RESTO New to Jet Skis - looking for first time owner advice

[briandwulf]

Hello all,

I recently received two new to me jet skis. One is a 1996 XP the other is a 2000 XP. They sat outside uncovered for the better part of a decade, so as you can imagine, they're in rough shape, especially cosmetically. We tried to start them just to see if they would turn over, not expecting much, and to our shock they actually started and ran. Only let them run for about 5 seconds and did not throttle up at all, so not sure how well they'll run, but we're off to a decent start.

I'm planning on restoring them this winter and was hoping for some pointers, tribal knowledge, or jet ski "do's and dont's" on these. I've never owned a jet ski, never used anything with a 2 stroke other than weed eaters, leaf blowers, etc. So any and all advice is welcome. I do own a ski boat, so at least I'm not brand new to owning watercraft!! I'll list what I plan to do to these below, and it'd be great if you could add to the list based on your experience.

- compression test
- drain and replace all fluids
- replace fuel and oil lines
- rebuild carbs
- replace fuel selector
- too much cosmetic work to list

A few questions I already have:

Are the oil injection systems reliable? I've had a few friends insist I should still use pre-mix gas as insurance against a failed system.

Any pointers for giving the entire engine compartment a good cleaning? What products do you use?


Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance!

 

[Paul Bretz]

Looks like you have a good start with your list. Inspect the fuel/water seperator and replace o-ring. Since theyve been sitting so long changing the pump oil and inspecting bearings and seals is a good idea. Very good idea to replace wear ring. Seen a lot of times when a pump sits for a long time and first couple times on the water the wear ring will just fall apart. As for oil injection, theres a lot of different answers. Some like the injection some dont. I am a premix guy. Mainly because i have so many other 2 strokes other than watercraft that are premix so i just pre mix everything. Use a good quality oil.

 

[The_Doctor]

Keep the factory oil injection. The pumps are pretty bullet proof. It's the 3/32" oil injection lines that usually become brittle over time and crack, leading to engine failure. Just replace the oil lines and filter and make sure you are running the proper oil and you will be good to go for years.

 

[noviceskier]

What color are the fuel lines? What color is the oil? I used superclean to get rid of all the grease and earthly material that wound up in my HX. Use an accurate compression tester before doing too much.

 

[GGuillot]

I'm planning on restoring them this winter and was hoping for some pointers, tribal knowledge, or jet ski "do's and dont's" on these.

Your off to good start on the mechanics tackling the carbs, replace lines and so forth. It really comes down to what your budget can handle. Putting it on a cradle makes it easy to work on.

If the gelcoat is decent, wet sanding and polishing is all it may need. Get a good look at the keel, if it's bare fiberglass may want to clean it up and add some gelcoat. Easier to do this when it's flipped over and on the cradle. I wouldn't recommend painting a ski, it just doesn't hold up, the best it'll look is the day you painted it.

Click on one my links if you want to get an idea of efforts on a full restore, including gelcoating, and top to bottom cosmetics.

 

[NickCawks]

Congrats on your first skis!

You seem to have a good idea of the direction to head. Im excited to hear what your compression test shows.

I wouldnt stress to hard over the cosmetics. What color are they? White is the one you don't want to try to clean.

I'd hit them with the pressure washer and see where that gets you. I was amazed to find in my GTX what initially looked like an insane amount of exterior cleaning turned out to be 90% taken care of by spraying down with some vinegar and pressure washing. Turned out all the dirty spots were mold that came right off

Acetone can be very effective for cleaning gel coated parts. Just make sure not to hit any decals you wanna keep.

If you planning on removing or replacing your decals. This little guy will be your best friend.

A heat gun will quickly and very effectively clean the oxidation off plastic parts as well

 

[briandwulf]

Congrats on your first skis!

You seem to have a good idea of the direction to head. Im excited to hear what your compression test shows.

I wouldnt stress to hard over the cosmetics. What color are they? White is the one you don't want to try to clean.

I'd hit them with the pressure washer and see where that gets you. I was amazed to find in my GTX what initially looked like an insane amount of exterior cleaning turned out to be 90% taken care of by spraying down with some vinegar and pressure washing. Turned out all the dirty spots were mold that came right off

Acetone can be very effective for cleaning gel coated parts. Just make sure not to hit any decals you wanna keep.

If you planning on removing or replacing your decalswill be your best friend.

A heat gun will quickly and very effectively clean the oxidation off plastic parts as well

Man I wish I had seen this before we started messing with the decals. We finished them up a few days ago with heat guns and scrapers. It was a long, tedious process.

 

[JexxElectron]

Hello all,

I recently received two new to me jet skis. One is a 1996 XP the other is a 2000 XP. They sat outside uncovered for the better part of a decade, so as you can imagine, they're in rough shape, especially cosmetically. We tried to start them just to see if they would turn over, not expecting much, and to our shock they actually started and ran. Only let them run for about 5 seconds and did not throttle up at all, so not sure how well they'll run, but we're off to a decent start.

I'm planning on restoring them this winter and was hoping for some pointers, tribal knowledge, or jet ski "do's and dont's" on these. I've never owned a jet ski, never used anything with a 2 stroke other than weed eaters, leaf blowers, etc. So any and all advice is welcome. I do own a ski boat, so at least I'm not brand new to owning watercraft!! I'll list what I plan to do to these below, and it'd be great if you could add to the list based on your experience.

- compression test
- drain and replace all fluids
- replace fuel and oil lines
- rebuild carbs
- replace fuel selector
- too much cosmetic work to list

A few questions I already have:

Are the oil injection systems reliable? I've had a few friends insist I should still use pre-mix gas as insurance against a failed system.

Any pointers for giving the entire engine compartment a good cleaning? What products do you use?


Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance!

I think the Sea Doo oil systems are super reliable. I have never understood why someone would remove such an excellent system. The gas / oil ratio is kept perfect. Even if you bypass the oil and mix your own, you still need to keep oil in the system for the rotary valve and oil pump on some models. You can always put a little oil in your gas anyway. I do when breaking in a motor. Also, I only use mineral oil as per my machinist who races with Rotax engines.

There is a product called better boat bilge cleaner. It works great. Nylon brush is a must. If you want to glue something like those cable tie bases to the fiberglass, clean the fiberglass with bilgde then dawn soap then with brake cleaner. This will even remove a bit of resin so be very careful. Also, Brake cleaner can destroy many materials. Be careful wear eye protection. The cheapest way is just dawn soap and a brush.

I know this sounds extreme, but pull the tank out to clean the boat. Otherwise, there will be stuff under there that will keep washing into the rest of the bilge.

 

[NickCawks]

When I did my first ski the inside of the hull was a disgusting mess. instead of fooling around with cleaners and brushes I pulled the motor, tied all the hoses up towards the top of the hull then filled it with water and purple power. Let it sit like that for around 24 hours then pulled the plug and let it drain. All the stuff that would not come out of the drain plug I shop vac'd out.