Summerzing

[cts0037]

Please help.

I bought two SeaDoos (GTI 130 and GTX 155) in May 2103. I paid the dealer in Lewisville, TX (near Dallas) last fall to winterize them. The cost was about $300 (for the two). Now it is time to "summerize" them. I do not know what is involved in that but they want another $200 per unit.

Should I just expect these type of costs? I'm not cheap by any means but $350 per unit to winterize/summerize seems like a lot. I am somewhat mechanically inclined and wonder if I could learn to do these procedures on my own.

I appreciate any help.

 

[mattydipps]

The way I summarize my skis are making sure the battery is charged.. Spray the engine bay with protectant... Start it up and let it run for about 5 minutes... Finally put it on the water and take it easy for the first hour or so

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

I refill the empty fuel tank with fresh clean fuel, top off any fluids as necessary, remove the spark plugs and turn the motor over by hand to make sure there are no tight spots from corrosion that might occur during the storage period, before installing plugs crank it over by the electric starter and perform compression check, do a visual on all hoses/fittings, inspect under the engine in the bilge for puddles, wipe out bilge, put it all back together and drop it in the water to look for any water leaks that might need tending.

If your drive shaft spline was overlooked last fall this would be a good opportunity to shoot a pump of grease in the zerk fitting.

Feel/look with flashlight inside of jet pump housing through the outlet nozzle at the bottom of the circumference to see if any bearing oil has leaked and puddled there from the impeller hub, if there is some oil there the hub cavity may be empty and should be refilled/inspected.

Check the expiration date of the fire extinguisher, inspect your safety gear for wear and tear or some sort of damage.

This year I found a hose clamp on the exhaust outlet had worked lose, allowing water to leak into the bilge.

I think elsewhere here you will find a pre-launch checklist of some sort, it may include more items.

And yes, you should try to learn how to maintain your boats yourself, I encourage you!

 

[Coastiejoe]

Really very little to it. If you emptied your fuel tanks, top them off. If not, and I would assume you did not, then the fuel stabilizer that the dealer put into the tank kept your fuel in good order.

Heed the advice above BUT,,, do not run the engine for five minutes if you do not have a means to cool the carbon ring (seal on the shaft). I charge my batteries out of the skis, install them, check the oil, start the engine for MAYBE 30 seconds is all. You are only making sure the battery, battery connections, starter and engines are ok. They should be as they were when you winterized them. If you want or have a need to run them for longer than one-minute, then back them down the ramp where the carbon ring will be able to be cooled and not destroy itself.

 

[mattydipps]

yeah I wouldn't run your ski for anything longer then 30 seconds without it being hooked up to a hose.. you would be murdering your machine, I start mine up in my driveway for a couple minutes on the hose.

 

[Coastiejoe]

yeah I wouldn't run your ski for anything longer then 30 seconds without it being hooked up to a hose.. you would be murdering your machine, I start mine up in my driveway for a couple minutes on the hose.

Not just the cooling water for the engine, but the carbon seal as it does NOT get cooled unless the ski is in the water, you spray it with a hose while running or you put water in the hull up to the seal.

 

[cts0037]

Thank you all for your insight. I had the dealer do it for this year but I am going to learn to do it myself. I will be trying to find someone in the Dallas area that could help me with it.