1996 HX - restore... well a mild restore

[Littleboots]

So I picked up two 1996 ski's and a tandem galvanized trailer for a great price $1800 for all 3. I want to clean up the HX and sell it seeing the GSX will be for the kids to ride. Hopefully I can sell the HX for over half of what I got the whole package for. I'll be doing the HX first and am posting pics in hopes of getting some help. I just want it to be reliable, running and safe for whoever buys it.

Below are some pictures. My first concern is I found a oil leak on the bottom of the oil tank which I cleaned up but the next day came back and there was a small puddle in the bottom of the hull. As you can tell from the hull it's been there for quite some time as you can see the stain from under the ski. I have to repair some gelcoat (that should be fun) and clean out the carbs and get this thing running. I'm doing the HX first so when I do the GSX I'll know a bit more what I'm doing.

The cylinders on the HX have 140 psi. Won't turn over but starter engages and engine cranks. Here's what I'm working with and I'll be posting more pics as I get things done. Down fall is the original owner took the decals off (or attempted to) before I purchased the ski's. Little bummed as I wanted to at least keep the GSX original. GSX hour meter said 70 hours.

I've already replaced the gray fuel lines on the HX and am in the process of cleaning out the carbs. I've worked on two stroke dirt bikes but have no idea what I'm doing with the seadoo carbs. Any tips????

Thanks everyone and wish me luck.

Here's some pics. Hopefully I inserted them correctly.

damaged seat

Oil soaked into hull

Where oil leak is coming from and leaking into hull. I've already soaked most of it up

sweet wire holding front bumper on. I'm ordering rivets. they are 3/16 but how long?

Misc pics

oil residue from drain plug.. not too thrilled about that

Geez.. anyone want to tell me how to post pics and not links? I tried mediafire because I don't like photobuckets new layout

just figured it out using photobucket. mediafire is a bit confusing.

 

[Strizzo]

Hopefully that oil ran out the drain plug and down the back of the hull, because if that's seeping through the fiberglass, there has to be a break inside somewhere and it also means the mesh is soaked with oil, so any repair won't want to stick. If so, unfortunately the hull is a throwaway.

 

[racerxxx]

If you click on the image in you mediafire account you can grab the URL link and then either insert the pic from the tool bar or how I like to do it is just type out the Your URL goes here [IMG\] the forward slash should be a / and there should not be any spaces between the ][. I know you're learning but not direct links to pics is a major buzz kill for me and I instantly loose interest in a thread. That being said............You can check out my HX thread when I did me mini resto on my 95. You thankfully have the black trim pieces that go for some decent coin for just trim, every guy with a 95 wants that. Just check the grommets, possibly just those are leaking. If that oil is seeping through that means the worn part of that hull is super worn or the is a hole somewhere, I think that is two seperate layers there. Was there a puddle under the ski or is tat just residual oil somehow?

Not sure I follow or you meant something different... You state the starter engages and the engine cranks but won't turn over. I'll assume when you say won't turn over you mean start? Engine cranks and turns over means the same to me or did you mean something else? Don't forget to clean the fuel filter near the oil tank mounted on the opening to the engine. Probably should replace the fuel selector valve, becareful there are some rubber seals on it that can drop into never land. Check the rear shock boot, they are prone to splitting and that will be a quick sink to the bottom of the water. The boot is held on with some clamps and a thin wire clamp which can be a PITA but once you figure it out it makes total sense. OSDparts.com sells the shock boot. I'll leave it at this, I wish they sold the boot when I bought mine, I paid wayyyyyyy more.

I love my HX, I can understand you wanting to just flip the ski, a single seater. I describe it as an 85 hp toothpick, I love mine sooo much though.

[url]http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?58039-Fresh-Find-Friday!-Project-HX[/url]


[IMG]http://www.mediafire.com/convkey/9656/32n2vfhasihwru7fg.jpg




Inspirational shot for you!!!!!!!!!

 

[Littleboots]

Correct. It will crank but not start. sorry. I've finally got all the oil out of the bottom and I"m soaking it up. Going to sand the bottom lightly to see about the oil. Yes that rear shock boot is slightly cracked. Guess that's not a good thing. I'll try and figure out how to get it out. Good thing the oil tank is in the front of this and not the rear where the gas tank is. Wow that's a tight fit for everything.

There is no oil under the ski.. I think it's just residual. But I won't know until I get this thing cleaned out. I was debating pulling the engine to see if crack under motor but I don't think I really want to deal with lining up the engine to shaft, etc. Thanks for the info on the boot racerxxx, I'll be back with questions and updates.

One last thing, I removed the fuel selector switch and blew out a huge gooey rubber piece. now it flows perfect.

 

[Littleboots]

Now that I've changed the Fuel lines and cleaned out selector switch, any idea of what I should do after cleaning carbs? Should I check anything before firing it up? Change pump cone oil? Clean Rave's? Is there a way to see if RAVE is functional?

 

[racerxxx]

Unless you know what oil they were running before I would drain it, change the inline filter and refill with the correct oil. You can run standard Seadoo mineral oil in that, Seadoo semi,synthetic or full synthetic (actually what the manual calls for), but I just run the standard Seadoo mineral. You can run any ATI-PC oil, I just prefer the Doo oil. Change the pump oil, spark plugs, grease the drive shaft carrier under the rear hatch, just a few pumps you don't want to push the seals out.

If you run it on the hose don't do it too long, you could ruin the carbon seal on the drive shaft. You will see an accordion boot back there, if you can pull that to the rear of the ski and tie it back so it doesn't rub the other half of the seal or the shaft you can run it a while longer. But remember to start the engine, THEN turn the hose on, then shut the water off, then shut the engine off. In that order. On the left next to the pump you'll see a long plastic tube that is threaded, that's where the hose goes. If the cooling system is correct you will get a piss stream out the left side of the ski showing that the water is circulating. Always check the cylinder temps with your hand. They should be warm enough to touch for a while, but don't let it run for like 5 minutes, maybe 2 but constantly checking the cylinder temp. And if it stops running or stalls, turn the water off our you could fill the exhaust with water and flood the engine internally.

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk

 

[racerxxx]

Oh, no raves on the 720

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk

 

[Littleboots]

Need some help here. Cleaned carbs and putting them back on but I made the mistake of not taking photos. Where does the throttle cable go/bolt on so I can route the throttle cable. You can see it hanging in the picture. Thanks.

Sorry I'm on my phone trying to post pics

 

[Littleboots]

Need some help here. Cleaned carbs and putting them back on but I made the mistake of not taking photos. Where does the throttle cable go/bolt on so I can route the throttle cable. You can see it hanging in the picture. Thanks.

Sorry I'm on my phone trying to post pics View attachment 26514View attachment 26514

 

[kurt83]

The bracket in your picture, on the end of your throttle cable, goes under 2 of the screws on the PTO carb diaphragm cover.

 

[Littleboots]

i tried that, but it seams like there is slack in the cable end. let me go back to seeing if I can figure it out.

 

[Littleboots]

Ok, I found out where that cable goes on the rear carb. However I'm running into a problem where the cable it connects to is on a white lever (in middle of picture) however the spring doesn't force it to return. Is it supposed to? it doesn't seem right as I feel the cable slack should be pulled back once you release it. Need any more pics?

I looked closer and it is the spring / cable that operates the oil pump. both oil lines go into this device

 

[kurt83]

If I recall correctly the throttle cable connects to the MAG carb.... The oil injection cable loops around and hooks up to the PTO carb

 

[kurt83]

It's hard to see in the pic but the leaver on the oil pump should point downwards.... It needs to be wound up like half a turn then hook up the cable... ( kind of tricky because of the tight spot) after it's all hooked up the lines on that arm and pump should be adjusted to match when the throttle is at idle.

 

[Littleboots]

Ya. My problem is the lever is up. How do I get it to go down? Remove spring and reattach? Tried pushing it down now and it doesn't seem to want to go.

 

[kurt83]

Remove the cable out of the leaver and rotate counter clockwise

 

[Littleboots]

I'll give that a try. Thank you Kurt!!

 

[Littleboots]

That's all finished and put back together. Just need some fresh gas and we'll see if she starts. Anything else I should check before I try and turn it over?

 

[kurt83]

Would not hurt to change those old 3/32 oil lines coming out of the oil pump and replace with some new tygon.... It's cheap insurance.

 

[macedonia64]

Check all the oil lines for cracks. Especially the small diameter lines going from oil pump to intake manafold.

 

[Littleboots]

I'll check those oil lines. I suspect something is up with them seeing there was oil in the bottom of the hull. however it could have also been the fact there was no clamp on the oil return line so it could have been oil was dripping out of there.

On a separate note. Any recommendations on where to buy parts like the Tygon oil lines, carb gaskets, etc. I'm sure you guys/gals have bought stuff from companies on here and had good results. I was on a separate forum for my golf cart and there was a few guys who were knowledgable and had reasonable prices. That golf cart has a Briggs and Stratton V Twin 640cc... that thing flies...and the aftermarket shocks, well I'm happy and that's my tow rig for the seadoos from the house to the dock.

Lastly, the yellow hood is a bit pitted and has little black specs. Can I wet sand the hood or will it take off the yellow? Think it will take off the black pits or is that under the original paint coming through? I tried hitting it with HD Cut but it just made it shiny. lol Didn't take the black flecks away.

 

[macedonia64]

Most old fashion hardware stores will have the tygon lines. They sell them for weedwackers. For the carb base gaskets ive been using blowsion.com they carry the nice thick ones. Might be me being over cautious but they are the closest to OEM ive found. Beware of the people selling gaskets on ebay. They buy sheets and cut them out with scissors. Wish I could say I dont know this from experience.... another common spot for the oil to leak is where the large diameter oil lines go into the cases. If the 45 degree fittings arnt tight in the orientation they need to be to connect the oil line they won't seal. Ive had good luck with the thread sealant sticks vs tape or thread sealant out of a tube. I like the functional roll cage on the cart. You dont see that everyday

 

[Littleboots]

Ok, So I have a grommet on order for the bottom of the oil tank (it leaks). I installed a hose clamp to the bottom oil line on oil pump as it was leaking. I pulled all the stickers, cleaned the engine compartment and have started on the exterior. Doing some research on the fiberglass and how to get the outline of the stickers and numbers removed. I'm thinking wet sanding is the only way seeing the HD Cut I got works great on oxidation but won't take off the ridge from the stickers. Have to patch a little fiberglass on the top as well.

Lastly, I used "Goof Off" on the side knee pads and the seat and it's cleaning them rather well. Any other recommendations people have for cleaning? I just ordered the rear shock boot and some material to re-upholster the seat.

Picture of a portion of the seat after using "goof off"

The shadows of the CF numbers and stickers I"m trying to remove.

 

[racerxxx]

Look at my HX resto HERE. If this is gonna be a flip I don't think you're going to recover what you will have into it time wise. Wet sanding the white is not a walk in the park. Kleen Strip lacquer thinner (from Home Depot) will smooth the rub rail from feeling like 100 grit sand paper from the UV just baking it. Just fold a paper towel up and saturate the PT and start to wipe the rails down, it will take some elbow grease, do not use the Crown brand Lacquer thinner from lowes, it just turned a black rub rail of mine gray-ish in color. Damn shame that black rubber around the knee pad is split, that's a pricey part to replace.

 

[Littleboots]

OK, Well I replaced the grommet on the bottom of the oil tank and it stopped the leak from there. so I closed the top of the seadoo to work on the body a bit and opened it today to find fresh clean oil coming to the front of the seadoo. I shine a light under there and put my phone in the bottom to take a picture and find not only some oil but also a gasket. This gasket has obviously been there from the previous owner but it's still in decent shape. Lovely. Anyone know where fresh oil could be coming from and possibly what gasket that is? I put a hose clamp on the bottom of the oil pump to hold that oil line from the tank on but apparently there is another area oil can seap out from. Any help is appreciated.