Newbie needs advice in Houston

[aggiematt]

I just bought a 2000 SeedooLRV from a guy who says the motor had lost a little top end. Said he thought they had run it in water too low... didnt keep it from running good, just lost some top end. Im going to pick up tom and am trying to get it ready to run by spring break (march 12th)

It looks to be in good shape but he didnt get it out last year so about 2 years without trying to crank it.

Where should i start? just take it to a shop or do some basic trouble shooting myself? I am looking forward to using it on a family vacation to the lake in 3 weeks.

Any shop suggestions in houston? i live in cypress

what are the laws here in tx? how do i get it registered? I really have no idea where to start? haha

I hope some of you guys can direct me to threads with info i can use or offer me your own suggestions!

Im thinking ill try to get it running here in my driveway so any advice about what to do with an engine that has been sitting in tx garage for last 2 years?



thanks

 

[Spimothy Leary]

well, i'm not sure where to start.
basics
welcome to the forum, welcome to pwc ownership

lets assume u bought this for a good price, (and i'm curious) also lets assume you have limited mechanical knowledge and little or no experience with this model and this engine, i'm simply basing this on your post.

stop me if i'm wrong

you have two choices,
1) you have tons of free time in the next 3 weeks, you have tinkered with machines on and off in your life, just not pwc's, and your willing to take a crash course in pwc mechanics and maintenance.
2) you need to find a qualified mechanic (as opposed to a stealership), even a qualified shadetree guy will do, to do a complete inspection/overhaul, carbs would probably be high on his list , ok well, they'll be probably first on his list.

the mechanic (or you, if your a step 1 guy) will do a compression test (#1 indicator of an "issue") and if it passes that test do a carb inspect/rebuild, replace plugs, clean tank, yada yada, bring money, (i prolly should have brought the money part up earlier) and discuss rates early not later.

a plan to take it on holiday might be scrapped, but if your diligent and find the right helper locally, its do-able, just don't get your hopes up.

and if you don't have at least 3 kids yet, hurry up and make them, cuz the lrv can hold them all and your wife !

oh and ps.. you think your wife likes you now ? just wait till you've owned this for 2 months and i dare you to give her the receipts !

really, i dare you !

fun is expensive, but let me tell you this, its worth every dam penny !!!!!

your about to take on quite an adventure

if your a step 1) guy, take a comp test and report results

if your a step 2) guy, first priority is to find some quality help

 

[docdrs]

I hope you stole it from the guy. Why would you ever buy a 12 yr old machine that you have not seen it running and expect to have it up to snuff in 3 weeks. I wish you all the best. Take a new, full charged battery with you and see if it will crank over and hopefully start. But just because you can start it does not mean you are ok. Take fresh gas, Check the compression, a good 951 is 135 and all the rest are 150 psi. I'm sure guys with more knowledge will chime in but just giving you a start. See someone even beat me to the first reply....good luck and hope all is good

 

[Strizzo]

as long as the thing was in working order the last time it was at the lake, there's a good chance that it just needs some fresh gas and a new battery to start, but a carb rebuild could very likely be in your future. i just joined today after buying a 97 xp that hadn't run in a year, but i bought it from my cousin and i trusted him when he said it runs fine. battery was dead but it fired up no problem after sitting on the charger overnight.

as to your question on registration, you'll need to go to one of the TPWD offices to pay your taxes and registration fees, there is one on the south side and one on the North Sam Houston just east of 45. i'll be there friday getting mine sorted. if you have a trailer, you need to register it with txdot to get tags as well. if you haven't picked it up from the previous owner yet, be sure to get a bill of sale for the trailer as well as the ski. good luck and happy riding.

 

[LouDoo]

:agree: I agree pretty much with everything the other guys have said but your biggest challenge could be getting this PWC in your name. I don't know how it is in Texas but here you better have all of your paperwork in order before you go to the County Clerk. The best thing to do is for you and the current owner to meet an the court house and transfer it there, you'll need title, registration, and possibly a bill of sale. We don't register trailers here, and again I don't know about Texas but you may need the same papers for the trailer also.

You've got a pretty daunting task ahead of you to get this ready for the water in three weeks. Besides everything else the 951 is one of the hardest engines to work on yourself.

You sound like a young guy, are you sure that this is the ski for you? It ain't exactly a chick magnet. It's big, in fact it's the biggest PWC that SeaDoo has made. If it were a car I would compare it to a station wagon or a mini van.

I would check it out more before I bought it, ideally ride it, but that doesn't sound possible. So at least see if it turns over and do a compression test, a 951 should be around 130psi. If you can find a knowledgeable person to go with you preferably a mechanic.

Good luck.

Lou

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

4 seater

that's one big boat ya got there

let us know the top speed once you get it working.

 

[Minnetonka4me]

Gawd those things are so big! Lou its more like a 12 person van!

It could be an easy fix...but typically jetskis are NEVER a easy fix.

Spend a few hours going thru the forum reading as many threads you can about maintenance then come back and let us know if you have any other questions.

Welcome to the Forum. I hope you are not another newbie that got burned by not asking questions first.

 

[Strizzo]

Lou,

the titling of the ski should not be too difficult, watercraft are dealt with at the state level by texas parks and wildlife, and the titles have a section for the buyer and seller to fill out to document the sale. as for the trailer, a bill of sale with the serial # of the trailer from the last registered owner of the trailer should suffice, texas doesn't title trailers under 4,000lbs gross weight, but they do require plates and registration. in order to register the trailer in your name, txdot wants a bill of sale from the owner, and a copy of their last registration receipt.

i think you guys have had to work on too many skis that someone sank and hydrolocked and then left for five years. it sounds like the ski has been in the garage the last two years, and ran fine the last time it was out. i used to get paid good money in high school (i thought it was good money then at least) to bring these things back to life for the rich folks on the lake that wanted their skis running at the beginning of the season every year, so they could use them maybe 4th of july weekend and then sit the rest of the year. battery, fresh gas sometimes, but even the worst gas i've seen just made them run crappy till you ran it through then put fresh in. one guy i was literally replacing the battery every year to get it running, then he'd use it once and leave it sitting till the next year. i just did basically the same to a 97 xp i bought on sunday, had about a 1/2 tank of old gas from last year, charged the battery and got it cranking. 20-30 seconds of cranking with the choke and it fired to life. i know this one's been sitting two years but it doesn't sound like its had a hard life.

 

[Minnetonka4me]

It may start but it doesnt mean it will run correctly on the water.

A quick search of "grey tempo fuel lines" will give you enough horror stories to understand you have some things to do regardless if the machine fires up or not.

I personally would not run any seadoo that didnt come with confirmed carb rebuild, lines replaced, etc.

The OP stated the previous owner had the power fall off the last time he was out. That could mean a clogged carb filter, stuck RAVE, broken Water regulator....all the way to a torched piston.

BTW I have taken apart 100s of motors and very rarely...like 1 or 2 had cranks I felt confident to re run. Water kills them and 951s are known for their cranks being at their limit...they cant handle a little rust.

 

[LouDoo]

Strizzo,

I'm not a professional mechanic by any means, I'm just a shade tree mechanic. However Nick (minnetonka4me) is a pro, if I were you I would heed his advice. I too would not buy a ski without running it first, I realize that in Feb. that might not be possible, but a least a compression test is possible.

I hear this all the time, "the last time I took it out it ran fine", it's like the second biggest lie in America, the first being "the check's in the mail". The problem with buying anything used is it is usually sold As Is, so buyer beware. A little extra time spent now can save big money later.

Lou

 

[Minnetonka4me]

Strizzo,

I'm not a professional mechanic by any means, I'm just a shade tree mechanic. However Nick (minnetonka4me) is a pro, if I were you I would heed his advice. I too would not buy a ski without running it first, I realize that in Feb. that might not be possible, but a least a compression test is possible.

I hear this all the time, "the last time I took it out it ran fine", it's like the second biggest lie in America, the first being "the check's in the mail". The problem with buying anything used is it is usually sold As Is, so buyer beware. A little extra time spent now can save big money later.

Lou

yup exactly...not every buyer is out to get ya. but more often than not they are clueless. So they may not intend to rip you off, but once you get it home its yours.

The 3rd biggest "lie" is...it just needs a starter. If I had a dime for every time I heard that...lol

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

good times

Git 'R dun!

Minn, I got those Reed valves off ya, and they look great, slight corrosion on one cage, but I cleaned it all up.

the valves look great. Do they actually open / close at the RPM of the engine? so every stroke down, they close? so, 7,000 times a minute? right because on the down it's compressing the air to force it through the ports and into the top chamber? God I love mechanics! (not the fat sweaty hairy guys, the interaction of machines).

thanks!

 

[Strizzo]

fair enough guys, buyer beware indeed. i'm mostly a car-guy, just getting back into pwc's since my cousin was looking to unload his xp, but one of my favorite in car sales ads is "A/C works, just has a leak, so you have to charge it up every week" i've seen "runs great, just need to put the heads back on" as well, but i thought the #1 lie in sales was "owned by an old lady, only driven to church on sundays"

 

[LouDoo]

yup exactly...not every buyer is out to get ya. but more often than not they are clueless. So they may not intend to rip you off, but once you get it home its yours.

The 3rd biggest "lie" is...it just needs a starter. If I had a dime for every time I heard that...lol

Wait a minute I always thought the third biggest lie was, "Hi I'm from the Government and I'm here to help".

Lou

 

[Seadoobuddy]

or the one " I won't .....in your mouth"

 

[aggiematt]

thanks fo rall the feedback and advice guys! learning a lot.

I only paid $900 so I feel like ill be good in it even if i need to rebuild the whole thing... one of the guys from work knows a tech from the local place and hes gonna help me out!

keep the input coming and ill let you know what i find after i pick it up later today!

 

[bigJake]

aww, SDB, I bet you say that to all the guys

 

[Strizzo]

what part of town you in Matt? i'm on the west side near westheimer and 6.

 

[seadoodoopartsofcf]

900 bucks for that titanic is a good steal... and a good conversation piece but to me it's way oversized to be in the pwc spectrum. Maybe taking the seats off of it and making live wells would be an idea.

 

[LouDoo]

Sounds like the guy's a student, I'm thinking a beer hauler.

Lou

 

[Minnetonka4me]

Yup cant loose at $900 esp if the trailer was included...

 

[Spimothy Leary]

yes $900 a good buy regardless

sounds like matt needs to hook up with strizzo and take a look at the ski in more detail !

please don't be offended with my remarks,i wasn't meant to give any1 a hard time, just being realistic....and give a fair assesment, but I didn't mean to be a debbie downer

i've purchased a dozen ski's in the past 12 months, and some members here many times that, so we've seen some interesting stuff.

one thing i'll suggest, if you take it to a guy, whomever, and he keeps it for a day or 3 and calls you up and says.. she's running, and ready for the water...
if he only wants $200, give him $240 and offer to buy him a beer.
don't question that $200 is a lot and don't even ask for a receipt, just pay him !!!!

 

[Strizzo]

900 is definitely not a bad deal, similar why i bought mine without having heard it run, my cousin said it ran/runs fine, and it was only 600 bucks with the trailer included.

 

[LouDoo]

Ditto,

It really doesn't matter whether or not we like the ski, as long as you like it, that's all that counts, and it sounds like you got a deal on it. Who knows you might be the most popular guy cause you can carry the most beer.

Lou

 

[srlfish]

There is a good Seadoo Mechanic in Willis. just on the other side of Conroe. The name of the shop is aqua Toys. They do good affordable work and ussually get your ski back to you fairly quickly.