Well 'm a newbie poster here. Been lurking for some time while looking for a project boat. I just picked up a 98' Sportster 1800 "for a steal" as one person proclaimed to me. It's got some issues, so that's part of the reason.
She's been abused and mistreated. However, the last owner has been doing work on her engines. One was replaced entirely it sounds like, the other was rebuilt top and bottom recently and I have receipts for that work. Both engines had about 135psi in the cylinders. I couldn't find where anyone had listed theirs. I assume this is about on par for them. Problems I'm faced with since I got it in the water to test out. Any advice on these would be great.
1) One motor gives me overheat alarm. However, doesn't appear to be running hot after cruising around and several high speed runs. Pulled the wire off the sensor and it stops. Nothing in the pumps. Suspect bad sensor. Can it be tested?
2) Starboard side cavitates like crazy. Nothing in pumps. Wear rings and impellers were just replaced. They look very good and have less then 1mm gap in them for sure. I suspect either thru hull seal or pump seal. It does seem to take on a fair amount of water while running. However, when sitting I didn't see it filling up. Looking underneath I see the shaft tube coming through the hull in the pump area. One blue, one white. The ends are chewed up and different lengths. Should those be trimmed flush to the pump area? I suspect one has been replaced already and that's the reason for the color difference.
3) Speedo doesn't work. Suspect paddle wheel. Hoping gauge is ok. Need to do ohm check on it at the connector in the bay. What settings do I use on a multi meter?
4) Right side RPM gauge reads either 0 or 5500rpms. Nothing in between. I suspected bad gauge so I swapped the wires in dash from the good one to eliminate a sensor error and suspect gauge still doesn't work an the other still does. Sounds like I'll need to replace gauge.
5) Fuel gauge doesn't work. I suspect float/sensor has gone bad. Sounds like it's a common problem with them. Magnet? Bad float? Easy to fix/replace?
Other then that it needs the seat redone, and some touch up here and there with the gelcoat. That isn't a huge deal for me.
We used it this way over the weekend. Seems to go along pretty nice, but I doubt we're not hitting the 50mph mark most see with them. Still cooks right along pretty good though. Certainly worth the effort of fixing.
gpshemi
She's been abused and mistreated. However, the last owner has been doing work on her engines. One was replaced entirely it sounds like, the other was rebuilt top and bottom recently and I have receipts for that work. Both engines had about 135psi in the cylinders. I couldn't find where anyone had listed theirs. I assume this is about on par for them. Problems I'm faced with since I got it in the water to test out. Any advice on these would be great.
1) One motor gives me overheat alarm. However, doesn't appear to be running hot after cruising around and several high speed runs. Pulled the wire off the sensor and it stops. Nothing in the pumps. Suspect bad sensor. Can it be tested?
2) Starboard side cavitates like crazy. Nothing in pumps. Wear rings and impellers were just replaced. They look very good and have less then 1mm gap in them for sure. I suspect either thru hull seal or pump seal. It does seem to take on a fair amount of water while running. However, when sitting I didn't see it filling up. Looking underneath I see the shaft tube coming through the hull in the pump area. One blue, one white. The ends are chewed up and different lengths. Should those be trimmed flush to the pump area? I suspect one has been replaced already and that's the reason for the color difference.
3) Speedo doesn't work. Suspect paddle wheel. Hoping gauge is ok. Need to do ohm check on it at the connector in the bay. What settings do I use on a multi meter?
4) Right side RPM gauge reads either 0 or 5500rpms. Nothing in between. I suspected bad gauge so I swapped the wires in dash from the good one to eliminate a sensor error and suspect gauge still doesn't work an the other still does. Sounds like I'll need to replace gauge.
5) Fuel gauge doesn't work. I suspect float/sensor has gone bad. Sounds like it's a common problem with them. Magnet? Bad float? Easy to fix/replace?
Other then that it needs the seat redone, and some touch up here and there with the gelcoat. That isn't a huge deal for me.
We used it this way over the weekend. Seems to go along pretty nice, but I doubt we're not hitting the 50mph mark most see with them. Still cooks right along pretty good though. Certainly worth the effort of fixing.
gpshemi
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Edited above to be more clear
