RESTO 1996 Seadoo HX for $300 that I got running. What now?

[noviceskier]

Okay, this is my first post and I don't want to waste of your time. I recently bought a 96 hx for 300 bucks bone stock. Guy said it ran when he parked figured it had to be more. All I have really done as of right now is clean the exterior and start working on the interior of the ski.

I my first assumption as always was to inspect the plugs. Plucked them out and they were brand new. No indication that they have been ran before, I either thought the motor was fried or it was something electrical.

Poured some lubricant down the cylinder holes and let it sit for about an hour. Turns by hand with ease, smooth as butter (without plugs in.) Put the plugs in and started turning it by hand and noticed that it was somewhat easy. After that I hooked up a battery; poured some more lubricant(used 2 cycle oil I mix for my weedeater.. lol)

Figured.. hell with it I'll hook up the battery and see what happens (no intention to start it either, I had no plugs in and carbs are as dry(or green) as a Texas summer.) Pressed the start button and each time I would press it, it would click; I figured it was just bad connection to battery since I'm using some old battery that I just charged with some duralast battery charger. I think after the 4th time trying it turned over, compression sounded strong.

Shooting up that oil on the freshly cleaned exterior hull lol. Let it do that for a little bit, not too long because I figured I didn't have too much life left on that battery.

Noticed that the driveshaft goes through the tank and figured I would want to hear the motor run for a second or two before investing some money into it. Got an empty water bottle and poured some premix down in the carbs. Pulled the choke, opened the throttle so the mix would drop down. Started on the second crank.

. Fuel lines are original and infested with green goo, figured carbs aren't too happy either so will be ordering OEM mikuni rebuild kits for both of them, I have already ordered fuel lines

Alright, so the interior of the ski is pretty filthy in my eyes so I figured some superclean and a pressure washer one the medium setting would clean it off pretty nice, and it did.

Not going to put power to the ski for a day or two in hopes of not hurting the 20+ yr/old wiring in her.

The rear of my ski is horrendous assuming since the shock cover is nonexistent the crud become friends with the oil over the years and decided to dirty it all up.

What should I do next? I got the fuel lines ordered and next will be the oem kit, what needs to be looked at/replaced?

I would like to continue using this thread as part of a progress meter, hope I did well as this was my first
post.
.

 

[mikidymac]

Awesome buy for $300.

Your first check should be compression before spending a dime.

Strong battery and throttle wide open and crank until the gauge stops climbing. You want 150 on each cylinder.

Report back and we’ll go from there.

Do not jump it or use a boost box to crank it over.

Here’s my $250 HX after lots of hours, full restoration and about $1K. I’ll help you through yours.

You can find my resto in my signature.

 

[noviceskier]

Awesome buy for $300.

Your first check should be compression before spending a dime.

Strong battery and throttle wide open and crank until the gauge stops climbing. You want 150 on each cylinder.

Report back and we’ll go from there.

Do not jump it or use a boost box to crank it over.

Here’s my $250 HX after lots of hours, full restoration and about $1K. I’ll help you through yours.

You can find my resto in my signature.

WOW.. awesome hull. Making me feel ashamed how mine looks right now lol. Alright I'll go to autozone to see if they have the gauge to go test my compression. On other posts/sites I heard the range is 130-150 anything below would be top-end. Correct? Anywho I plan to go to walmart today and try that superclean that was recommended on this site. I don't like how it's still dirty, did you take everything out to get it that clean? I plan on just sacrificing a shop-vac and my knuckles to get it clean

 

[mikidymac]

Mine started as bad or worse than yours.
Here is the build thread 1996 HX.

Perfect compression is 150/150 it will still run ok at 130 at 120 it probably will not start in the water. The biggest issue is you don't want the cylinders to be more than about 5 psi off between them or you have something wrong like a seized piston.

Superclean works good but it will take the shine off paint and wear gloves because i will make the skin on your hands peel.

Yes, my ski was stripped down to the bare hull and event he hood removed.

 

[noviceskier]

z

Superclean works good but it will take the shine off paint and wear gloves because i will make the skin on your hands peel.

I checked your thread on your restoration this morning, I love it. Only problem I have is not having a garage to store. As of right now I work on the gravel lol. But hey, it's been working for me.

After reading your thread on your HX I've been considering stripping it down to bare hull, only problem is I just doubt myself and my ability to assemble it all back together properly. I'm figuring, semi-restoration; I would like to have the hull spotless as that is something that does bother me, without having to remove anything major.

I just picked up some superclean and some toilet brush thingy from Walmart about 20 minutes ago lol, do you know if autozone rents out a compression test gauge?

I will sadly, as of right now I won't be able to post any pictures of the before or my version of clean since my phone is still broken or whatever happened to it..

Judging by the pictures of the condition you got your ski, you defiantly got a ski in way nicer condition than mine lol, sitting under a tree and in East Tennessee it hasn't stopped raining lol.

 

[mikidymac]

So first of all keep the oil injection. It is super reliable on these skis and I don’t recommend removing it.

You are going to have to rebuild and clean the carbs, fuel selector are fuel strainer.

I can’t really tell what is going on with your carbon seal without pictures.

I also suggest replacing the driveshaft dampers. When they go and they will they will destroy the driveshaft and PTO that are getting almost impossible to find even used now.

Also service the pump as it has to come out to do the carbon seal and driveshaft dampers.

 

[noviceskier]

So first of all keep the oil injection. It is super reliable on these skis and I don’t recommend removing it.

You are going to have to rebuild and clean the carbs, fuel selector are fuel strainer.

I can’t really tell what is going on with your carbon seal without pictures.

I also suggest replacing the driveshaft dampers. When they go and they will they will destroy the driveshaft and PTO that are getting almost impossible to find even used now.

Also service the pump as it has to come out to do the carbon seal and driveshaft dampers.

Yeah I will be definitely be posting pictures when I am able to. Superclean, worked pretty nice on the hull. Removed the crud with ease. Will probably be using superclean on the hull every other day to try and get the spots I missed covered.

When I was digging through the ass of the ski found an assort of bolts and shims, some broken. Also what looked to be a broken stud. I would like to repaint my pipe on the ski purple again. But I am getting ahead of myself with the cosmetics for it. Compression test will hopefully be done tomorrow and with hopefully with good news.

As for the oil injection I saw one of the ID for the smaller lines is 3/32 tygon. So I got some on hold on my amazon cart. Any part number for the oil filter? I found one on amazon but would like to see if the part numbers match.



Also, sorry to keep on bothering you with this but, what is the procedure for bleeding the oil lines/system? Would you happen to know the ID of them? I would like to replace them but them seem to be in good condition but I don't trust myself.

I am assuming the fuel selector is acts like the petcock on quads and bikes. I will dig into that soon, the fuel strainer? Is it that cup where the fuel lines attach to above the intake? I trust your knowledge and saw that someone recommended removing the small fuel filters in the carbs and adding an inline filter before the T in the lines. Is this a smart thing to do? I was wondering if having all three would work on it.

 

[mikidymac]

I see the gray fuel lines so those have to be replaced asap.

Do not install an in-line fuel filter or remove the little carb filters.

The 3/32" oil line is also available at Home Depot in the plumbing section but is says small engine fuel hose. Also any mower shop will have it an you only need about 18" at most.

I would just leave the larger oil hoses.

Also consider your oil, do you know for sure it is the correct oil? If it is blue or green it is wrong. Now is the time to make sure it is the correct oil.

This is the OEM oil filter number 275000262 $12.00

I replace the entire strainer unit and yes it is the white bowl thing that the fuel hoses go into. THe entire thing is only $22 Number 275500088 .

I also replace the fuel valve like the ones on ATV's as when you try to clean them they suck ari and lean out the carbs and kill the engine $28 Number 275500098.

I only use OEM seadoo parts since I have seen way too much of the crap chinese parts cause problems and for the most part the OEM stuff is almost the same price and will probably last another 20 years.

 

[noviceskier]

I see the gray fuel lines so those have to be replaced asap.

Do not install an in-line fuel filter or remove the little carb filters.

The 3/32" oil line is also available at Home Depot in the plumbing section but is says small engine fuel hose. Also any mower shop will have it an you only need about 18" at most.

I would just leave the larger oil hoses.

Also consider your oil, do you know for sure it is the correct oil? If it is blue or green it is wrong. Now is the time to make sure it is the correct oil.

This is the OEM oil filter number 275000262 $12.00

I replace the entire strainer unit and yes it is the white bowl thing that the fuel hoses go into. THe entire thing is only $22 Number 275500088 .

I also replace the fuel valve like the ones on ATV's as when you try to clean them they suck ari and lean out the carbs and kill the engine $28 Number 275500098.

I only use OEM seadoo parts since I have seen way too much of the crap chinese parts cause problems and for the most part the OEM stuff is almost the same price and will probably last another 20 years.

I've done some digging about all this and your advice is getting my pretty confident in my ability to get the ski running. (That picture I used was from your thread) My fuel lines are in worse condition and the green goo is terrible, lines are as stiff as a fossil.

The oil is greenish-blue, wondering if I could just use a turkey baster and suck up the bad oil and replace it with the proper oil? I downloaded the service manual and it says the oil it uses is XP-S 2 stroke synthetic from bombardier.

Also, jet pump oil; called for SeaDoo Synthetic Jet Pump Oil 293600011, once I get the carbs rebuilt and fuel system serviced I will look into servicing the pto and back of the ski.

Thankyou for helping me, I had no idea what I was getting myself into because HXs are rare to see in my area, and for $300 I couldn't beat it. Also, thanks for providing the part numbers too. Driveshaft dampers are next on my list. Seems like the owner didnt grease it often as too. Tonight I will plan to update what I have posted with pictures of the ski in its current condition.

I plan to sacrifice some more cleaning utensils because I am still not satisfied with some parts of the hull.

 

[mikidymac]

That is the wrong oil and is pretty typical as a lot of idiots just go to walmart and buy outboard oil.

You can use any API-TC rated oil in your ski, Amsoil, Lucas or Seadoo and it doesn't have to be full synthetic. I have a bunch of seadoo's so to simplify I just use the Seadoo XPS E-Tec full synthetic in everything. You can get all your OEM parts and the full synthetic oil for $36 per gallon from Pro Caliber out of washington with free shipping over $99.

I would pull the oil tank and rinse out with gasoline. I would try to drain out as much oil as you can from the two lines running into the side of the engine block then use some fresh correct oil to flush out the remainder. Next reinstall the tank and a new oil filter then open the oil pump bleed screw and let it flow until you see the nice clean new oil coming out and you will be fine.

 

[noviceskier]

That is the wrong oil and is pretty typical as a lot of idiots just go to walmart and buy outboard oil.

You can use any API-TC rated oil in your ski, Amsoil, Lucas or Seadoo and it doesn't have to be full synthetic. I have a bunch of seadoo's so to simplify I just use the Seadoo XPS E-Tec full synthetic in everything. You can get all your OEM parts and the full synthetic oil for $36 per gallon from Pro Caliber out of washington with free shipping over $99.

I would pull the oil tank and rinse out with gasoline. I would try to drain out as much oil as you can from the two lines running into the side of the engine block then use some fresh correct oil to flush out the remainder. Next reinstall the tank and a new oil filter then open the oil pump bleed screw and let it flow until you see the nice clean new oil coming out and you will be fine.

Will do, just got back today and having any liquids evaporate from the ski (that my wipe and shop-vac couldn't get) noticed a small leak from the the oil line from the tank, gonna be pulling it when I get everything, for now I just put some papertowels in there so the cleanish hull doesn't get oily again.

Went on Sea Doo Parts - SeaDooWarehouse.com for the oem parts and everything you listed w/o oil is 87 dollars with shipping. Will try and get some pictures posted on the thread tonight.

 

[mikidymac]

I would suggest getting new rubber grommets for the oil tank, there are two, number 293720008. That is typically where the oil leaks come from, not the hoses.

The Seadoo synthetic oil is 779127 price has gone up and is $42
Or seadoo standard oil 293600118 at $27

I'm not exactly sure what you are doing with the shop vac but your ski has a drain plug at the back so just position it nose up when rinsing so the nasty water drains out.

 

[noviceskier]

I'm not exactly sure what you are doing with the shop vac but your ski has a drain plug at the back so just position it nose up when rinsing so the nasty water drains out.

Drain plug would clog with all the leaves inside the hull, would rather shop vac the water out along with the leaves and not deal with clogging every couple minutes.

Going to use the synthetic oil since I the ski has been running on incorrect oil, placed the grommets in the cart (thankyou for giving pn) Seems like whenever the lines was tightened it was pinched, could have tore a bit bit and and contributed to the leak.

Here is the cart and what it is looking like right now. The rest is going to be ordered through amazon.

 

[mikidymac]

I would also add the o-ring for the jet pump cone, 293300011.

And 2 of the oil tank grommets.

 

[noviceskier]

Got the pictures!!

Here is one of the engine bay when I got it


Here is the current condition of what it looks like



You can probably see it but



Crack only on inside, not visible on outside. Does not appear to have been patched either so I can safely assume it hasn't majorly damaged(ish)

You can also see the oil leak coming from the tank bad grommets pointed out by miki


You can also see the bad blue/green oil coming out of the tank too.



Plan on replacing but not my top priority.

Will be repairing this though (underneath kneepad)


Going to need someone to give me an opinion on this though



Here is what the exterior looks like before I attempted to clean it.





Here is the current state of the exterior (got some dirt, oil, and grease on it again from cleaning the outside)

 

[noviceskier]

ran into attachment limit lol




definitely want to wetsand and liven up the foot wells. But I don't want to remove those graphics. Unless I can buy exact (not close) matching graphics, no clue why i like them so much even in the condition they are in.



Anywhere to buy pink shock cover? Also need to remove my seat and clean underneath but will do that when I buy replacement from blacktip.



Gray tempo lines



Tried Cleaning the rear as best as I could, my hands are too big to get into those smaller spaces and brush away the crud. Will try at it again with more superclean and tooth brushes.

 

[mikidymac]

I would try the carbon seal before you replace it as it doesn’t “look bad”.

If there’s no damage under the ski I don’t know how it would have cracked on the inside but I would repair it.

For the seat cover I would spend the money on JetTrim as the Black tip are fin for s flip ski but not that great for a keeper. Same for traction mats, go HydroTurf from PEC Muscle with forum discount.

I was able to save my graphics because I love OEM look too.

The pink shock boots are gone but WSM makes good aftermarket black ones and is your only option.

PWC Graphics does make a graphic kit for the HX and he does great work but I haven’t actually seen them first hand.

 

[noviceskier]

I would try the carbon seal before you replace it as it doesn’t “look bad”.

.

Alright, is I am going to a buddies house to use his grease gun and use some multipurpose water resistant grease. I forgot what post I read but I heard don't pump till grease comes out because I'm chancing blowing a seal? I've never had to look for that before. I would just pump till some comes out.

If there’s no damage under the ski I don’t know how it would have cracked on the inside but I would repair it.

.

Yeah very odd, there are definitely some scratches (watts bar has some rocky banks assuming the previous owners just rode it on bank scratching. Also seem liked to go 30 and just aim for the bunks.

Shame, I really like the pink shock cover. Yeah I am probably gonna keep the faded and tore graphics. love the look. This is pretty much my first attempt on doing some work on a ski, all my other ones were just cosmetic and swapping out parts.

 

[mikidymac]

Only give it a pump or two of grease as it is pretty easy to pop the seal out and it doesn't require a lot of grease.

BTW: that is the carrier bearing that you are greasing and has nothing to do with the carbon seal.

 

[noviceskier]

BTW: that is the carrier bearing that you are greasing and has nothing to do with the carbon seal.

10-4 miki

 

[wolftalk]

the manual I have for the 1996 hx with 717 engine says you use the non-synthetic oil in it. Seadoo's is a golden color. The synthetic years ago was also gold, but is now red.

one suggestion before you spend a lot of loot on cosmetic things is to get the ski running and take it out.

the hx is a narrow, tippy, gonna get wet racing ski. Most people have trouble getting onto it unless you are nimble, have great balance, or can go wide-open throttle from the left side and have the ski pull you up onto it - which is the easiest way once you get the hang of it … it's just those no-wake zones.

having said that ... it's also a lot of fun unless you just want to cruise around slowly. Two smaller people on it is possible, but it's really a one person toy.

 

[noviceskier]

the manual I have for the 1996 hx with 717 engine says you use the non-synthetic oil in it. Seadoo's is a golden color. The synthetic years ago was also gold, but is now red.

one suggestion before you spend a lot of loot on cosmetic things is to get the ski running and take it out.

the hx is a narrow, tippy, gonna get wet racing ski. Most people have trouble getting onto it unless you are nimble, have great balance, or can go wide-open throttle from the left side and have the ski pull you up onto it - which is the easiest way once you get the hang of it … it's just those no-wake zones.

having said that ... it's also a lot of fun unless you just want to cruise around slowly. Two smaller people on it is possible, but it's really a one person toy.

haven't spent a dime on cosmetics yet which I'm proud of because this ski is just beautiful to look at compared to my others from the same time period, also just drained out the twc-30 (blue) oil from the ski, also really good to know I don't need to use synthetic. Although I will probably use it for the first couple of tanks since it was ran with the incorrect oil.

 

[noviceskier]

Finally Some New Progress!!

First off, I had some cheap picks and after constant breaking I got some quality one from the mac tools truck.
These things really helped getting those oem clamps off and removing of the rock hard fuel lines.


Cleaned up the 90 fitting with some pipe cleaner.

The lines I used are very good quality but once I start using them I will give my actual review.



No zip-ties on the fuel strainer because I'm still waiting to order it along with the rest of what I need.
(Also gonna replace the last gray fuel line with I take off the carbs)



Used some painting markers to mark which lines wen't where on the fuel selector valve.

Got some residue on my hand and didn't realize till I saw it all over the engine bay.



How are zipties too? I had an assortment of hose clamps but none of them were short enough, I did some testing tugs to see if they would budge and didn't.



Having a hard time getting this grommet back in. Any tips?



Fuel selector valve is shot I would send it to someone for free if they are interested since I've seen them be rebuilt but I goobered up the brass trying to get it loose since it was glued by nature to the hull.



Used some rust-away and it actually worked getting the knob and plastic nut free!



Where the airbox was it is still very dirty, going to use some duck tape and plastic bags to seal off the filter and some super clean to wipe it all off. (you can also see some paint from my palm lol, wipes off easily too so no need to worry on my end.)



Siphoned out the incorrect oil too, will be flushing out with gas when the grommets and correct oil come in. Any chance any of you could show me where the oil bleed valve is on the 717? Another idea would be just to use the same siphone I used to suck all the oil out; couldn't I just attach it the the nipple of the valve and suck it up till the good oil comes through?



Next will be the carbs! The oem kit comes Monday

 

[jts32]

Novice, have you checked compression yet? I love your enthusiasm for fixing up your ski, but want to make sure you aren't getting the cart in front of the horse. You are starting to invest time and money into it already, but are you willing to invest more if the motor isn't healthy? Hate to see you put money into it now only to realize it needs significantly more stuck into it, and it's more than you are willing to spend. Not trying to be a downer, just trying to help

 

[noviceskier]

Novice, have you checked compression yet? I love your enthusiasm for fixing up your ski, but want to make sure you aren't getting the cart in front of the horse. You are starting to invest time and money into it already, but are you willing to invest more if the motor isn't healthy? Hate to see you put money into it now only to realize it needs significantly more stuck into it, and it's more than you are willing to spend. Not trying to be a downer, just trying to help

Thankfully I am not using this ski to flip and plan to keep it for the long haul, went to autozone and they wanted $40 to rent, although renting vs rebuilding entire motor is understandable. Asked one of my work buddies if I can borrow his and I am just waiting for him to bring in most likely monday.

Crank feels good when I turn it by hand so from my limited knowledge rebuilding the top end doesn't sound terrible? (aside from bad crank seals) I got two running skis already and plan on taking them out tomorrow actually lol.

Thankyou for your response and helpful feedback though! I know it's my bad for not doing that as soon as I picked up the ski, I got it to run on premix but all that tells me is it runs.

Luckily when I estimate my projects like these I allocate some wiggle room cash just in case I run into anything that isn't in my favor. Thankfully as of right now I would be able to afford rebuilding the motor, and plan to have ski on water in the next week or two if the motor is truly healthy. (Not including the time it will take for me to wetsand and repair any exterior cosmetic issues.)

If not.. I'll be riding my Kawasakis for this summer lol

Also bonus for you and miki, if motor does blow up in my face you have the i told you so in storage!