Just purchased 1997 Sea Doo Challenger 1800

[hiletm1]

Hello. I just purchased a 97 Challenger 1800 with the twin 787s. My friends and I took it for a test drive before buying and ran a compression test. We had 130-135 on each plug. It seemed to run fine on the test drive. We transferred it and took it to the river last weekend and it seemed to run fine there too.

At this point we have only noticed two problems...

1. We are getting water in the engine compartment. Not a lot, but enough that we have to run the bilge for a minute or two every couple hours. It's hard to isolate where it is coming from. I have heard it could be coming from the exhaust?

2. After running for a while, I noticed a light splattering of black oil around the furthest back black cap (I am assuming the cap is a cover over the RAVE assembly) on the starboard engine. When the motor is running, I felt a puffing of air and oil coming from around the bottom of the cap. I slightly tightened the cap, wiped the area clean, and took the boat for a spin. There was no oil spray after that. Any thoughts? I have heard those caps are not meant to be tightened down.

Any other advice you can give about this boat as far as maintenance or things to look for? I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[howie099]

I would clean and adjust the rave vales. I am pretty sure you should have an automatic bilge pump that should come on pump that water out. Yes the exhaust can leak at where they meet the hull. You would notice it more when you put the boat in the water. Ususally excessive amounts of water might come from a hole in the exhaust system since the pipes have a tendency to rust out at the plugs in the pipes also the carbon seals do leak so much water to them. The 130-135 is kind of low on the compression. You will need the engines worked on in the next few seasons or so. 150-145 is great, under 130 bad..

Make sure you use the correct low ash full synthic oil and don't mix the brands..

 

[hiletm1]

Okay. When we did the compression test, we did not have the throttle set completely forward. Could that have given us a false low reading?

Also, we filled the oil tank with penzoil marine synthetic blend and later discovered that it is not full synthetic. Should we just use up what is in the tank or drain it and go get full synthetic marine? Could using the synthetic blend have caused the raves to gum up, causing the oil spray?

The bilge pump in our boat doesn't have a floating flapper. Is it automatic? I've just been running it using the manual switch.

Thanks

 

[Dr Honda]

What part of PA are you in? If you are around Pitt... I can give it a look over for you.


Your q's:

1) Honestly... it can be from anywhere... but the driveshaft seals on these boats leak by design. (keeps them cool) So... you will take on some water there. But, with that said... there could be a loose hose, or a crack in the exhaust too.

2) The black cap with the "Bail" holding it on is a RAVE valve. If you have a leak there... clean it, and replace any warn parts now. If it fails... it could drop into the engine, and make a mess. Regardless... they are a yearly service point... so it can't hurt to take a closer look. When you take the cap off... the piston and bellows under there are threaded onto the valve, but it's plastic. SO... they aren't very tight.

3) As above... 130~135 is low for the 800 engines. But... did you check that with the throttle wide open? If it was closed, they could be reading low.



As for maintenance....

1) Only run a synthetic API-TC oil in that boat. If you use cheap TC-w3 oil (outboard oil) the engines won't live long.

2) Do not run it out of the water for more than a few minutes, even on the hose for flushing. The driveshaft seals are cooled/lubed with the lake water, and they will overheat and die when run dry.

3) Yearly maintenance is easy:

a) check/change the oil in each of the jet pumps.
b) remove/clean the RAVE valves
c) Properly winterize when putting it a way for the season.


And finally.... every few years... replace the small oil injection lines, and oil filter before each pump.

Post up a few pics when you get a chance.


I almost forgot....


NEVER JUMP START YOUR BOAT FROM A RUNNING VEHICLE, OR WHILE HOOKED TO A CHARGER !!!!!! The computer ( MPEM) is fragile, and VERY expensive. They are known to burn up if they get a voltage spike.

 

[Dr Honda]

Okay. When we did the compression test, we did not have the throttle set completely forward. Could that have given us a false low reading?

Yes.

Also, we filled the oil tank with penzoil marine synthetic blend and later discovered that it is not full synthetic. Should we just use up what is in the tank or drain it and go get full synthetic marine? Could using the synthetic blend have caused the raves to gum up, causing the oil spray?

Drain the system, and re-fill with a full synth API-TC oil. The Penzoil is a TC-w3 oil. DO NOT mix they 2 types !

The bilge pump in our boat doesn't have a floating flapper. Is it automatic? I've just been running it using the manual switch.

Thanks

If it's the OEM pump... it's either a sensing pump... or it will have a small gray box somewhere close to it. (for the auto switch)

 

[hiletm1]

Thanks. Will post some pictures soon. I'm hoping this was a good purchase. We've had a lot of fun with it so far.