2002 X 20 question

[Mstone9942]

So I joined here toward the end of the summer last year and everyone was very helpful. Since then I have been away busy during the offseason here in TN. Spring will be here before long so now Im getting ready to get my boat in order.

End of last summer I bought a 2002 X 20. I normally wouldnt have bought it but I only paid 8k for it and the boats Merc Engine had been completely rebuilt in late 09 and had a reciept of almost 7k. I figured a boat with a motor with less than 3 summers on it at that price along with the following was a CRAZY deal. It came with a wake tower, wake racks and wake w/tower speakers and on top of that it had subs that had been installed underneath the back seats along with 2 amps and several mid speakers. My seats had been recovered yellow and look pretty new. However there looks to be a gap like a missing insert or something in between on the back in between the top of the seats on both sides of the middle back seat. Obviously a picture would help and I will work on that. I just ordered some hydro turf black on yellow diamond cut that should really make the inside pop. I also want to take the boat to a vinyl shop and get them to make me some new sea doo decals are faded and the factory X on both sides is cut up pretty bad and needs replaced. Also the back deck area vinyl behind the back seats rise when going down the river and gets alot of air inside it. I figured I might need to take it to someone that does trim work so maybe they could sow Seadoo in the center or maybe a big X that would match the sides.

Anyways, please give me some of your thoughts, ideas, etc...Will be much appreciated! Thanks in advance!!

Also I have seen where some of these boats have a ballest in them and it seems like I read where you can put them in the locker but maybe not. Anyways it sounds cool if it would make the boat have better wake but not at the expense of having no storage locker area.

Cheers!

 

[Igetwet]

Sounds like you got a pretty good deal! The one thing you need to check out on the motor tho is if the oil injection has been replaced/defeated. Do you mix the gas and oil? Being a 2002, you may have the newer motor that isnt prone to the deadly oil injection gear failure, but otherwise when i hear that a motor was rebuilt i immediatley think the oil injection must of went and toasted a motor. Post a pic of the engine too and we can tell you if you have the newer style injected motor or not. Other than that one issue on the older mercs theyre pretty much good bullet proof motors. Have fun with that thing!

 

[Mstone9942]

Will do I have a guy that has worked on Mercury V6 engines before when he worked at a PWC dealership so that helps. I will post some pictures in next day or so. If anyone has any cool ideas on any extras I should look at or any other customized stuff lets hear it! I'm open to suggestions. Thanks for reply

Cheers

 

[martinez_0n]

Mstone, can you also post a picture of your tower? I also have a 2002 and I'm looking for some ideas ..

Thanks

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[Mstone9942]

Mstone, can you also post a picture of your tower? I also have a 2002 and I'm looking for some ideas ..

Thanks

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

No problem! Im going to post a few pictures shortly if I can figure it out of my motor as well as the vinyl decals I am wanting to replace.

 

[Mstone9942]

How do u post pictures via mobile?

 

[martinez_0n]

I use tapatalk2 via my Android which allows you to add attachments from your pic gallery directly to the tread.



Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[racerxxx]

His tower should look like this on an X-20

Here's a few places and I think they have galleries with pics
http://www.monstertower.com/Home/Wa...Default.aspx?gclid=CJPI5bGqwLUCFUZa4AodkiIAKw
http://www.bigairwaketowers.com/towers/?_vsrefdom=AdWords&gclid=CL6GzrKqwLUCFcme4AodbA4AKQ

 

[Mstone9942]

Here is picture if motor rebuilt. The seats the picture barely shows the crack but in between the yellow and white cusion there is a noticeable crack where the material isn't flush with one another. Any thoughts or ideas of something I could get to push in between to give it more of a professional stock look? It's minor but still bugs me

 

[Mstone9942]

Yes my tower is that one except mine has wake racks in both sides and wake speakers on top

 

[Mstone9942]

Here is another shot of motor from other side along with a better shot of crack in between seat cusions I was referring to. Threw in a side shot with rails down as well

 

[Mstone9942]

Here is a shot of bumper trim on side. It's milky/chalky looking. Any ideas on how to clean it up around boat?

 

[Igetwet]

Hot boat! Your motor does use the crankshaft gear that drives the oil pump that is prone to failure. What happens is theres a plastic gear on the crankshaft that spins the oil pump, and this gear becomes stripped for whatever reason (high temp, prolonged high revs, who knows) resulting in the oil pump to stop pumping oil into the fuel which two strokes dont like at all. I can see from the pictures that the oil pump is still in place so I assume you're not mixing the oil into the fuel. I've read a couple places that mercury may of improved this gear making it stronger so it is possible that you're rebuilt motor has this new gear. Marinesolutionswi.com makes an aftermarket electronic pump that is reliable and that I had on my last engine and liked a lot. Basically you have 3 options
1. Hope the gear was replaced with a new gear made from better material and run it as is.
2. Remove the pump from the block, get the mercury pump block off part (I think it's about $15) and start mixing your fuel with oil
3. Get the aftermarket electronic injection pump (convenience of oil injection is nice)

If you do a google search for mercury oil pump or gear failure you'll be able to find a lot of info on this. Not trying to scare you just make you aware. I've heard of some motors never having an issue with this for hundreds of hours and then I've heard of motors seizing up because of this after 4 hours of running. Either way you still made a good investment on a awesome boat!

As far as the rub rail get a buffer and wool bonnet on it and some buffing compound and buff it like the rest of the boat and it should clean up and bring the color back pretty well.

 

[Mstone9942]

Wow thanks big time for the info! I'm going to pass if along to my guy and see of he thinks if it has been upgraded or just replaced like it came stock. Bill from rebuild says cylinder numbers 2@6 had damage and it was caused by oil control cable from helm to oiler. Says engine tore down and inspected and engine will have to be replaced with long block. All parts transferred over to new long block. Starter, oil system and ignition system. Remanufactured long block installed. Sieler marine was brand of engine block.

Long block was 4200 by itself though. Nothing has went wrong with it since so hopefully its in relatively good shape. I am going to get my mechanic to look at everything and help him explain some things to me so I can keep a eye on things. I admit I don't know crap about boats besides the norm. Always been a Seadoo Jetski guy but when I ran into this I couldn't turn it down. Just think he had alot of potential and doubtful I would ever run across one for that price again. Thanks again for the input! I will try and buff the bumper trim like u said. I have buffed and waxed some of the bottom hull already because it was so oxidized when I got it. It still needs to be cleaned up more but its a process. If u or anyone else has any ideas about the upholstery seats let me know what you think. Surely there is something I can bridge in between the seat cusions to make it more flush. Just kinda sloppy work that bugs me.

Oh and anyone have any ideas for getting some new X 20 vinyl decals on the sides? Doesn't have to match OEM perfectly but would like for it to be close. Those on each sides along with the Seadoo in back need to be replaced. Thoughts? Ideas? I Welcome them...Anyways, Thanks again!!

Cheers

 

[Dr Honda]

The reason the oil gears give out, is when the engines start to overheat... the bronze bushings that the pump shaft ride in, will swell. When that happens... the pump shaft will bind, and the gear gets stripped.


I almost never recommend removing an oil injection system, because it will minimize plug fouling, smoke at idle, and lowered overall oil consumption. BUT... unless you have a 100% positive ID that the new style gear was installed... it's truly a ticking time bomb. When I rebuilt my Islandia engine... I installed the new fiber filled gear. AND... my engine threw a rod. So... it didn't have an oil issue. Because of that... I decided to keep my oil injection.


As far as the stickers... I'll be working on something in the next few days. I need to prototype a couple parts, and finish a couple sets of carbs in my shop... and then I'll start on them.

Finally... I'm not sure I'm looking at the right thing... but the gap on the bolsters is kind of normal. If you want to fill it in... just get a small yellow pad made up, and stuff it in behind.

FYI... Very nice boat!!

 

[Mstone9942]

Thanks! I'm not sure what your advising me to do on the oil injection though. Should I def consider having my guy install the new part? Ticking time bomb is not what I want to mess with. What's my safest route?

 

[Mstone9942]

Oh and how would he ID if a new style year has been installed? Was the fiber gear u installed that threw a rode was it the new style? I would like to avoid any trouble a smuch as I can. Otherwise I will just sell it and make some money off of it and not mess with the headache. I will do whatever I need to do to it though. Just want as much input as possible. The gap Im referring to is in between the white and yellow padding that gapped open and not flush. Sounds like u are looking at right thing though. Where should i look for yellow padding? Something curved or straight to push down in between would work even if it was black would be fine. Thanks again for u guys responses! This is a great forum for old and newbies. Oh and I order some hydro turf that will go on back deck and throughout boat. It should arrive by end of week. Here is sample

 

[Dr Honda]

Externally... you can't tell. All you can do is find the person who rebuilt your engine, and ask what gear was installed. Even if your mechanic has a bore scope... it would be very hard to tell on a gear with 3 years of use. But... with that said... if he has a bore scope... he can see if there is any signs of wear. If it looks good... keep the system. If it looks warn... pull it.

I don't like telling people what to do when it's a decision like this. You need to make up your own mind. The Merc oil system is known to fail, and it will take out the engine when it happens. The safest thing is to block it off, and run pre-mix. BUT... trying to properly mix 40 to 50 gallons of fuel is a TOTAL pain in the butt. AND... if you get a "Rich" mix in the tank... you will have to live with smoke and plug fouling issues until you burn all if it.


As far as installing a new gear... it's not really feasible. The plastic gear is on the crankshaft, and you would have to remove the engine, and split the cases to get to it.

What I was trying to say.... with my engine... the thrown rod had nothing to do with the "Gear" or lack of oil. From what I can tell... one of the bolts came out of the connecting rod, and it ate itself. (a fluke problem)

The Pad: Just get some yellow vinyl, and a hunk of foam, and make one. Since it's a filler... it doesn't even need to be nice. Just use some spray glue on the foam... and stick the vinyl on it. Then... stuff it in the hole. Personally... I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Mstone9942]

Found this on ebay. Says it was in a X 20. Where would the water pump though? Im confused on how this would work

 

[Mstone9942]

Sorry double post

 

[Mstone9942]

Oh and here is some pics of hydro turf I installed over the weekend

Before



After

 

[Igetwet]

Cant help you with the pump, but the hydroturf looks awesome!

 

[Mstone9942]

Thanks! I think it makes a big difference

 

[biffdotorg]

That turf looks great! We love ours in our X20. You will find it to be a great investment.

We also see the vinyl on the rear deck fill with air. Not much we can do about it, as it seems normal. We do cover the boat when towing down the road, so I don't worry about it then.

Two upgrades that we did were the two-step ladder and Cobra Fins. Us fat kids found that the one step ladder in deep water was difficult to get in the boat. Now with two steps, it is a breeze. It was an OEM replacement from the ladder manufacturer.

I ordered the Cobra Fins, which are very popular on the Yamaha Jet Boats. They tend to have worse low-speed handling than most seadoos. People argue over if they are needed, but I would say we have gained enough control that it was worth the money. Off power steering is better, and the rear end says planted when towing.

Have fun, i'm sure you will love your X-20 as much as we have. We still use the oil injection on ours. I suppose I will be the next guy to post on here how to rebuild their merc once it fails, but I will cross that bridge when it happens.

 

[Mstone9942]

Awesome man, thanks for the feedback! I was able to spray my back deck vinyl (since the vinyl was installed with a zipper around edge) with 77M multi purpose adhesive. It seems pretty tight now so we will see how it does once on water. Def interested in the cobra fins. Care to share a picture? I haven't taken ours out enough to know yet but I can see how the handling when off isn't the most desirable.

Does yours have one battery or two? I need some advice on which to have the knob turned to when running up and down the river and then just when the engine is off listening to radio. My CD player is connected to a couple amps and ran to multiple speakers. I've had some battery issues the one time we took it out last year though. I had it turned to both and my battery's went dead after a few hours. I was told something like I need to leave it on 1 always and only use 2 when my engine is off and then only use both when I absolutely have to in instances when my battery is low or something to that effect. Anyways thanks for the feedback!! Much appreciated