carrionwithoutme
New Member
Hello, everyone! So, after many days of searching the forum, reading on restorations, and wondering how to go about my two “problems”, I joined the forum. The reason for joining and searching is that I recently acquired two semi-neglected Sea Doos for free. One is a 1992 SPi 580 white engine. The other is a 2001 GTX DI 951. Both have been sitting for an estimated 6 years of time in the very dry New Mexico weather. According to the previous owner, they were winterized then never taken out again for those years. So, of course, I got the bug to restore and have fun. I own a 2007 YZ450 so I’m familiar with typical maintenance but have never done anything other than hard part replacements. But as I used to say, I’m a 4-stroke owner that identifies as a 2-stroke.
So, throughout the past few weeks I’ve done what feels like a crazy amount of research by reading various builds and posts from others in similar situations. I’ve started to see skis that aren’t mine run through my head haha! What I’ve noticed is that for some restorations, there’s a huge amount of information available but there’s not direct path on where to look or how to even start the process of restoration.
Currently, I’ve gathered my list of possible fixes/items to consider for beginning the restoration process. The goal would be to get them running and on the lake by the beginning of October (summer ends pretty late in New Mexico).
1992 SPi 580:
SuperClean Hull inside and out (avoid electronics at all costs)
A lot of oil was in the bottom of this one and smelled of varnish from the old gasoline in the tank. I read somewhere that it could be from bad crank seals? Also read just to run it even if they’re bad?
Drain/Clean Fuel Tank
Drain/Clean Oil Tank
Replace Fuel lines w/ ¼ inch
Fuel Valve replacement (OEM Seadoo)
New Battery (Came without one)
Tie down strap (found p/n: 293850097 but does anyone else have a different recommendation?)
Carburetor Rebuild Kit (Genuine Mikuni rebuild, of course)
Oil Injection Delete to Premix (I did read somewhere on this page to keep the tank to feed the crankcase?)
Spark Plugs (BR7ES?)
Bar Pad! (I cannot find a replacement bar pad anywhere. The foam is still decent but the vinyl cover is melted and disintegrating. Thought of making a high density foam-esque replacement using the old Styrofoam version as a template then covering it with a Blacktip cover, unless someone has a purple replacement in good shape?)
Bar Grips (Old ones are actually melted) (ODI from OSDmarine look like the best fix)
Flush Hose (OSDmarine has a cool one in a rad 90s packaging I dig! It’s the little things)
Storage Cover
Black Tip Seat cover
Hydro-Mat (“Foot Rubbers” as the girlfriend calls them)
Installation w/ weldwood non-gel
New drain plug (the rubber/ locking ones, old one was shredded by the oil on the bottom of the hull)
Jet Pump rebuild
Not too sure on the process of this? All the restos I’ve seen don’t really offer a good tutorial on how to. If someone could maybe direct me to the best way to rebuild it? The impeller looks to be in decent shape and I’ve noticed they’re pretty expensive to replace
Exterior Hull Restoration(Seen various posts of using SuperClean, sandpaper 1000-2000, Marine Compound, and wax. Has anyone tried to use a ceramic coating instead of a normal wax? Or is it pointless since they sit in the water?)
Decals! (For later)
So far that’s it for the ’92!
2001 GTX DI 951
Hood Strut for front Hood (old one is shot, OSD sells one)
Drain/Clean Fuel Tank (Any recommendations for cleaning?)
Drain/Clean Oil Tank (See above.)
Replace Fuel Lines w/ ¼ inch lines
Any additional fuel system parts I should get? Couldn’t find much in terms of what to buy/replace if it’s been sitting in varnish for 6 years
Replace Oil Lines (OSDmarine’s kit looks pretty good?)
Spark Plugs
Battery Tie downs (293850097 from OSD)
Jet Pump rebuild (#3 from OSD? w/ the anti-rattle cone?)
Seat Cover (Dry rotted, Blacktip replacement)
Hydro-mat w/ weldwood install (not too keen on the rivet idea, I’ve seen some people fill the holes with fiberglass resin and razorblade the semi hardened off to avoid sanding?)
Replace boarding ladder foam/rubber wrap (Dry rotted/gross, needs a fix)
Storage Cover
Exterior Hull Restoration
Decals! (For later)
Am I missing anything? I’ve noticed that there’s still much to learn but I’m just overly excited to finally have these in my hands. I have a budget set for about 1k each (2k in total). Although, I know that I shouldn’t skimp on reliable parts even if they cost more. It’s really just a starting point as I don’t want to spend 7k on a new Spark… What do you all think? Any additional advice to give? Thank you so much in advance for taking time to read through this. Just that alone means a ton to a budding hobbyist like me.
So, throughout the past few weeks I’ve done what feels like a crazy amount of research by reading various builds and posts from others in similar situations. I’ve started to see skis that aren’t mine run through my head haha! What I’ve noticed is that for some restorations, there’s a huge amount of information available but there’s not direct path on where to look or how to even start the process of restoration.
Currently, I’ve gathered my list of possible fixes/items to consider for beginning the restoration process. The goal would be to get them running and on the lake by the beginning of October (summer ends pretty late in New Mexico).
1992 SPi 580:
SuperClean Hull inside and out (avoid electronics at all costs)
A lot of oil was in the bottom of this one and smelled of varnish from the old gasoline in the tank. I read somewhere that it could be from bad crank seals? Also read just to run it even if they’re bad?
Drain/Clean Fuel Tank
Drain/Clean Oil Tank
Replace Fuel lines w/ ¼ inch
Fuel Valve replacement (OEM Seadoo)
New Battery (Came without one)
Tie down strap (found p/n: 293850097 but does anyone else have a different recommendation?)
Carburetor Rebuild Kit (Genuine Mikuni rebuild, of course)
Oil Injection Delete to Premix (I did read somewhere on this page to keep the tank to feed the crankcase?)
Spark Plugs (BR7ES?)
Bar Pad! (I cannot find a replacement bar pad anywhere. The foam is still decent but the vinyl cover is melted and disintegrating. Thought of making a high density foam-esque replacement using the old Styrofoam version as a template then covering it with a Blacktip cover, unless someone has a purple replacement in good shape?)
Bar Grips (Old ones are actually melted) (ODI from OSDmarine look like the best fix)
Flush Hose (OSDmarine has a cool one in a rad 90s packaging I dig! It’s the little things)
Storage Cover
Black Tip Seat cover
Hydro-Mat (“Foot Rubbers” as the girlfriend calls them)
Installation w/ weldwood non-gel
New drain plug (the rubber/ locking ones, old one was shredded by the oil on the bottom of the hull)
Jet Pump rebuild
Not too sure on the process of this? All the restos I’ve seen don’t really offer a good tutorial on how to. If someone could maybe direct me to the best way to rebuild it? The impeller looks to be in decent shape and I’ve noticed they’re pretty expensive to replace
Exterior Hull Restoration(Seen various posts of using SuperClean, sandpaper 1000-2000, Marine Compound, and wax. Has anyone tried to use a ceramic coating instead of a normal wax? Or is it pointless since they sit in the water?)
Decals! (For later)
So far that’s it for the ’92!
2001 GTX DI 951
Hood Strut for front Hood (old one is shot, OSD sells one)
Drain/Clean Fuel Tank (Any recommendations for cleaning?)
Drain/Clean Oil Tank (See above.)
Replace Fuel Lines w/ ¼ inch lines
Any additional fuel system parts I should get? Couldn’t find much in terms of what to buy/replace if it’s been sitting in varnish for 6 years
Replace Oil Lines (OSDmarine’s kit looks pretty good?)
Spark Plugs
Battery Tie downs (293850097 from OSD)
Jet Pump rebuild (#3 from OSD? w/ the anti-rattle cone?)
Seat Cover (Dry rotted, Blacktip replacement)
Hydro-mat w/ weldwood install (not too keen on the rivet idea, I’ve seen some people fill the holes with fiberglass resin and razorblade the semi hardened off to avoid sanding?)
Replace boarding ladder foam/rubber wrap (Dry rotted/gross, needs a fix)
Storage Cover
Exterior Hull Restoration
Decals! (For later)
Am I missing anything? I’ve noticed that there’s still much to learn but I’m just overly excited to finally have these in my hands. I have a budget set for about 1k each (2k in total). Although, I know that I shouldn’t skimp on reliable parts even if they cost more. It’s really just a starting point as I don’t want to spend 7k on a new Spark… What do you all think? Any additional advice to give? Thank you so much in advance for taking time to read through this. Just that alone means a ton to a budding hobbyist like me.