Seized 1998 GSX 947 engine (white)

[Bob G]

Just bought this mainly for the trailer but was wondering if its worth fixing! Tried to turn engine with pliers on the shaft at rear but it won't turn and it looks like the rear cylinder might be seized! I've never worked on one before but I've worked on cars a lot over the years. The body appears to be in real good condition from what I can tell. I have been reading that it's easy to put over 1,000.00 into the engine if I do the work myself. Would it be better to buy a used one with this money? Thanks

 

[mikidymac]

The White 951 was very well know to have issues and is why it is actually a 1997.5 not a 1998 It only lasted half a year, the 1998 is a Purple and Red ski with a silver engine.

THey are worth fixing but you will have over $1,000 into it once everything is said and done. Realistically ti will be closer to $1,300 all in doing everything that should be done correctly.

 

[Matt Braley]

The 97.5's were titled as 98's and 98 is the last 2 in they're VIN's also. I can see where that is very confusing. I agree it will take a lot of work but I think it's worth it. That was the fastest ski on the water in 97. You can ride two people without being tipsy but it's still a fun ski for one. The 15 gal tank gives it some range also.

 

[Bob G]

What about buying a rebuilt motor? Do they have warranty and is it any good?

 

[Matt Braley]

It can be but you have to change some things to get it as reliable as a 951 can be. That model is the first with the 951 and Seadoo had to register the engine with the epa so they leaned the carb jetting out. The carbs on it are backwards from all following 951's and have a solenoid that restricts air to the diaphragms further leaning the mixture out.

This problem and the one of the pipe coming loose on the manifold and spraying water out that the carbs suck in must be addressed before any engine has a chance of being reliable. Obviously it will need all the usual things that get done to a sitting ski.... Fuel lines, oil filter, OEM carb kits and needle/seats, OEM jets in your case, battery, fuel valve(possibly), spark plugs, wear ring/pump oil, etc.

SBT has a good price on exchange engines with the best "no fault" warranty. There quality is not as good as OEM but it's what most shops use. I see deals on ebay on NOS parts for those white engines sometimes. That's the good part of having the rare one, when something good pops up you don't have a lot of competition.

 

[GGuillot]

You could buy a new rebuilt engine (most expensive route) or tear it down and inspect to see specifically what you'd need to replace. Maybe the crank is good? That means just a top end rebuild and go through the carbs and fuel/oil system to make sure everything is fine. Not sure how deep you've gone on cars, but these 2 cylinder 2 strokes are pretty simple to work on, I'm in the middle of rebuilding my 1997 GTX from the ground up.

 

[Paul Bretz]

Since its seized, what about bad crank or balance shaft that tried to escape out the bottom of the case? If hole in case, kinda hard to get a different engine under the exchange process. If hull is in good shape, i say fix it. Those are fun machines.

 

[mikidymac]

In my opinion any used 951 needs a new crank and rebuilt balancer. Those are the weak parts on the 951 and I wouldn’t recommend reusing either on a ski you are going to keep.

 

[Paul Bretz]

I agree. Any engine that has seized needs a full rebuild