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1996 Seadoo Sportster

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Bobman13

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Hello all,

New to the Forum and New owner of a 1996 Sea Doo Sportster, I have a few questions

The Boat won't plane with 2/3 people in the boat unless you send one or both to the front until your over the hump, Is this typical or am I missing something.

Wear ring was just replace due to the above (before it wouldn't plane at all), Noticed impeller was a little dinge on the leading edge cleaned that up a bit, Curious on the skat trak Swirl impeller I believe the 15/20 is the one to get (any advise would be great on this prop choice, also looking for more bottom end)

Also I re-lubed the pump and it had a spring in it that went from the cap to the shaft bolt, and noticed that the there was forward back play (as in the impeller moved front to back inside the wear ring area making the impeller stick out 1/8 to 1/4 inch out of the pump.) Is that normal.

I heard of the scupper update anyone care to elaborate?

Any other mods / update I should do?

I'm sure its been beat dead about oil should I stick with the xps semi-syn or full syn or is there something else that you all use.

Haven't ran compression #s yet but will get to it this weekend but seems to run great.

Any help appreciated thanks in advance
 
Your carbon seal could be bad or need some adjusting. When it is bad, the impeller sucks air out if the hull and hits the impeller. When this happens you will cavitate. There are a fee tricks you can do to determine if this is the issue. Let us know if you are not familiar with them.
 
Well there's a couple of things you can do. The first will test to see if you need to replace the carbon seal. Put a generous dab of waterproof or marine grease between the carbon seal and the stainless ring, this will temporarily seal the air leak, if this fixes the problem you need to replace the carbon seal.

The second is a temporary/semi permanent fix, it should get you through the rest of the season. Put one or two cable ties in the bellows, this will give add pressure against the stainless ring.

Another thing you might try, it's worked for me in the past when the wear ring is glazed, put a dab of valve lapping compound between the carbon seal and the stainless ring, this should take the glaze off, I did this 3 years ago to my 96GTI, I haven't had a problem since.

Lou
 
Im going to order the sbt driveshaft bellow's carbon seal kit, and called impros up and will be ordering the 14/19 swirl. When I did the compression check I didnt open the throttle all the way up so potentially my compression will be around 130 ish. If I do decide to do the top end, I plan on using Weisco or pro-x any sugestions there?
 
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Those numbers are low. Try again with another gauge and remember you need to be wide open while doing it.

Those numbers mean its rebuild time if they are accurate.

From what I've been told by people driving these is that it will not plane with too much weight in the back.

500 lbs accross the back or 3 people is about the max before it will stop lifting just to get over the hump. (so I've been told)

Look at your carbon ring, Make sure its not dancing around all over the place.

Stick with regular xps oil. IF you want to switch, Drain it all and only use API-TC rated oil. Others that are rated tc w3 will destroy that engine in short order. (that's why I own a sportster as well :P ) Po used wrong oil...

So people. what is the scupper update ??
 
Any suggestions on the impeller choice?

Personally I think you are wasting your money with a performance impeller, very little bang for the buck, if you need to replace your impeller get a stock rebuild from SBT. From your compression readings it may be that low compression is your problem.

If you need to replace your carbon seal you can get the parts from this site just click SEADOO PARTS at the top of this page.

Also you need to be a little more patient about getting answers from this forum, it's all volunteer, you posted the question at 12:52AM and expected to get an answer by 6:02AM ????

Lou
 
Three different people have given you input. I'm confused as to the "Seeing as no one has any thoughts,,, ". Comment. What didn't you get help with?

Your numbers are low, talked about the carbon ring, impeller and the tricks you asked about.

What am I missing?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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Couple day have gone by without input not trying to stir any feathers just trying to get to the bottom of this before I give up and let it go to another home not interested if it can't even pull a tube at the moment, I do appreciate the info and so far I have done all the trick you suggested other than the zip tie mod which I haven't been able to test yet ( work gets in the way ), my compression is probably I little higher as I did not open up the throttle all the way but that will be in short order, read on here that the pump shoe was not sealed very well, so I've removed it cleaned it up and resealed per the manual. I'm not sure I throwing a performance impeller at it according to the one on skat track web sight I should be running a 15/20 but my call to Impros they suggested a 14/19 , wear ring and pump seal are new, current stock impeller is a bit chewed up on the leading edge that is the reason for replacement.

If a top end is in order what kit is the best for the boat?
 
Personally I wouldn't do just a top end, the boat is 18 years old, it the top end is tired the bottom end isn't far behind. I would just get a rebuilt short block crate engine. I have used SBT premium engine with great success, it carries a 2 year no fault warranty. Since you are in Idaho shipping may be a problem, and there is probably a reputable engine rebuilder closer to you.

http://www.shopsbt.com/mm5/merchant...1996-dspr&findcat=jet-ski-engines-crankshafts

Lou
 
Lou has very good 2-stroke knowledge as compared to my general over-all type knowledge. Knowing all that I have read and learned, I would also do more than just a top end. When an engine has many years, doing a top end seems to put an extra load on the bottom end. Then it is the big debate of,,, well,, I just did the top end, I really only need a bottom end. But,,, there is much more to it. Many parts are not replaced when you do either a top end or just a bottom end repair. So even if you did one and then the other, there are all the little parts that are 18 yrs old. So you get into gears, chains, tensioners, ect ect...
 
So finally got to try the zip ty mod, no help, compression is 130 on mag and 133 on pto, also tried the greases in carbon seal cavity no help there either, called Impros ordered the 14/19 swirl as they suggested it will be by Friday also order the sbt carbon seal kit should be here Friday as well. I can't see throwing a engine rebuild at it just yet as it runs fantastic. If I do go the rebuild route any one here dealt with fullbore they seam to be legit.
 
When I first got my 97 challenger the engine was jimmy rigged to pass inspection and when I put it in the water it blew within 5mins. I researched all my options and spoke to full bore reps over the phone and due to legal issues I did not send them my engine... I had to get it fixed here in Canada but sorely regret not sending them my engine as it blew yesterday 25 days after a complete rebuild.

That being said here getting the complete rebuild done was very costly almost 3 times what full bore charges and as far as I'm concerned they seem to have a solid rep and their 2 year no-fault warrantee is awesome also I had called them in July and they told me they were so backed up with complete rebuilds that delivery date was in October. IMO that says a lot about them right there and if I had to have an other rebuild done I'd quickly ship them my engine.

Gl with your boat!
 
Dan @ Fullbore is the man , also the guys at Impros are stand up and I truly do not believe either one would sell you something that was not an improvement for your application.
Done business with both , just make sure you put some grease in that prop before you install it.
 
Well in the quest to fix my planning issue ( the lack of planing with more than 1.5 people) / cavitation issue with a bit of help from forum members here and there advise Thursday finally got all the parts in order, so here is the break down of mods/repairs with results:

Ride plate re-seal no help in but needed
Neoprene seal replacement no help
Wear ring replacement helped but not as much as I expected
Carbon seal zip tie / grease / valve grinding compound trick no help
Carbon seal replacement no help
Call to Impros and 14/19 swirl impeller replacement solved the cavitation / planing /towing issue.

Now the impeller and wear ring were a must but were complimented by the the carbon seal replacement. After comparing old to new it was not needed. Now I'm able to haul 4 adults plus a mini-me without problems.

I have a a bobble from idle to 1/4 - 1/2 throttle that needs addressing

Non related updates were:

Scupper update absolutely needed for water ingress from old flapper design.

Future / updates:

Bumper trim update would like to replace the weathered old teal to black or yellow
Seat recovering / foam seat replacement
Front seat cubby (enough to store anchor / tow rope)
Bimini top
Hull clean up / buff

Compression is 130/128 but boat runs excellent.
Will be doing a top end via fullbore over winter bottom end is in excellent order new rebuild including hot rod crank 2 years ago found receipt in the paper work from P.O.. Carbs will be rebuilt during this time.
 
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Well first thing I can think of is to add a tach and an info center. The wiring is all there already for those.

Or get a 2-3 gauge hood and add a speedometer as well. All the wiring is already there and the info center is a plug and play thing with a 6 wire connector. The only thing you need to modify is two wires after that.
Its for the 12v warning and overheat warning light . Luckily you can get both of those feeds from the Beeper :)

On mine I put a 4 light fuel/oil/batt/temp gauge where the fuel gauge was and the tach up in the empty spot on the cover.
You cannot put the info center where the fuel gauge was though. Mainly because the info center is 2 inches longer and doesn't fit in there. Me being stubborn I cut a recess there for it to fit but it would have been better the other way around.
The front seat is pretty stiff. Replace that with some better foam.
Add two more small bilge pumps near the rear drain holes as there is always water getting in there that doesn't drain out.



At those compression readings keep an eye on it. Chances are its a combination of blowby and pitting on top of the piston which means the pistons will come apart eventually.

When you finish your ride each time I recommend fogging the cylinders and anything metal around the engine. Also take a look at the PTO flywheel and spray some fogging oil on the back of it.
The seal can be damaged if it rusts.
Mine started rusting after the first night in the boat after rebuild since I missed one spot while painting.


It seems like your original impeller was cavitation. As in the leading edges of the impeller were not efficient enough or damaged causing gas formation at the tips and the resulting no thrust condition.

How much throttle and how long does it take to get it to plane now ?
 
It plane's at just over 1/2 throttle and I can leave it there and cruise with no issues lost a little speed but not enough to care.

I agree about the stock impeller it did have damage but I cleaned it up even tried a repitch and no help so I'm going to send it Impros for a referb.

If I could find a three gauge hood with gauges I'd do the mod in the heartbeat but don't want to pay an arm and a leg for it. If anyone's got one let me know.

I already have the foam for the cushion but I going to try to cut a access/storage hole under it not sure if I'm going through with it yet but it's an option,

Also going to get the hydroterf matting kit as it's better on the knees.

Anyone had luck with removing the old egg carton foam and installing dynamat for a little more sound suppression?
 
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