goin to look at a 97 spx with a rattle , what to look for?

[Killertiller]

It was advertised as a bad carrier bearing. Thanks to you guys i been informed they dont have a carrier bearing, Members here seem to think its the jet pump. Will it be obvious once i am looking at it. What am i looking for, feeling ect to determine its the pump. I am also goin to do a compression test and wondering if i have to do anything other then thread tester in n turn over. I for some reason think i remember something about the ravea comming into play. What should the reading be? I wanna thank all you guy for refreshing my memory on all this stuff. Its been a long time since i had to mess with jet skis.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

reading should be 150 150, try not to start a fire, ground the plugs, hold the throttle wot, and hit the starter button.
if the pump rattles at idle, that means its fine, mine rattles like a mofo and it runs perfect. this assumes you actually have a rattle and not another issue, bad bearings sound different than a standard rattle, frankly i don't care about pump bearings, they can be replaced,thats like worrying about trailer bearings imo, a necessary evil. don't care about the rave's either.

your just looking for garf's in the hull, a dirty engine (show's neglect) bad cables, tight steering, etc. and an overall clean ski if possible, then after you get it home, you can do a more detailed inspection.

Bring a flashlight and $100 bills, anything that is a negative on the ski reduces your offer.

IMO a stock 97 spx with a stock engine untouched is worth about $1500 max, since you'll have to assume that you'll uncover problems as the new owner.

 

[Killertiller]

ya i understand the condition says alot on the up keep. Pics look super clean n guys wants 800 with trailor or trade my hx. Its got a ride plate, solas prop and a intake grate. Never been rebuilt which is exactly what i looking for. I dont mind working on skis at all its simple been doin it my whole life. I just want to make sure motor has some life left. So 150 is good but whats bottom line low ? I know they should be close not one cylinder at 150 and the other at 135. But say they both at 135? I just like to get thru a season with no rebuilds. I dont wanna rebuild soon as i hit the water next spring n lose riding time

 

[Spimothy Leary]

if they are both at 135 (or within 10% of each other) your nearing the end but not there yet... i guess that will be a good bargaining chip, I'm a big fan of teardown's when anything is in question, i'm anal that way because I know how expensive a rebuild can be when something goes wrong that could have been isolated and repaired so as to not cause further damage.

But honestly, 787's don't blow cases very often, so really its just a gamble, just not a huge one.

 

[Killertiller]

Yes actually that makes sense. Its alot easier to fix before something goes bad. I owned a few 800 x4 skis n the 800 seemed bullet proof.