Should I replace sc washers or go for the full rebuild?

[SVT-JOE]

I just purchased a 2005 RXT with 20 hours and don't want to worry about the washers. Curious to everyone's thoughts. Should I just have the washers replaced at a cost of around $300 or have the supercharger fully rebuilt for around $550-600?

Thanks

 

[speedster98]

If I'm messing with the sc then I'm going to play it safe and rebuild. I just bought a 03 gtx with 132 hrs on it. The sc had been checked out earlier this year by a reputable shop and is in great shape. I'm still leaning towards rebuilding it this off season, runs about $300 from sbt for my kit. My only hesitation is how complex is a rebuild? I hear its not that bad you just have to keep everything aligned and timed.

 

[red2blue]

I just purchased a 2005 RXT with 20 hours and don't want to worry about the washers. Curious to everyone's thoughts. Should I just have the washers replaced at a cost of around $300 or have the supercharger fully rebuilt for around $550-600?

Thanks

If it was me...I'd spring for a full upgraded rebuild...for around $450 all told.

Get in touch with Jerry Gaddis.

 

[Michael211_2000]

With only 20 hrs of operation on it, and $450 (full rebuild) vs. $99 (replacing the washers yourself with a kit which includes instructions and SC tools as well as the upgraded steel washers), I'd just replace the washers myself one afternoon and run it till it's at 100 hrs. You're spending 4X the amount of money and it'll be down at least a week (mailing the supercharger to Jerry at GH if you want him to rebuild it), you can just replace the washers and it will likely be fine for the next 80 hrs of operation if you take your time and do the replacement according to the instructions which come with the kits.

I did my '06 RXT's myself 2 years ago when I got it used at 69 hrs, 82 hrs now and counting.... might actually get the supercharger fully rebuilt 2 summers from now at this rate. Runs just fine, knock on wood! I'm actually thinking of upgrading to to an X-Charger with the higher pressure injectors by then IDK yet....

- Michael

 

[Michael211_2000]

Of some more importance (and more expensive!) are those hollow sodium filled exhaust valves... you might want to save that ~$350 or so for new upgraded exhaust valves over this winter in fact! You can do the washer upgrade yourself for ~$99 and 1 afternoon's time, but the exhaust valves are going to cost you quite a bit more (the hollow exhaust valves are bad about cracking the stems and breaking the valve heads off inside your cylinders, which pretty much destroys the engine... bad bad mojo if it happens worse than a supercharger failure in fact!). Search this forum for more discussions and info on sodium filled exhaust valves.

Regards!

- Michael

 

[red2blue]

Is no one else even remotely curious why a 6-7 y/o ski has only 20hrs on it?

Really?

 

[Michael211_2000]

If you don't live on the waterfront, and you work alot, it's difficult to put many hours on these things in a year much less 6-7 years. I've had my RXT for almost 2 1/2 years now (seems like I brought it home just yesterday actually), but have only been able to put 12 hours on it (from 69 hrs when I got the engine re-assembled to 81 hrs this past Labor Day). I wanna get it up to 100 hrs so I can replace or rebuild the supercharger finally... arghhhh! I need to move to the lake, I'm searching for a place already but money doesn't grow on trees and most places I've either liked the house or liked the property location on the lake but not both so.... :-\

Ergo, I don't think it's a conspiracy that the machine has low hours Red, I see many mid-2000 RXP's and RXT's and GTX's with less than 50 hrs on them for sale on Ebay and Craigslist every week just about some don't have a single scratch on them look like they just left the dealer's showroom.

- Michael

 

[SVT-JOE]

Thanks for all the responses!! I'll enjoy it for a few more weeks then during the winter swap in new washers. I'll also look into having the exhaust valves changed.

 

[Michael211_2000]

Sounds like a reasonable plan to me. Take and post pics!

- Michael

 

[door54]

I did my '06 RXT's myself 2 years ago when I got it used at 69 hrs, 82 hrs now and counting.... might actually get the supercharger fully rebuilt 2 summers from now at this rate. Runs just fine, knock on wood! I'm actually thinking of upgrading to to an X-Charger with the higher pressure injectors by then IDK yet....

- Michael[/QUOTE]

Interesting thought on the X-charger upgrade Michael...would there be any additional mods required to support that? Would that put you in th 255 class?

 

[Michael211_2000]

I don't know that much about it Door... from what I've read the X-Charger isn't that much more expensive than fully rebuilding my existing supercharger, it's more reliable and has a 200 hr service interval (as opposed to my supercharger's 100 hr service interval), but does require more powerful injectors which is an added expense. I presume the X-Charger + higher pressure injectors increases the horsepower but I don't know by how much. It's the longer service interval and increased reliability that caught my interest though.... any additional horsepower would just be a side-benefit IMO. 215hp on an 11 foot long watercraft is more than enough already for me! LOL!

Red2Blue knows alot more about the X-Charger than I do. Red you around???

- Michael

 

[red2blue]

...would there be any additional mods required to support that? Would that put you in th 255 class?

Would it put you in the 255 class?....no. Still a few ponies short of that. A 255 also has an external intercooler...a good one.

Two trains of thought re the x wheel and required up grades. One thought...and from all I've read and peeps I've talked with....an x wheel alone with a pre x boat oem ic would "not" require extra fuel. The AFR's even at wot are within normal specs. However...the second thought says that even though it may fall within spec it's at the leaner end of the spectrum and therefore should have 42lb'rs feeding the motor just to be on the safe side...and of course would give a few more ponies than an x wheel alone.

The only reason I didn't grab an x wheel when my sc touched down...$. Now..it wasn't that much more....but budgets are tighter for some. Also..at that time the consensus had 42's a mandatory requirement. Which meant even more out of pocket just to get me back on the water.

 

[red2blue]

...Ergo, I don't think it's a conspiracy that the machine has low hours Red, I see many mid-2000 RXP's and RXT's and GTX's with less than 50 hrs on them for sale on Ebay and Craigslist every week....

Yeah...I wasn't leaning toward donning my tinfoil hat or anything. Even if it hadn't been blown up prior and inadequately rebuilt...sitting for extended periods of time wouldn't give me warm fuzzies either. Of course....you know...jumping on a strange machine and hitting it....I dunno. Reminds me too much of buying my first used car. So happy and proud...yet fearful of every lil vibe and unexplained noise.

And like my first car....only time will tell how good a deal it was.

 

[door54]

"The only reason I didn't grab an x wheel when my sc touched down...$. Now..it wasn't that much more....but budgets are tighter for some. Also..at that time the consensus had 42's a mandatory requirement.".[/QUOTE]

Sorry about the hick technique here but my computer and I have not come to terms with how to go about condensing quotes.




Fast Forward...So with additional disposable income you go with an X wheel...and the 42 lb injectors? Or no to the 42 lb ers 'cause yer within WOT spec?

 

[red2blue]

...So with additional disposable income you go with an X wheel...and the 42 lb injectors? Or no to the 42 lb ers 'cause yer within WOT spec?

I'd go with an x-wheel and the 42's...because I'm paranoid like that...heh.

And also because sooner or later...I'd be putting in a Fizzle ic and I'd need the 42's then anyway.:thumbsup:

 

[red2blue]

As a sorta...courtesy...I thought I'd post this here. Do forgive if I've erred...no offense meant.

Re the topic of washer failures..pre '08, pre '10 and the latest.

Jerry Gaddis' response.

I rebuilt quite a few superchargers through my supercharger rebuild service and see a couple of them a week with bearing failures. I never see any with metal washer failures although I have heard of it happening on big boost superchargers and running high RPM. This is due to the slip moment of the clutch dropping too low and when this happens the clutch slips, washers heat up and they fracture. This is a very rare occurrence. The main failure seen these days is the bearing failure. This is why I still recommend that the superchargers be rebuilt every 100 hours.... or not much longer after that.
Yes, Seadoo has made a big improvement with the latest molybdenum coated washers, but nothing has been done to improve the bearings.

 

[Dr Honda]

Is no one else even remotely curious why a 6-7 y/o ski has only 20hrs on it?

Really?

Nope... not at all. There are A LOT of people who buy these things, and then don't use them. I picked up a 96 XP 800 a couple years ago with only 48 hrs on it... and my 2000 Polaris Genesis only had 74 hrs.


But, I'm with these guys. Pop the SC off, and change the washers your self, then do the rebuild at 100 hrs.

 

[470]

Nope... not at all. There are A LOT of people who buy these things, and then don't use them. I picked up a 96 XP 800 a couple years ago with only 48 hrs on it... and my 2000 Polaris Genesis only had 74 hrs.


But, I'm with these guys. Pop the SC off, and change the washers your self, then do the rebuild at 100 hrs.

I think a lot of people that buy just lose interest after the novelty wears off. I bought a new GT! SE in april and have 148hrs on it and have a little over 50 hrs on each of my 4 other xp's. The weather is changing here as it was 48º this morning though we usually ride into Nov. I'm hoping to get another 30-40 hrs of riding in.Nothing like launching off 10-15 footers when the northeast gail winds blow on Lake Michigan. Seadoo needs to come out with a turbo model to eliminate the high maintenance cost for the high hour riders.

 

[Michael211_2000]

No offense taken Red, that's good info I did not know that Jerry still recommends 100 hr rebuilds even for the latest superchargers. The last thing anybody should want is to save a few hundred on a supercharger rebuild only to have the supercharger blow apart inside their 4TEC engine case wreaking havoc internally, costing thousands of dollars and weeks of down-time to repair! Eeeek!

I believe whatever Jerry at GH has to say on these things, he's the ultimate supercharger expert online IMHO.

Thanks Red!

- Michael

As a sorta...courtesy...I thought I'd post this here. Do forgive if I've erred...no offense meant.

Re the topic of washer failures..pre '08, pre '10 and the latest.

Jerry Gaddis' response.

 

[ski-d00]

I just did an 03 with metal washers that had a bearing failure, quite a mess but was able to clean everything up by grinding, sanding, and polishing the aluminum and now it works likes new.

I'm toying with the idea of offering the same sc rebuild service that others do but my price would be $325 + shipping using sbt complete rebuild kits. I've used both BRP and SBT rebuild kits and have had great luck with both but the key is to make sure to rebuild them every 100 hours. The kit alone is $300 so you'd basically be getting the rebuild labor for $25, but I'm an sbt dealer so, of course, I get a better price on the kits especially if I bought them in bulk. Would need to get at least 10 people interested to do this. Would people be interested?

 

[Coastiejoe]

If you are able to do the work yourself, then I would do the washers as you are looking at only 100 bucks. If you MUST pay for labor, then do it all now as you will pay the same labor again in the near future...

 

[BMANN06]

I had a bearing failure after 15hrs one of my superchargers after a full rebuild (speedster) ... man what a freaking mess that was. Don't ever want to re-live that experience. Luckily I only needed to replace the impeller, impeller housing, mag cover and of course another SC rebuild kit.

ski-doo I think that would be a great service to the forum. If you toss it out there in a thread I'm sure you'll see the interest. Since its about an hour to do a complete rebuild if I were you would at least charge $100 p/blower though ...

 

[Coastiejoe]

I am sure people would be interested.

It may take a few to show both your ability as well as reliability, but once you do a few, I believe others would be sold based on your past...

 

[dbdave]

I'd send mine to you but I'm not quite there yet with the 2 I have.

BRP has increased the rebuild interval to 200 hours if you use their new kit. Do you know what is supposed to be 'new' in the kit for them to figure the additional interval? I imagine the bearings are different but can they actually be twice as good? I'm skeptical.

Would the SBT kit have the same interval?