ok guys my buddy is checking out a 97 xp 800 and the guy told him it was flooded out and needs a rebuild ,the guys asking 500 bucks for it, not sure of any other info on it yet hes guna be bringing it to my place for me to check it out, what should i rebuild top and low ? or both ? new jugs? need some help hes guna be here with it this weekend all output needed
if it was flooded, yes, it needs a rebuild, or replacement, depending on how long it sat, and your mechanical background, will determine which route to go,, my guess would be assume the worst.
IMO, this ski if the engine is toast then its BARELY worth $500, if you don't have a background in these engines your at the mercy of your new best friend, the mechanic you plan to hire, and my guess is that you'll invest more in your ski in the end than you probably would have spent buying a working machine. The upside to that is that you'll have a machine that you KNOW is working, and likely with a new or 90% rebuilt engine.
In addition to that fact, the 97 xp 800 IMO is one of those models that really doesn't have all the great features that we love about seadoo, its under-powered for that hull, so you won't get a great hole shot, and it won't have much top end either. It is a good cruising ski but I wouldn't call it a wave jumper.
IMO, unless
1) u or your buddy has torn down these, or very similar motors in the past
2) you have a lot of time to kill the next 4 weekends and you've been looking for a "project"
3) you have a mechanic friend that works for beer and pats on the back,
your more likely to be disappointed with this purchase, than to be thrilled.
with all that said, if it turns out that it just needs a top end, battery and carb rebuild along with some TLC, your ahead of the game, but its very rare...
If it was me, my best offer would be $300 and if he doesn't' take it, walk away, its the only way you can guarantee that you will lose the minimum amount of money, if you determine the engine is toast and it will be too expensive to replace then at least you might be able to sell the misc parts & electronics and get your $300 back.
The cost of parts is one thing, but your average newb doesn't have the tools & experience to do an engine swap on their own, so you can expect some quite high labor costs, high shipping costs, unexpected delays, and a bit of frustration along the way.
