1996 Speedster Twin 787 - Help!

[Freefloatin]

Hey everyone!

I am looking at buying a 1996 speedster 787, first boat purchase ever. It had an issue where the boat was on the water and the right motor shaft coupling stripped out and the left throttle cable came lose.

Question 1 - Is the right motor shaft coupling an expensive part to replace? I have searched online and haven’t been able to find prices or a tutorial to fix this. Maybe it it is called something else’s? Cost estimate??

Question 2 - Is this a common fix? What would cause this to happen? I guess I am looking for other issues that is potentially linked to the issue.

Question 3 - Am I right to think that the throttle cable simply needs to be tightened to correct this? Or does a new cable need to be purchased? Price?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Freefloatin]

Anyone?

 

[snikwad003]

Sea Doo Jetboat Model/Year Engine Reference

That boat has 2 717 engines for your info. I'm guessing when you say drive coupling you're talking about the PTO flywheel on the rear of the motor, if so that is a fairly cheap part and easy to get off with the right chain wrench if it is indeed stripped out. If it's not stripped you can use a impeller tool. Stripped splines in the drive line are usually due to misaligned engines and/or never putting grease in the PTO. The drive shaft and/or impeller could be trashed also. Hard to say about the throttle cable, they don't generally pop off but I guess it could be adjusted so bad that it got that loose.

 

[Freefloatin]

Okay, that makes sense. I spoke with 7 shops this morning and only 1 shop will even work on it. They said parts are hard to find and to stay away from this model. Also, the shops said that these motors only last around 20 years and will likely need to be replaced soon, which costs around 2,000 a motor. They all recommended going with a 4-stroke. Per the shops, it is about a grand over priced. Any opinions????

The boat has new wear rings, one new impeller, new spark plugs, new battery, and recently tuned. The only thing that wasn't replaced was the coupling??? I have never worked on these things so I am not up to par when it comes working on them... However, I know I can get up to par quickly.

 

[snikwad003]

Parts are easy, idk about the price, we got no fotos and you didn't tell us the asking price. Shops not wanting to work on it is not surprising at all. $2000 for a 717 is one of the stupidest things I've heard quoted. If you need to rely on a shop then it's probably not for you, and a 4 stroke would be better for you cause that's what people will work on but it is far from cheaper. A sbt 4stroke rotax is $3k and you haven't even shipped it yet or sent back the old one. There are pros and cons to each but my reasons we're simple:
I am the mechanic,
2006 up speedster 200 with 430hp in good condition: $20k+
1997 Challenger 1800: $5k
Speedster motor: $3500
Challenger motor $900
At the time the truck wouldn't pull the speedster so I would have needed a bigger truck although I wound up with one anyway.
Me being the mechanic is a major piece of the puzzle. I'm not into paying somebody $100 an hour to read a manual and follow a procedure. A proper compresaion test would help you know the condition of the motors. But with no water test I would be offering a extremely low number unless the boat had a mirror shine on every surface and then I would still low ball especially with known problems.

 

[Freefloatin]

He is looking for $3,000 for the boat.