97 GTX Mini Restoration - Keeping The 2 Stroke Alive!

[1of500]

Grease it up it will fit. She didn't believe me either. I put the 518 around the cone oring and some on the outside of the press in seal on the impeller side. I have never had a leak in one yet (knock on wood)

 

[digital sol]

Grease it up it will fit. She didn't believe me either. I put the 518 around the cone oring and some on the outside of the press in seal on the impeller side. I have never had a leak in one yet (knock on wood)

Ok thanks, I do still have the stock impeller boot which has a must larger inner diameter where the splines/shaft gets pushed through as well. The stock impeller boot is a two piece design where as the one that came with the solas prop is a 1 piece

New boot on left, stock on right

 

[digital sol]

I got the pump on after a little work. I ended up using some rim spacers to hold the prop/shaft up higher inside the ski to make it easier to line it up. After that it slid right on.

I did run in an issue though ....Apparently the pump housing has a broken tab/insert for the bolt? I have a picture of it below but basically the plastic section it threads into is gone. I never noticed this before and definitely didn't notice it when removing the pump originally. The bolt was covered in sealant so I am curious if the last shop that worked on it just filled that area with sealant and only installed/threaded the three bolts? I am going to see if I can just throw a nut on it because I am short on time and that would be a huge PITA to start over again.

Anywho after I get that last bolt on the rest will finish up in notime. Tomorrow will be another polish/wax night so many pictures of the outside to come!

 

[digital sol]

Welp I finally got the outside finished. I tried to heavy cut and still had some sanding marks in some areas so I went back and hit it with 1k, 1500 and 2k and then hit it with a heavy cut, washed it then a medium cut + wash and then swirl remover & then jetseal sealer then meguiars yellow tech wax. I might throw one more coat of wax on it but I moved onto installing the mats now. Its night and day difference, i cant remember the last time it was this white or smooth. It really was a pain in the ass sanding but the end result was worth it. I will point out I sanded wrong in some areas, make sure to always sand in the same direction...thats why I had some scratch lines still showing after heavy cut. I went back and wet sanded those areas again and its perfect now.

I am installing the mats now & then hopefully installing my carbs. I fought them trying to install them last night on my own and managed to break a gasket...luckily I have a replacement set but they are not as thick as the ones I had the first time. I think one set came with a top end gasket set & the other came with the carb rebuild kit. Its just hard to hold both in place with one set of hands and thread them in without moving the gaskets around.

Things Left:

-Install Mats
-Install Bilge Pump "looking at placement options"
-Install Carbs/intake
-Figure out fuel lines for carbs
-Add fluids "Premix gas/Oil"
-Find a chemical to clean up the pink paint I spilled inside the hull, its an epoxy paint.

Then fire it up and check for leaks/set idle on carbs















Here you can see how yellowish the center box is, I didnt sand this or wax it yet. Im going to do this later as I forgot about it entirely LOL






















Still looking at where to install this bilge pump..I want to put it where the factory plastic box dealio is buuuut it dosnt really fit there well.

 

[mikidymac]

If everything is working correctly there is no need for a bilge pump on a 3 seater unless you leave it in the water for long periods of time.

 

[digital sol]

If everything is working correctly there is no need for a bilge pump on a 3 seater unless you leave it in the water for long periods of time.

Its really just an extra safety feature just in case. We do typically prefer to just anchor it out in front of the dock even overnight for days on end when we go down to the lake for several days because the lake regulations made us put the sea doo lift basically behind the dock which makes it hard for people to park it. Its pretty close to the cables and such..i typically am the only one that parks it so anchoring it out front makes me way less worried about someone driving it into the dock or the shore lol

 

[1of500]

I got the pump on after a little work. I ended up using some rim spacers to hold the prop/shaft up higher inside the ski to make it easier to line it up. After that it slid right on.

I did run in an issue though ....Apparently the pump housing has a broken tab/insert for the bolt? I have a picture of it below but basically the plastic section it threads into is gone. I never noticed this before and definitely didn't notice it when removing the pump originally. The bolt was covered in sealant so I am curious if the last shop that worked on it just filled that area with sealant and only installed/threaded the three bolts? I am going to see if I can just throw a nut on it because I am short on time and that would be a huge PITA to start over again.

Anywho after I get that last bolt on the rest will finish up in notime. Tomorrow will be another polish/wax night so many pictures of the outside to come!

There's a square nut that goes in there iirc

 

[digital sol]

There's a square nut that goes in there iirc

Ha, must be mia. Thanks for the info I ended up throwing a nut on the back of it.

 

[1of500]

Ha, must be mia. Thanks for the info I ended up throwing a nut on the back of it.

Good call I've had to do it as well.

 

[digital sol]

Well I finished everything up, added 5 gallons of premix, added oil to the oil tank, tried to start her over but no dice. All i get is clicking from the starter solenoid. I took a screwdriver and crossed it against both post and it sparks but dosnt try to crank at all. 0 noise from the starter or engine.

My voltmeter is broken & my battery charger states the battery is good however I am charging it again anyways. The battery did sit for a while 5+ months so it could just be a battery. My other concern is maybe painting the block is screwing up the ground on the starter but its a PITA to get to without removing the carbs which I would prefer not to do at this point.

If the battery is the culprit what is the recommended brand I go with? I might pick up a voltmeter tomorrow to check the battery & voltage at the starter post. I ran out of daylight this evening. Or ill just snag a battery and if its not the culprit return it later.

Is this brace necessary? Ill need to find the two bolts that go from the brace to the exhaust manifold.







Starter Solenoid:

 

[digital sol]

I wanted to also note I still get the 12v low indicator as soon as I plug the key on the ski which is leading me towards the battery as a culprit. So I got bored after dinner and took off the negative cable and power cable to the starter. The negative cable feels a bit crusty so I am replacing it. The power cable feels fine but the stud for power off the starter as shown below looks a bit odd to me. Here is a picture of all the junk on the stud in the order it was installed from bottom to top. Im going to grab a voltmeter tomorrow to test the battery and/or just replace it after I replace the ground & retest. Currently looking up battery replacement options.



Stud for power in reverse "girlfriends makeup mirror is perfect for working on jetski" Yes its an SBT starter however I purchased that last summer and only put a couple hours on the ski since then.


Old Ground on left, new ground on right. The new ground has been crimped with a weather jacket over it but I wrapped it anyways.

 

[digital sol]

Ordered or purchased the following

-replacement starter solenoid "nice to have a spare and only $20 on amazon"
-starter rebuild kit
-replacement bendix for starter
-voltmeter

I had my battery dropped off earlier to be tested/load tested. I am going to rebuild my oem starter as well so I have a spare just in case the sbt starter is already toast or so I have a spare handy since it seems from the reading I have done sbt starter's don't seem to last long.

I'll have a better idea tonight once I find out the status of the battery and test voltage while starting at solenoid & starter

 

[mikidymac]

Yes, you have to have that brace on the carbs. It prevents the intake manifold from cracking.

My money is on the junk SBT starter if your battery is good. I wouldn't bother rebuilding it as they are junk. You are better off finding a used OEM starter and installing new brushes.

 

[digital sol]

Yes, you have to have that brace on the carbs. It prevents the intake manifold from cracking.

My money is on the junk SBT starter if your battery is good. I wouldn't bother rebuilding it as they are junk. You are better off finding a used OEM starter and installing new brushes.

Ok thank you very much, Ill track down those bolts or order replacements today. I am really hoping the sbt starter is alright since I only have maybe 10 starts on it from last summer when it was purchased but we shall see. I kept my original starter so I am going to rebuild that one. My oem starter is rusted up pretty bad but the kit looks like it includes everything to get it squared away

 

[digital sol]

Well the SBT starter was rusted and toast already. I ordered a venom starter and installed it until I have time to rebuild my oem starter. I just wanted to say thanks for all the help! Not lake tested yet but shes ALIVE! I cant thank you guys enough. I will post up next week after I get some lake time on her and verify all is well in the water but so far so good.

I had a big leak at the exhaust gasket on top but removed the pipe a little and used red high temp sealant and retested yesterday without issues. I powered it down and started it again and it fired over in less than a second! Its never started that easily

Engine idle was about 3k out of water on the hose but I will take a look & adjust it as needed once Its in the water next Friday "before restoration it was like 800-1k in water and stumbled". I plan to take it out and take it easy for a few minutes then check the plugs. Then I will rip on it WOT and cut the engine then pull plugs and check them just to make sure everything looks good. I will say that in the past after running idle for a few minutes the plugs would be black & oily. I ran it on the hose for a few minutes and pulled the plugs and they were only a light brown and clean! It also appears my gas gauge is working after the fix earlier in the restoration so a huge plus there! Saved about $150


I will post up sometime this weekend, maybe shoot a quick video of her!

A few questions:

1) One thing I noticed and was curious about...the rear steering nozzle is connected but it has some play and rattles when I start up the ski. Is this normal? Should there be some play in the steering nozzle? I dont remember if that was something that was happening before or not off hand.

2) The oil line that comes off the top of the oil tank that also has a 1 way breather valve. Should this line be filled with oil up to the valve? I see the oil in the line but when it gets closer to the tank there is an air pocket or lack of oil traveling the entire way to the tank. I run premix but was curious of this oil line. Its the line thats connected on the exhaust bottom side of the engine and goes straight up to the valve on top of the oil tank.