on (a lot of Polaris guys agree), and I have them both tuned a tad rich for engine safety.

EDIT- I want to clarify what I said above about tuning to be a tad rich because I stated right before it that your machine might be rich! What I mean is a hair rich isn't going to cause problems, but if something isn't right with the carbs or they are adjusted way out of spec, obviously they could be too rich which would cause issues. Also, my statements about checking for air leaks and bad fuel lines would actually cause it to run lean; I figured I'd mention them as a standard precaution to look at.

 

[TheMachin0]

sounds like someone milled the head on the 800 170 is nice and crisp also I don't think that is the stock head cover looks like newer 800 you should check for counter balance fill and drain someone may have put a complete newer motor in it I think the counter balance takes 40ml of 30w I use the same ams oil I use in my jet pump in the counter balance don't worry about the smoke it will clear up. put new o rings in the water/fuel separator 9 time out of 10 they leak air in the fuel system oh ya and I like your ski combo the 95 imo is the best 720 x4 ski you can get and well any x4 with a 800 is heaven on the water good luck on your water test

 

[thekookortiz]

Alright... I started to tackle the VTS issues on both the Skis. The 95 is completely shot. The whole motor is corroded. The 96 was bone dry but kept blowing fuse's when I tried to use it. I found a huge tear in the boot and even though the inside of the VTS is completely dry something must have fried it because shes not moving. How can I test the VTS on the 96 to see if its the module maybe?

 

[TheMachin0]

On the 96 you should take the motor off and see if you can spin the shaft manually maybe it's seized up some how odd that it's dry and the boots riped. My old 95 had the same issue I put a new motor and boot and worked great

 

[Grnbeano]

My 1996 XP $800 ski and double-trailer story and my success story on a 787 rebuild to the tune of $4100.00 coming soon !

 

[thekookortiz]

Got the Skis on the water today!!! They both ran great! the 96 800 was running a little rich at first (kept having to wait for it catch up) turned the low speed needles in an 8th of a turn and it cleared right up! great throttle response and acceleration until the end! Towards the end it was wouldnt get up in rpms from 1/2 throttle to full throttle. It took a little bit and once i got it cleared out it ran a full speed again. Maybe the high speed is set a little to rich?
As for the 95 720 it has a fresh unbroken motor so she did a lot of putting around today. Went for the break in method i found on the forum of going at 20% throttle for a run and then 1/2 throttle for another run. never got past that. But throttle response would bog out before taking off a couple times so maybe another slight rich condition?

 

[Sloanman7]

Did you clean the rave valves on the 787?

 

[Sloanman7]

What do you have the high speed set on?

 

[thekookortiz]

I haven't cleaned the race valves, I wasn't aware that was a possibility? What do clean them with? Also the high speeds are set to 0 turns out that's what the factory calls for.