Today, after 3 months of knuckle busting, learning curve, slime cleaning, addictive fun...i'm calling the 1996 Seadoo Challenger build complete. I could have never done it without all of you. Things I have learned/done. If your going to have one of these boats, you have to understand 1/2 asz doesn't get it. It either works or it doesn't, if it doesn't, its only going to make your life harder. You have to get a manual. I had a casting plug leaking 2 stroke oil, making the engine bay a gooey mess. You cant have this, cause you cant see anything else wrong if you don't have a clean engine bay. JB'd the freeze plug, works great no leak, clean bay. 18 year old neglected carbs cant be rebuilt, bought new set with pumps...life is good. If the ride shoe hasn't been resealed, it WILL cavitate. Heat, heat and more heat along with a bottle jack will get the shoe off. If you don't have the neoprene seal between the pump housing and the hull, it will cavitate. You have got to have the little rubber bumper in the drive shaft, its $1.32 just get it. You must align the engine or it will eat up your carbon rings. You have got to buy the tool to align the engine, renting it is a waste of time, just flip it on ebay for $20.00 less your cost, everyone is happy. You must rebuild the carbon rings, and upgrade to the metal clip, the metal clip goes on the 2nd cut in the drive shaft. New drive shaft bellows are real hard. Hit them with your heat gun so they will compress enough to go on. cardboard brown if the correct color for spark plugs, always embrace the rich side. If your melting PTO side RAVE pistons, your housing is worn out, replace it. New RAVE valve measurement is .393, the housing is .395. Not all overheat buzzers are interchangeable, sometimes you have to reverse the polarity if it doesn't work. USE loctite, every time. If the guy who owned it before you said he did something to "fix" the boat, he's probably lying, check it again. Seadoo gas gauges suck, and as far as I can tell, always will. Your wife will not understand. Your friends will not understand. It was 39 degrees today, I was the only guy on the lake, the boat GPS'd at 46MPH....I know you understand...cmon summer. Thanks!! :lol::lol::lol::lol:
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