Advice on Challenger 180

[kilty123]

Last weekend I bought a 2007 Challenger 180 that has zero hours on it and never been in the water. The previous owner kept it in his garage so it's in pristine condition. He has been trickle charging the battery.

I'm considering just making sure the oil & coolant are OK and getting it in the water. Is this advisable or should I have it checked out by a dealer first?

Thanks

 

[Craigmri]

Kilty,

I would check the oil and the coolant level. Test fire the boat in your driveway to make sure everythings a go. You can run it for a few seconds without a hose connection so dont worry. If she fires up you know when you launch it at the lake it'll start up.

Before launching make sure the bilge plug is installed(easy to forget on a new boat) and back it down the ramp but do not release it from the trailer for several minutes. What you want to do is since the boat has never been in the water you need to be certain all the fittings and so forth are good. After several minutes example the bilge through the engine hatch door and if all is dry then release from trailer and start her up but stay close to the dock to be 100% sure all is good. There have been reports of new boats having QC issues with hoses popping off and the like.

Now.....Even though your boat is new you have a problem that you probably are not aware of. In 2007 they used ceramic washers in the supercharger. These are prone to fail and when they do they can cause massive engine failure. You will want to have the ceramic supercharger washers replaced with the new Steel washers. I would do this at the 10 hour service.

Finally, if you hate your boat please sell it to me!!! I want a C-180!!!

Craig

 

[kilty123]

Thanks a lot for the advice Craig - makes sense! I'm guessing I'm not going to be hating it though. :hurray:

 

[seatys501]

Kilty, sorry for adding to your post on this but I had a question for Craig regarding that washer issue.

Craig, do you know if the ceramic washers were installed in the 2008 Challenger 180 as well? How hard is it to replace. Should a regular boat mechanic know how to do this or must i see a seadoo dealer?

Thanks
Ed

 

[Craigmri]

Ed,

Your 2008 has the newer non-ceramic washers to the best of my knowledge. You will however still need to rebuild your supercharger every 100 hours. This is something I would want either a Sedoo shop to perform or a technician proficient with this particular supercharger.

If your technically able, you could also do the rebuild yourself as there are instructions on the internet on how to do.

Craig