New owner of a 1998 Sportster 1800

[1999blacksvt]

Hello all,

Name is Pat, I'm a proud new owner of a 1998 Seadoo sportster 1800. Bought it off my boss who has had it since brand new. The boat is in amazing shape and was always stored in a garage. It does not have a ton of hours but it has sit since 08-09. It has not been in the water yet but starts and runs.

First off, what are some of the things one who knows quite a bit about these boats would do with one sitting that long? Some things to look for on these boats? A certain/best brand of oil to run in it? Any other tips/tricks would be great. Of course I do the typical forum search.

 

[Dr Honda]

Welcome.

The first tip is the oil. Seadoo/Rotax engines need a good quality API-TC. AND... since you have power valve engines... it needs to be synthetic. You can use any brand you want... but they are all expensive. DO NOT use a TC-w3 (outboard engine) oil in that boat. If you do, the engines won't last long.


Since the boat has been sitting for so long, I would check everything.

1) Change the oil in both jet pumps. If there is any sign of water intrusion... rebuild the pumps.

2) get a fresh battery. (Weak batteries are hard on the electronics) Oh... and NEVER try to jump start your boat. The seadoo MPEM (the computer) is fragile, and if you try to start it with a charger hooked up, or jump starting it.... you will get a power spike, and you will burn it out. This is a known issue, and your MPEM is no longer avalible. IF you can find one, it will be +$600.

3) service the oil injection system. Personally, I would drain the oil system, and refill it with a good quality API-TC oil. While it's empty, change the 2 filters on the oil injection hoses, change the small injector hoses between the pump and the manifold, and make sure the injector nozzles in the manifold are clear. The oil injection is very reliable, but if it gets plugged because of old oil, or mixing oil types... you will loose an engine. This is also a good check since you will visually see the oil pump into the engine when you bleed the system.

4) Install new spark plugs.

5) Look over every inch of the rubber hoses to look for cracks/rips.

6) once that is all done... take it out with one helper. I will guaranty that you will find other issues once you get it on the water for the first time. Also, you will need to get use to the boat, and how to launch, tie it up, and get it back on the trailer. So... you don't want to invite all your buddies out for a day of play until you know it's right, and you know the boat.


I would also recommend getting a FACTORY service manual. The chilton manuals suck, and have a lot of wrong info.

If you have anymore Q's... just ask.

 

[howie099]

I have the same boat that I just bought last October. You should have the dual 717's in them just like mine. I have the same year and model. They are single carb engines and the average speed in the 40's depending on people and weight in the boat. You will find out there are not many of these since they only made them for 2 years with the seadoo 2-stokes 98 & 99. The oil is usually harder to find at the big box stores since API-TC is required for seadoos. I was able to find Mystik 2-stoke semi-synthic for $18 a gallon at Farm & Fleet or full synthic for $22 a gallon. So shop around for the oil...

Woking in the egnine compartment pretty much sucks since with the 2 engiees you can't move around much without stepping on something. So you will see youself hanging upside down from the seat to work on it.

Get the serivice manual is will save you a ton of time and it walks you thorugh doing all the maintance on them. On mine one of weedless cables was broke which is pretty common and hard to find since they are not made anymore. I was able to use one from a challenger with no issues. Make sure the bilage pump works before you put the boat in the water.

The only gray fuel line on my boat was the pulse lines which if you search here the gray fuel line its bad and breaks down with ethanol gas so check for that and replace it is you have the gray lines.

Sitting that long I would drain out the gas it out since even with stablizer 3-4 years is past what the product can keep it fresh. Other than that Doc gave you the run down.

A jet boat is just a very large jetski and the same principles apply you need to be moving to steer. These boats do have a cool feature to help with docking is if you turn the wheel all the way to either side you get a little boost of throtle to keep steering going. The revese mostly just slows you down so play with that and you will see. Make sure you have all your need coat guard stuff on the boat so you don't get ticketed.