RESTO 1997 Seadoo Spx Restore/ Rebuild

[stovetop19]

Hey guys! I'm new to the seadoo forum. I'm a certified motorcycle mechanic for a kawasaki and suzuki dealership in northern texas. I graduated school a year ago and had a big interest in the Jetski world, also our main jetski tech quit and I was asked to help in the jetski repair and maintenance . :drool5: Long story short, in order to improve my understanding and experience as I pursue my career (and to get me a new toy) I purchased my own jetski, a 1997 Seadoo spx 787cc. Got it for $250. Hull looks good and everything is there minus a trailer and keys.

 

[Dr Honda]

Congrats, and welcome.

Post a few pics when you get a chance.

 

[sselzer]

Keep us posted.

 

[stovetop19]

Sorry computer died last night and was not able to continue my story haha...... anyways I got the funds together to get it all started in the last month or so. I've gotten keys programmed, found me a little single trailer and added a towing package to my camry to pull it around. I ordered a new engine, pump rebuild, seat cover, floor mats, and any additional intallation parts from SBT along with all the special tools. I started pulling it apart to prep it for the rebuild..... here is where I'm at so far.

 

[stovetop19]

This is how I purchased it

 

[stovetop19]

Heres where I'm at as of yesterday

 

[stovetop19]

As of yesterday continued. Sorry some the the photos are sideways.....Im working out the kinks with the uploader tool.

 

[RebuiltSeadooBaffles]

Looks just like mine, in need of TLC and a engine

 

[stovetop19]

Looks just like mine, in need of TLC and a engine

They're cool little boats! Yea the engine is a little hard to justify specially if your short on funds and time, but it has started getting warm and I sold my motorcycle and it was killing me not having a summer toy. Once I got the bug to get back out on the lake, I found ways to justify the cost :thumbsup::cheers:

 

[manolocross]

Cool lolls like your off to a good start!! This is the fun part I think... I am workin on the same exact ski... Gettin it ready. Will post a pic when it's done!

 

[stovetop19]

Cool lolls like your off to a good start!! This is the fun part I think... I am workin on the same exact ski... Gettin it ready. Will post a pic when it's done!

awesome!! looking forward to to seeing it, goodluck!

 

[stovetop19]

Well this morning was a great morning to come to work, arrived and this was waiting for me:drool5::drool5:

There are 2 more packages coming but this was the big one with all my new mechanical goodies!

 

[stovetop19]

Since I've ordered the new engine and parts from SBT, they require the old engine back for the core. Here is the removal of all my parts that are to be used on the new engine.

When removing the PTO flywheel, it was stuck on there pretty good:banghead:, the pipe wrench method SBT recommended did not work at all. Instead I used the Impeller removal tool and my air impact and got the whole thing hot with a torch and after some workin on it it came right off.

I purchased the Flywheel puller to remove the flywheel and it worked like a charm.

 

[IDoSeaDoo]

What was wrong with the old motor? Did you not even want to mess with it?

 

[stovetop19]

What was wrong with the old motor? Did you not even want to mess with it?

When i purchased the unit last year, it had already sat for several years with water in the engine. Then when I started to pull apart the motor to check for damage, the top end had 4 point seizures on both cylinders and pistons had rusted to the cylinder walls. Then i pulled out the motor to see if the crank would spin and it didn't at all by hand, with a pipe wrench i broke it loose only to have it grind as it spun. When I started running all the numbers of getting the crank and balancer rebuild/ bearing replaced, the top end redone/ replaced, all the gaskets and seals, I came to the conclusion that for all that time and money, it would be cheaper to just buy one from SBT with a 1 year warranty and know that everything is good to go.

 

[DA080682]

be careful with the non-genuine mikuni parts. Be sure to test, test, and re-test you pop-off after assembly and for leaks.

 

[stovetop19]

be careful with the non-genuine mikuni parts. Be sure to test, test, and re-test you pop-off after assembly and for leaks.

Thanks! I've been following the factory service manual pretty close on this one since its my first seadoo. It says exactly what you said, check 3 times for the pop-off, then check that there is no leaking @ 10 psi for 30 sec i think it was. Ill be cleaning out the carbs and going rebuilding them tomorrow, will let yall know how it goes!

 

[WhiskeyD]

Looks like you'll be in the water in no time. Your going to love that ski and probably get the itch to start modding after a few rides. If you haven't already check out the X4 thread http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?40696-The-X4-Thread Lots of good info if you scan through it

 

[manolocross]

Wow that is a great package there! Looks like you got every thing... Just one question, I see you got the oil pump block off kit. Why? Oil injection is so much better and you waste less oil! I bet someone told you the oil injection " is no good. You will blow your engine up!" I personally like the oil injection and the money it saves me on oil!

 

[stovetop19]

Wow that is a great package there! Looks like you got every thing... Just one question, I see you got the oil pump block off kit. Why? Oil injection is so much better and you waste less oil! I bet someone told you the oil injection " is no good. You will blow your engine up!" I personally like the oil injection and the money it saves me on oil!

Haha good eye!! Well honestly, I have mixed opinions on oil injection. when in working order they are great, no question there. But I've run into some failed (2stroke) oil pumps on some little suzuki 4-wheelers that I've rebuilt from the lack of lube. I was going to leave the pump on until I read on SBT's website that they recommend getting the blockoff plate and running Pre-mix incase to get rid of the chance of an engine failure do to a faulty lubrication system. And since they hold the "1 year warranty" on my new engine, I'm doing what they recommend as a just incase situation to cover myself. The pump will stay in my collection of parts just incase I have a change in heart or get tired of premixing!! :thumbsup:

 

[stovetop19]

Looks like you'll be in the water in no time. Your going to love that ski and probably get the itch to start modding after a few rides. If you haven't already check out the X4 thread http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?40696-The-X4-Thread Lots of good info if you scan through it

Thanks for the link!! Might have been a bad idea for my bank account haha I'll be honest, I havent ridden one of these x-4 boats before, it literally just happen to be something that popped up and was available and needed love. So I'm sure Ill be satisfied based on what everyone i talk to says about them and based upon all the talk on here about them. But if she ever starts to get boring, I'm sure I could scrounge together the funds for a little upgrade! :hurray:

 

[DA080682]

Haha good eye!! Well honestly, I have mixed opinions on oil injection. when in working order they are great, no question there. But I've run into some failed (2stroke) oil pumps on some little suzuki 4-wheelers that I've rebuilt from the lack of lube. I was going to leave the pump on until I read on SBT's website that they recommend getting the blockoff plate and running Pre-mix incase to get rid of the chance of an engine failure do to a faulty lubrication system. And since they hold the "1 year warranty" on my new engine, I'm doing what they recommend as a just incase situation to cover myself. The pump will stay in my collection of parts just incase I have a change in heart or get tired of premixing!! :thumbsup:

Good call on hanging on to the injection pump also be sure to keep the OEM drive. I had a ski that I bought with an SBT motor and the oil pump blocked off. I rode it that way for a season and over the winter put the pump back on. Sucks having one ski pre-mix and the others not. Also sucks if you do alot of distance riding and you have to fill up at Marina's. Most "failures" of the Mikuni pumps are actually lack of maintenance issues and not the pumps fault.

 

[stovetop19]

Good call on hanging on to the injection pump also be sure to keep the OEM drive. I had a ski that I bought with an SBT motor and the oil pump blocked off. I rode it that way for a season and over the winter put the pump back on. Sucks having one ski pre-mix and the others not. Also sucks if you do alot of distance riding and you have to fill up at Marina's. Most "failures" of the Mikuni pumps are actually lack of maintenance issues and not the pumps fault.

Yeah, I can agree with that, it isn't very often that they fail on their own, or possibly that just a line has failed. Once I get it on the lake, it won't take me long to decide if I dont like to premix it. The more I think about it, the more I'm not liking the idea of the block off plate haha

 

[Krispy]

I love to see build pics. Subscribed

 

[stovetop19]

I love to see build pics. Subscribed

Thanks! I hope to keep things interesting enough to check out for everyone!:thumbsup: