My 96 Build!

[DSchmidt54]

Alright guys so to be blatantly honest... I'm sitting in my dorm trying to burn time until i can go home (tomorrow) and start dewinterizing my ski (and maybe go out for a quick test run). So I figured I would make a tread on my entire rebuild of my 336 Hour 1996 Used and abused GTX.

Day One
The Previous Owner had a piece of black card board taped on the hood as a deflector...... and this is how it sat when i first met it lol.:facepalm:



So after a failed top end rebuild..... we realized it was just in our best interest to replace the whole block with none other than.... You guessed it ! an SBT 1 year standard Short block! well, after yanking out the old Core, this is what my hull looked like..... a crime scene in which the old core bled TCW3 everywhere!:facepalm:



The bleeding heart



and then me taking up the remainder of my Father's precious shop space.... as if making the place wreak of 2 Cycle wasn't bad enough lol



To top it all off , I made sure to block is entrance too!

 

[DSchmidt54]

Not to mention that i also had bought a replacement Deflector off ebay for 12 bucks , it was cracked.... but it did the job there for a while!



Then i decided that i didnt trust the little vaccum tubes, so i installed a bilge pump as well



That I just happened to hook up to a 2 way switch which allows me to turn it on directly (red) or put it in passive float switch mode...... (orange)



From there i powerwashed the ever living heck outta the insides..... and did a little fancy wire looming.



Then, while waiting on my new Short Block ,i decided i wanted a hillbilly chrome pipe......so wala!

 

[DSchmidt54]

Now, since i was waiting on SBT, i decided to get a little creative, first and foremost, i couldn't stand the yellowed Glove box with the Honda east sticker on it...... so i painted it black.....as well as repainting the louvers on the sides of the "tank" and the reverse control lever. And i replaced the grips as well.



Then, my Info Gauge repair kit came in, so i busted open my info gauge and replaced my solarizer film! This would later come back to haunt me because i didnt do a perfect job at sealing it up..... now the gauge only shows random characters....



I got home from work on Monday and tada! look what showed up! its like Santa Claus came or something!



So heres my new baby , my new darling, my new ragtime gal..... if ya catch my drift.....


And then , my dumb A$$ decides to not use any thread sealant on the oil fittings , overtorques one.... and BAM!
Luckily, my Father is a Maintenance Mechanic , and his main purpose is to fix stuff others have screwed up.... so he helped me get it out and we were back on track!

 

[DSchmidt54]

Here is where I elected to put my bilge outlet......i then ran the hose up to the top (along the exhaust hose) and then down to the pump... to keep the system from backflowing into the ski...


Here we have it ! first test / break in! ran great up until the Stainless Steel retainer jumped free on the driveshaft and i sunk her...... luckily , a pontoon towed me the 100 feet back to the marina and i got her back on the trailer and got the water cleaned outta the motor.... the shitty part is that i couldnt really run the heck outta it to make sure the water was out because the motor was 30 minutes old at best.... so i ran it on the hose, spraying the carbon seal with water for about 10 minutes off and on for about 2 hours.... that did the trick i guess.....


Then , i called my local ski shop... he told me about the updated C clip.... i went, bought one from him, put it in place, and took the ski up to Catawba , i skimped on the break in a bit.... (up to 4k for about a half hour , let it cool , then started wave jumping) and this is where i screwed up... .you will see later....

 

[DSchmidt54]

More Pics

 

[DSchmidt54]

Remember where i said i screwed up on the break in? Well yeah, that build lasted me about 3 days.... then I was out on the river and KabooM! PTO side piston ate itself alive...... i was devistated.... yet grateful that i had the 1 year warranty.....so i got mad..... yanked that sucker out.... it did it again..... only this time , this sucker is getting a personality.... no more plain Jane GTX..... this thing.... is truly deserving of its name.... The Mean Green , Money Burning Machine.... V2.0 lol



The Monster Sticker went over so well, i decided to do something about the ugly scratches and discoloration on the hood...... all with spray paint!



But that wasnt enough! i had to do the tempo lines, so i did them in green too!



And all of the additional engine parts! (credit Grabber Green engine enamel from AutoZone!)
Mom hated this , because after 3 coats of primer and 5 coats of color..... i baked each part in the oven for an hour .... starting about 3 am..... not to mention it was a brand new Kenmore Convection over.... oops haha:lol:



All together now! this time i used copper gasket spray and everything....this baby got done right!

 

[DSchmidt54]

Now we are getting somewhere! Here it is with a few more mods.... a new blacktip seat cover and a couple decals from the Doc.....and before ya ask, my buddy was a dumb a$$ and didnt click down the rear seat before we drove home.... and the rear seat flew off at 70 mph on the bay bridge..... im lucky it didnt get ran over! Thankfully , i called the guys at black tip and they said no prob... and sent out a new one!









This pic happened before the others... but i found it funny, it is a pic of my car parked at work at 8 am..... can you guess what i was doing the moment i clocked off? haha

 

[DSchmidt54]

Finally, it was October and too damn cold to run the ski anymore.... so i got ahold of MinneTonka4me and he hooked me up with a sweet cover so that i could keep her clean during the winter!



And thats it folks... no more until this weekend!

 

[sselzer]

Check out my powder coated carbs for my 97 GSX. I aslo did my engine top plate, coffman pipe and exhaust manifold.

 

[DSchmidt54]

Nice! i would love to see more pics of your build! if you have em throw em up!

 

[sselzer]

Nice! i would love to see more pics of your build! if you have em throw em up!

Heres a link to my rebuild thread, it's been a roller coaster ride for me too.
http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?57027-My-FIRST-97-SEADOO-GSX-PROJECT&goto=newpost

 

[DSchmidt54]

Heres a link to my rebuild thread, it's been a roller coaster ride for me too.
http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?57027-My-FIRST-97-SEADOO-GSX-PROJECT&goto=newpost

Any Pics of the painted Pipe?

 

[DSchmidt54]

Correction! My info gauge is fine! I went out to Pull it apart and after disconnecting and reconnecting the wires, it works! So I electrical taped around each connector and called it a day....

 

[donkey]

"mean green money burnin machine!"! love it!

 

[mikidymac]

Replacing the tempo lines and rebuilding the carbs should have been done before the first new engine went in but we all learn the hard way. Thank goodness you have the SBT warranty or that could have been an expensive lesson. Those pictures on the water look great. I wish we had places like that to ride here in Cali.