Checking Oil Level

[brushneckmatt]

Hi Everyone,

This might be the dumbest question to come across the forum but I have to ask it. Especially because I don't want to screw up my new ski. I just brought home a 97 GTX. I want to take it out tonight but I can't for the life of me, find where I check the oil level. I cycled through the digital gauge, looked for a dipstick, shined a flashlight inside and it looks like there is oil but I am not going to assume. Where do I look? The guy I bought it from said he just added oil but I would really like to make sure before putting it in the water. Can someone save my night?

Thanks for your help! I am so psyched to use it!

 

[LouDoo]

Actually it doesn't have one, I made one myself which I thought was a great idea, however no one else did. What I did was take a Zip-It which is a plastic drain cleaner and cut off the barbs. Here's a couple of pictures.

 

[brushneckmatt]

Thanks, I thought of doing something like that myself but thought there must be a way. If I fill it to where I can see it is that overfilling? It says in the manual DON'T OVERFILL. I had a 96 GTI before this and it had the dipstick so I was surprised to see nothing there.

 

[CReynoldsMIZ]

Okay, well it seems that since you are new to ski's you should probably do some homework before you go put your ski in the water. First off, there is no dipstick on this model since it is a 2 stroke ski, it mixes the oil and gas automatically. When you pull the seat off your ski, you should see a small, gallon size resevoir that is where the oil goes. Probably bluish/blackish tint in color from the oil. Make sure it is full before you go out. Being a used, 15 year old ski, dont be suprised if it doesnt run perfect. What is your mechanical background? And also, when you said "shined a flashlight inside and it looks like there is oil", what exactly were you looking at. Sorry, but just trying to make your first experience on a seadoo better than mine lol

 

[Bills86e]

Remove the seat ALWAYS before you ride, to look for any gas or oil leaks, look at the gas tank level of fuel, the oil tank is on top of gas tank, and you should be able to see that level, and the filler hull connector. Use BRP synthetic. Obtain a Shop Manual for your year/model and read it cover to cover to learn how to maintain and identify components. Welcome to SEADOOFORUM.

 

[brushneckmatt]

Okay, well it seems that since you are new to ski's you should probably do some homework before you go put your ski in the water. First off, there is no dipstick on this model since it is a 2 stroke ski, it mixes the oil and gas automatically. When you pull the seat off your ski, you should see a small, gallon size resevoir that is where the oil goes. Probably bluish/blackish tint in color from the oil. Make sure it is full before you go out. Being a used, 15 year old ski, dont be suprised if it doesnt run perfect. What is your mechanical background? And also, when you said "shined a flashlight inside and it looks like there is oil", what exactly were you looking at. Sorry, but just trying to make your first experience on a seadoo better than mine lol

Thanks, I see the reservoir and it is darker in color but I don't want to just assume since I didn't fill it. I had a 96 GTI before this and it had a dipstick. Mechanical background is not with jet skis, I have rebuilt some outboard motors. I just want to make sure there is enough at this point. I will buy some more if needed but I just can't tell. I even tried to wiggle the boat around to see if there was any movement in that reservoir but I just can't tell. Seems weird they would have no way to check.

 

[LouDoo]

I think probably when the ski was new you could see the oil level by removing the seat and looking at the tank, but over time the tank has become opaque. I also had a GTI which has a dipstick and was use to checking the oil with that. Anyway the Zip-It works well for me and I just keep it stored in the air intake hose. On the Zip-It dipstick full is about 5" from the bottom.

Lou

Added: My ski is a 96GSX which is similar to the 97GTX I'm pretty sure that your oil tank is the same setup.

 

[JoelKatz]

It can be kind of hard to see the oil level. I believe on this ski, you can see the oil tank through either the front compartment or under the seat. Under the seat is probably best. Using a flashlight helps to make the oil more visible sometimes. It can be very hard to see.

 

[rotaxrule1]

You won't want to solely depend on this, but it is supposed to flash "low oil" on the LCD gauge when it gets toward 1/4 tank. Mine seems to warn me in plenty of time. As said above, always check for leaks and check your oil lines before rides. You'll be fine.

 

[brushneckmatt]

Thanks to everyone who responded. I was able to make a crude dipstick out of 5 inch twist ties just to get an idea of where it was and it was like he said, full! So the first ride went AWESOME!!! Everything seems to be ok at the moment. Still have to check through all the gauges and make sure those are working ok. Speedometer and gas gauge doesn't work, but he said that at the sale. Unfortunately the sun went down before I could go through everything. What is the normal engine temp on the digital gauge? I was getting around 70. I felt a little bog on the start with 2 people but with 1 it is like a shot!!!