Newb asking advice

[mdammons]

A post to my Introduction to the forum which reads"...from what I read about the 951 it either runs like stink or it stinks from running lean - read about maintenance to prevent the breakdown drama and expensive service."
Can anyone give me a heads up on this? My skiis are:
3 seater 1998 Sea Doo GTX Limited 951cc
2 seater 1998 Sea Doo XP Limited 951 cc

Any help on these or insider tips would greatly be appreciated. The previous owner stated that he replaced the enignes about 1.5 years ago. They were in salt water too, but he seemed fairly knowledgeable and rinsed after ever use.

 

[chillholm]

I've got a 99 Gtx ltd with the 951 in it and I love it.
You know the 951 really gets a 'bum -rap'.
ANY ski will require on going maintenance to prevent breakdown.
Personally myself, I have had the oil set a tad richer so that the motor gets more oil in it. This means you'll get less power but not at the sacrifice of the motor. I get a Seadoo service centre to do it.

Use only Bombadier oil.

Clean the rave valves regularly. I do them every 6- 10 hours approx. Some would say this isn't neccessary but it takes about 15-20 minutes to do...so no big deal.

I use premium fuel only and make sure that I put fuel stabilizer in the tank after every use.
I change the plugs every 10 hours, once again not neccessary but I do it anyway.
Change the grey fuel lines.
Get yourself the manuals...they really help for you to get to know your skis.

Flush em out after EVERY use salt OR freshwater.

Spray some form of silicone spray all over the engine when you've finished using them and leave the seats off when finished so they can dry out.

Check all hoses and wiring every 10-15 hours. Put dielectric grease in the electric plugs.

I spray Bombadier Spray into the top of the head to provide a protective coating after every use as well.

Don't neglect your jet pump-change the oil every season, it's easy to do and takes about 1 hour.

I've got to admit from what I've read the other Seadoo motors, 717/787, the 951's seem harder to work on, maybe because of their side mount?
I don't know enough about em to really say. THEY do COST MORE to repair and seem to have more parts in them, I guess the saying in 2 stroke is that less is better i.e less moving parts means less can go wrong.

Read up on some other threads most of the well experinced guys on this forum love their 717 and 787 in particular, but my GTX came with the 951 so thats what I make do with. They are a powerful motor,that when tricked right can leave some, even more modern motors behind.

When we had our rebuild on our 951, I was bitching about the 951 to the repairer saying how it had only done 200 hour etc. He went on to tell me that many factors determine how long a motor will last and that a friend of his had a 951 with just over 500 hours on it from original. He said that his buddy was meticulous about maintenance.

Good luck and read up as much as you can and ask questions on this forum. Get the manuals and get to know your pwc.

And most of all have fun!!

Remember if the 951 was just that bad Bombadier wouldn't have stuck with it. They manufactured it for like 6-7 years as a motor for Bombadier so they must have done SOMETHING right.

 

[chillholm]

Just a follow up "GOOGLE" history of Seadoo there is a site listed that gives a run down of all models. Very interesting...call me a nerd!

 

[stickshift69]

Research a company called Group K, they are very smart and have some tech articles on there site

 

[mdammons]

Thank you guys.

Chillholm, Thank you very much for calming my fears. And thank you for all the juicy. I have a friend that works on them that is my parts supplier so I will let him know when he services it to let it run richer in the engine oil. In GA we dont have too many skii mechanics. Has become to expensive! But maybe this can become my new field.hahaha. But I really appreciate all the in-depth info you gave me.

stickshift, thank you as well. I will do my due-diligence thank you for your post.

 

[chillholm]

Just remember by setting the oil richer there will be draw backs.
You'll have to change the pugs more often and you might get more carbon build up.
Get a pro to do it and ask them for their opinion.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[seadoosnipe]

951 DI motors...

A post to my Introduction to the forum which reads"...from what I read about the 951 it either runs like stink or it stinks from running lean - read about maintenance to prevent the breakdown drama and expensive service."
Can anyone give me a heads up on this? My skiis are:
3 seater 1998 Sea Doo GTX Limited 951cc
2 seater 1998 Sea Doo XP Limited 951 cc

Any help on these or insider tips would greatly be appreciated. The previous owner stated that he replaced the enignes about 1.5 years ago. They were in salt water too, but he seemed fairly knowledgeable and rinsed after ever use.

I think you have heard about the DI motors. That is where you'll hear the phrase that, if they run, they scream but if there is a problem, you've got one big headache. The DI (direct orbital injection) is a pain because it injects on the high pressure side of the compression area and they need a secondary component part to do that, the compressor. The fuel system is two parts, first a pre-determined amount of fuel is delivered to the injector then, a burst of air sends it into the cylinder atomizing it to a super fine mist, making the combustion cycle more powerful than other fuel systems. But, at the sacrifice of the headaches, I think I'd stick with the RFI (rotax fuel injection) which is on the low pressure side and needs no compressor to deliver the fuel.......:cheers:

 

[mdammons]

I think you have heard about the DI motors. That is where you'll hear the phrase that, if they run, they scream but if there is a problem, you've got one big headache. The DI (direct orbital injection) is a pain because it injects on the high pressure side of the compression area and they need a secondary component part to do that, the compressor. The fuel system is two parts, first a pre-determined amount of fuel is delivered to the injector then, a burst of air sends it into the cylinder atomizing it to a super fine mist, making the combustion cycle more powerful than other fuel systems. But, at the sacrifice of the headaches, I think I'd stick with the RFI (rotax fuel injection) which is on the low pressure side and needs no compressor to deliver the fuel.......:cheers:

Thank you sir!... No I have no knowlegde to go on. But so far this community has really helped and that is why I came here. Thank you guys.