Ride or inspect?

[Spacecrook73]

I just bought 2 95 SPIs . Pretty decent condition. Start up , take off, and seem to be ok. Keep in mind I have zero experience in knowing what to look for(as far as jet skiing) that would require some maintenance. Actually, I have no idea but I'm extremely desperate and totally fascinated with my new hobby. The ONLY thing I've done is compression checks. Ski 1 is 140/140(while cold if that matters). Ski 2 is 130/135(again, cold).

I do have some mechanical knowledge and experience, just not in these types of systems.

Should I go out and start riding the hell out of them like it's the last day alive or should I do a basic all around inspection to see where I'm at? I keep journals, and big on taking notes so that I know everything I've done and use as a reference.

If you say inspect(which I hope) then please tell me a list of things to check. I would love to have a couple or more friends here follow me through this. As I do each step, I record results and share for input. I want to maximize the lifespan of these skis. They're all I have in my life now to keep me happy and I want to treat them right.

Should I post pictures of the inside for you to look at? Should I work on BOTH skis at the same time? They are identical.

Thanks so much. Looking forward to make new friends and have some fun for a change. It's my turn in life now to do some things I enjoy, damnit.

 

[mikidymac]

Welcome here.
I suggest never riding a new to you ski first.
Are your fuel lines black or grey?
What color is your oil in the tank under the handle bars?

I suggest a full service of the fuel system including carb rebuild.
Change the small oil lines from the oil pump to the intake manifold.
Change the oil filter.
Change the pump oil and inspect the wear ring.
Grease the PTO.
New spark plugs.

 

[Spacecrook73]

Welcome here.
I suggest never riding a new to you ski first.
Are your fuel lines black or grey?
What color is your oil in the tank under the handle bars?

I suggest a full service of the fuel system including carb rebuild.
Change the small oil lines from the oil pump to the intake manifold.
Change the oil filter.
Change the pump oil and inspect the wear ring.
Grease the PTO.
New spark plugs.

Doing these now and will report back. I do know the oil injection pumps are bypassed. With that being known, does that change your recommendations regarding oil, etc?

 

[soccerdad]

Welcome! I was in the same boat (so to speak...) a couple of years ago. I ended up owning two skis before I had ever been on one. miki said it all, but I will shed some light on it. The absolutely most critical part of these skis to keep them from blowing up is to keep feeding them fuel. So if the carbs are gunked up, you can quickly blow a motor. And more importantly, today's fuels contain ethanol that react with most of the old fuel lines that Seadoo used. You will hear them termed "tempo" or "gray" fuel lines. They plug up and send gunk to the carbs. So bottom line, you must change them if it has not already been done. And the fuel is sucked by a pump, to the carb so everything must be good and vacuum tight or it will suck air instead of fuel. The fuel switch (selector) and any filters may be prone to leaking air. Now your motors are super reliable and not tuned nearly as hot as a 787 or 951, s they are more tolerant. But do your self a favor and go through the fuel systems now. Put clean gas in them and the correct specified oil. Only use the type of oil recommended for your ski.

And HAVE FUN!

 

[Spacecrook73]

Welcome! I was in the same boat (so to speak...) a couple of years ago. I ended up owning two skis before I had ever been on one. miki said it all, but I will shed some light on it. The absolutely most critical part of these skis to keep them from blowing up is to keep feeding them fuel. So if the carbs are gunked up, you can quickly blow a motor. And more importantly, today's fuels contain ethanol that react with most of the old fuel lines that Seadoo used. You will hear them termed "tempo" or "gray" fuel lines. They plug up and send gunk to the carbs. So bottom line, you must change them if it has not already been done. And the fuel is sucked by a pump, to the carb so everything must be good and vacuum tight or it will suck air instead of fuel. The fuel switch (selector) and any filters may be prone to leaking air. Now your motors are super reliable and not tuned nearly as hot as a 787 or 951, s they are more tolerant. But do your self a favor and go through the fuel systems now. Put clean gas in them and the correct specified oil. Only use the type of oil recommended for your ski.

And HAVE FUN!

Thanks for your input! I'll admit my ignorance with some of these issues, but I'm very efficient and determined to get things in proper working order. What I need is a step by step guide to do the fuel system overhaul. Something very clear and understandable. I've had some brain injuries in the past and very hard to concentrate. Do you have any ideas? YouTube videos?

 

[Spacecrook73]

Welcome here.
I suggest never riding a new to you ski first.
Are your fuel lines black or grey?
What color is your oil in the tank under the handle bars?

How can I post pictures here?

The oil is a light purplish color. The fuel line appears to be black.

 

[Coastiejoe]

How can I post pictures here?

The oil is a light purplish color. The fuel line appears to be black.

If the oil pump is bypassed, I'm not sure the relevance. But I know very little about this and we'll be open minded.

Use an app called "TapaTalk." It is fantastic with this site. Super easy to post pics.

 

[Spacecrook73]

How can I post pictures here?

The oil is a light purplish color. The fuel line appears to be black.

If the oil pump is bypassed, I'm not sure the relevance. But I know very little about this and will be open minded.

 

[Spacecrook73]

Double posting

 

[Spacecrook73]

Use an app called "TapaTalk." It is fantastic with this site. Super easy to post pics.

I used it. I guess it worked. Thanks!

 

[benjilafouine]

Fuel lines look OK to me. What is the second picture? Oil stick???


Benji.

 

[mikidymac]

Those are pictures of the oil lines, not the fuel lines.
I think the mystic oil is purple and approved.

 

[Spacecrook73]

Those are pictures of the oil lines, not the fuel lines.
I think the mystic oil is purple and approved.

I suspected that was the wrong line. Definitely reflects my ignorance here but I'm determined to learn. I'm glad the oil appears ok. If it would help, I'll take lots of pictures throughout the inside and see if anything appears unsatisfactory. I'll do that tomorrow afternoon after work.

Thanks so much. I really appreciate the help and hope we can continue throughout the entire inspection and repairs, if needed.

 

[mikidymac]

FYI the OEM oil injection is extremely reliable and will save you a ton in oil over the summer.

I use it on all my skis.

 

[Spacecrook73]

FYI the OEM oil injection is extremely reliable and will save you a ton in oil over the summer.

I use it on all my skis.

The previous owner did the bypass, so I'm not sure what, if anything, I can do about that one. And you're right, a quart of this oil is 15 bucks!

 

[RodInEscondido]

If you are not sure of the oil type, drain the oil system and use the proper oil; key term is "PWC" oil, never standard outboard oil. Likewise for the fuel/oil mix ... old fuel is no good.

If the original oil injection system has been disabled, you still need oil for the rotary valve (RV) gear; easiest way is to leave the original oil tank in place with the oil lines in place except for the one that once went to the oil injector pump.

Post a picture of the carb side where the oil pump was and we can pretty much tell you if it is ok.

You can search around on the web for PWC oil, should still be time of year to find some good deals, especially if you go big and buy a case (4 gallons). Hey, if you start having way too much fun and using premix it will go fast.

 

[Spacecrook73]

If you are not sure of the oil type, drain the oil system and use the proper oil; key term is "PWC" oil, never standard outboard oil. Likewise for the fuel/oil mix ... old fuel is no good.

If the original oil injection system has been disabled, you still need oil for the rotary valve (RV) gear; easiest way is to leave the original oil tank in place with the oil lines in place except for the one that once went to the oil injector pump.

Post a picture of the carb side where the oil pump was and we can pretty much tell you if it is ok.

You can search around on the web for PWC oil, should still be time of year to find some good deals, especially if you go big and buy a case (4 gallons). Hey, if you start having way too much fun and using premix it will go fast.

The battery. .... I know.

That's the oil used. What other pictures can I get to give more details of the condition? Thanks

 

[RodInEscondido]

The oil you show will work just fine; you do not need the full or semi-synthetic (mineral oil of the same brand will work fine in the 580 and 720 engines and is less expensive).

Oil tank is in place: good, the sealed off connection from the bottom of the oil tank formerly went to the oil injector pump. The other oil line from the bottom of the oil tank goes to connection under the carb for the RV gear lubrication. The oil line from the top of the oil tank should go to a connection under the exhaust manifold (return line from RV gear). This setup kinda implies there is oil circulation thru the RV gear, but not so ... only time new oil goes into the RV gear is when you drain/fill it or if you have leaking inner oil seal(s).

Looking good so far.

 

[mikidymac]

Well, yes and no on the oil.
Yes, in that it is the correct oil for your ski and as long as your seals are fine it should last a long time because it is only lubricating the rotary gear.
No, in the fact that Quicksilver doesn't list it on their website anymore so I am not sure how much longer you can get it. The only one they list now is not API-TC and it is a dual rated oil that is never recommended in a Seadoo.

 

[Spacecrook73]

Welcome here.

I suggest a full service of the fuel system including carb rebuild.
Change the small oil lines from the oil pump to the intake manifold.
Change the oil filter.
Change the pump oil and inspect the wear ring.
Grease the PTO.
New spark plugs.

PO claimed he rebuilt the carbs just last month. I honesty don't know the guy or have reason to suspect he'd simply use that claim as part of his sales pitch. Is there a way I can tell or would it be worth the trouble? They idle fine, acceleration is good, and crank right up. Then again I'm not familiar with these engines, so I could be mistaken. What should I do to check fuel delivery and lines, etc?

What oil do you use?

 

[Spacecrook73]

The oil you show will work just fine; you do not need the full or semi-synthetic (mineral oil of the same brand will work fine in the 580 and 720 engines and is less expensive).

Oil tank is in place: good, the sealed off connection from the bottom of the oil tank formerly went to the oil injector pump. The other oil line from the bottom of the oil tank goes to connection under the carb for the RV gear lubrication. The oil line from the top of the oil tank should go to a connection under the exhaust manifold (return line from RV gear). This setup kinda implies there is oil circulation thru the RV gear, but not so ... only time new oil goes into the RV gear is when you drain/fill it or if you have leaking inner oil seal(s).

Looking good so far.

Thanks for the info. Can you be more specific with the name of the "mineral oil" product you suggested? And does it HAVE to say PWC on it?

Is there an easy way to check for seals that may be leaking oil other than visual inspection? And what about checking RV gear, should I do that now even though have no reason to suspect anything wrong with it?

Sorry, I may ask a lot of dumb questions. This is entirely new to me, and very interesting. My kids are finally grown and I can actually do things for ME now that I enjoy. But of course, I'm sure they'll be borrowing the skis and tearing them to pieces so I'd like to be prepared to fix them by then.

 

[mikidymac]

The seadoo brand XPS mineral oil in the white bottle is perfect for your ski and available on Amazon.

Unless your cylinders are filling with oil while it is sitting there is no reason to suspect the crank or rotary seals.

The only seal you can see without splitting the cases is the rotary seal but it is not worth removing the cover unless you suspect a problem.

 

[garrettb]

Well, yes and no on the oil.
Yes, in that it is the correct oil for your ski and as long as your seals are fine it should last a long time because it is only lubricating the rotary gear.
No, in the fact that Quicksilver doesn't list it on their website anymore so I am not sure how much longer you can get it. The only one they list now is not API-TC and it is a dual rated oil that is never recommended in a Seadoo.

This is the oil I use, and I buy it at Walmart. I contacted Quicksilver last year to make sure it wasn't a TC-W3 oil, and was suitable for API-TC applications. There seems to be much debate on whether this is okay to use or not. I am a fan of it, and I plan to keep using it in my 951's. The biggest thing is to drain a tank containing oil from an unknown source. One of my GTX's had a tank full of black oil when I bought it. I felt bad dumping it, but it was worth the peace of mind.

 

[Spacecrook73]

This is the oil I use, and I buy it at Walmart. I contacted Quicksilver last year to make sure it wasn't a TC-W3 oil, and was suitable for API-TC applications. There seems to be much debate on whether this is okay to use or not. I am a fan of it, and I plan to keep using it in my 951's. The biggest thing is to drain a tank containing oil from an unknown source. One of my GTX's had a tank full of black oil when I bought it. I felt bad dumping it, but it was worth the peace of mind.

View attachment 39486

Cool, thanks! I'll probably just do a complete flush and use this. Man, I don't even know where the oil filter is yet. Learning about these quickly though.

Hey, how did you post that little picture like that?

 

[garrettb]

When I'm done uploading photos, I click "Insert Inline" and it provides little thumbnails that can be clicked on. It seems to work well!