New Owner From Florida

[MC87SS]

New Member From Florida

Greetings Everyone :seeya:
Just purchased a pair of 1995 GTX's and looking forward to getting wet this spring.
1 ski is ready to ride but the other motor has been seized up due to the old owner running it without oil.
I already have a line on another motor and should be getting it this week.
I have always turned my own wrenches with my cars including building my own engines but know nothing about PWC's.
I frequent and help moderate Montecarloss.com and know how helpful forums can be and look forward to all the future help i will find here.

Here is a few pictures of my new toys.
http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u219/MC87SS/Sea Doo

 

[highball]

Spring ?????

What do you mean spring????
I wish I would be down your neck of the woods, here in Canada it is snowing right now.
We have to wait till spring !!!!!!!!!!!!
Enjoy your new toys !!!!!!!!!
:cheers:

 

[kustomkarl]

Welcome to the seadoo forum mc87ss. Wait till spring...heck it's summer here year round...well maybe spring where you live year round...but still, it's pretty warm.

Karl

 

[MC87SS]

Well since it was 32 degrees when i picked up the skis Sunday morning i guess i will wait until spring. LOL
But if it hits 70 i may take one to the river and give it a quick run......

I do go to Tampa St. Pete area often as i have family in that area, anyone on here live there?
Would love some insight from the locals on where to launch and ride.

 

[flrnemt]

Welcome. I live in Clearwater and hope to have my boat between Christmas and the New Year, and need the same information. There are only a few spots to put in for salt water for the weekends, but I'd like to learn the fresh water spots, too.

 

[MC87SS]

Found a motor and it is on the way to me.
Low hour motor and a couple misc parts to my door for $400.
Can't wait to dive into it once the package arrives.
Wish me luck.. LOL

 

[MC87SS]

Can anyone tell me what gaskets i will need for the engine swap and where i can order them online?
Is there anything i should know about doing this and other items i should check while i am doing this?

 

[kustomkarl]

You could get the gaskets you need from our "parts" link at the top of the page. I'm not sure what you'll need till you get ready to install it and look at it to see what's missing. If you look at the "PWC Florida" members group link in my signature, you should be able to get some info from other members that live there.

Karl

 

[MC87SS]

I was looking for a PWC stand and did some research last night.
Since i am a hardcore do it yourselfer, buying one was out of the question.
I was looking at a nice steel one on E-Bay that i figured i could make for a decent price but then came accross a guy that made one out of 3" PVC pipe. At first i thought to myself there is no way i would trust my ski on that however after some thought i realized it would as long as its done right.
So after work today it was off to Lowes for materials (told the wife i needed stuff to hang the christmas lights).
$70 later (for my stuff) and a couple hours i have this:

The wheels i had laying around at work so there was no expense there.
The pictures i found as the design did not use carpet on the rails but i am going to just to be sure.
I made this a little higher that the height the skis sit on the trailer for 2 reasons. I plan on having the skis sit higher on the trailer once i re-do the mounts & i wanted it higher so i am not bending over so much while working on it.

What do you think?

If this works well i am going to make a second one for the other ski so i can get to work on the trailer.

On another note my engine came in today so as soon as i get the ski on the stand i can get to work installing it.

 

[kustomkarl]

Nice job on the stand.It should work well for working on your seadoo.

Karl

 

[MC87SS]

Time for a little update:
Got my new to me motor, looks clean and corrosion free.
Degreased the inside of the hull to make it easier to work on.
Almost have the old motor out but having a tough time with 3 of the exhaust bolts, I get a 1/4 turn then they bind. They must be seized and i dont want to break them. Been spraying them with PB Blaster every night so hopefully that and a little heat will take care of it.
I got the vinyl and stainless steel staples to recover my seats and front pad.
I decided to use Purple instead of teal. I need to do something with my handlebar pads. Has anyone ever tried to cover them with vinyl?
I noticed some skis came with purple pads, does anyone know what year and model they came on and will they fit mine?
Should have another update after the weekend.

 

[MC87SS]

Got the engine pulled this weekend and found 3 broken motor mounts, the rubber was in good shape but seperated from the metal. I looked at getting another set until i saw the price. I decided to figure a way to repair them. I drilled the 4 holes so i could countersink 4 - 6x5/8 stainless steel screws. I cleaned the steel and rubber real good and mixed up some 30 min epoxy. Spread a generous layer on the bottom of the rubber then screwed thru the metal into the rubber, spread the excess around the edge of the metal and rubber. After letting them dry overnight i screwed them to the hull, screwed a bolt in and tried to twist them apart. They were solid as a rock:hurray:
The shims were in bad shape and not usuable but i was able to get the thickness of each one. I picked up a pack of thin stainless steel washers and stacked them until i got about the same thickness as the shims. Is there any reason this wont work? If they are off a mm or so it should be ok right?
The exaust manifold bolts turned out to be a major PITA but i managed to get them all out without breaking but i will need new ones. More updates next weekend.

 

[MC87SS]

I know its been awhile but now the weather is getting warm itstime to get back on track.
Finally got back to work on it last night and after tieing up a few loose ends it fired right up.

So this morning i figured i would get the running ski ready for the season.
Installed a new battery, checked everything out (I thought) and tried to start it. Put new plugs in and a few drops of gas and it started for a second then died. This continued a few times and while doing this both the spark pulg boots broke off the wires.
Installed new ones and decided to take the cover off the carbs. Keep in mind this ski was running when i bought it but i have never had it in the water.
I kept pouring a little gas into the carbs and if i held the throttle wide open it would start but shut right back off. Upon further investigation i soon realized the 2 top bolts on the intake were missing so between the manifold and the motor there was an 1/8" gap. I pulled the carbs tight with my hand and it started right up. My guess is he removed the assembly to remove the oil injector and forgot these 2 bolts. The vibration of me running it a couple times after i bought it must have made it come loose from the seal.
Since i have no idea what else he "Forgot" i better check everything real good.
Oh well i guess thats what you get when you buy something used.
Since i paid $1000 for both skis and the double trailer i am not to upset and as of right now i am still under $2300 with everything i have bought.
All i have left to buy is new trailer tires and hubs so i should be good to go for about $2500.

I will get some new pictures after i finish re-covering my seats.

Wont be long the only updates will include pictures from the water.

 

[MC87SS]

Got it fixed and since it was so nice out i could not resist.

 

[super1c]

Looks like a great job. Just bought the exact same 2 ski's. Looking at going through them shortly. Still a bit cold around here, in fact we got snow today. Kinda weird seeing it was 60 yesterday but thats MI for ya.

 

[voodoo]

I have one of those old workhorse 650 machines, mine has green handlebars however I saw somewhere a zippered pad cover in purple, I wrapped mine with kitchen wrap and it is holding 3 years already - if this stuff opens it will be a million fragments shared in the footwells and the rider floaty vest, I found a spare foam pack in the trash at a marina that looks real close to mine so I will be making a new cover someday. Remember to inspect the fuel lines and filters to keep the steel gas can trash cleaned out, mark the oil tank to be sure it is drinking oil.

 

[MC87SS]

I am recovering the seats with Purple vinyl and was wondering if i could somehow cover the handlebar pads also. I have seen some skis with the purple covers but not sure what year or model and if they would fit.

Already been thru the fuel system and the oil injectors have been removed.

 

[MC87SS]

Went and got my new lettering today and while i had the old lettering off i decided to see how they shine up.
Wetsanded with 1200 then used a 3 step cut, polish and wax with my Porter Cable DA Polisher i use on my cars. I am very happy with the way it came out. Went with Purple lettering to match the vinyl i am using on my seats and added the 50:Mix Only lettering around the gas cap.
It was getting pretty dark so the picture is not that great.
Hopefully i can finish the other one tomorrow.

 

[TheElite0ne]

Skis are looking good!

 

[gator101]

Awesome job! Do they run as good as they look?

 

[MC87SS]

Awesome job! Do they run as good as they look?

Not yet but i am working on getting them there.
Did a complete fuel system rebuild this weekend including the carbs.
Hopefully that will have fixed the issues.

 

[MC87SS]

I decided to do some work to my trailer.
Someone in the past fixed some rust issues but i want to do it right.
Started soada blasting it and bead blasting the rusted areas. Going to epoxy prime it and top coat with Green Acrylic Enamael automotive paint.

This is what the one side looks like.

Here are the new plates i made up tonight.

My new plates compared to the orginal ones, not bad since i started with a chunk or 4" tube steel and a sawzall.

Hopefully this weekend i will be able to cut off the old supports and weld in the new ones i made.
Need to get a new set of winches before i can finish everything.

 

[MC87SS]

Finally got the trailer repairs done,Replaced the winches and got it painted.

Here is a few pics.

 

[MC87SS]

Getting Closer.

 

[MC87SS]

Got a little more done after supper.
Installed the front arms, winches, jack and got the lights wired
Was kinda dark out so the pictures suck but here they are anyway.