If the very thin plastic nipple is broken off the fuel baffle, you might be able to fit a piece of metal tubing down inside if you can get a good tight fit.
But while it's out, does the fuel gauge work? There's a small rectangular chip fuse I think it's 500ma, maybe 250ma, that's wave soldered onto the PCB that holds the megnetic reed switches to measure fuel level. May as well jumper this chip fuse with a solder bridge while the baffle is removed if it hasn't already been.
As far as carb kits go, the aftermarket gaskets are fine and the aftermarket needle and seat set I bought works fine as well although the seller covered over the Mikuni brand label with another label so the n/s look to be mikuni although the style isn't precisely the same as the originals I removed.
Keep your original metering springs, can't beat them even with genuine parts, just make sure you don't bend them.
For anyone wondering, the Tempo fuel lines were the OEM choice for many boat builders of the era, not just Seadoo. The reason is, they are USCG approved. Live and learn though, those lines were junk. Thanks, USCG bought and paid for by Tempo.
I reused my carbs metering diaphragms, they were still nearly soft as rose peddles. Warning on aftermarket (non-Mikuni OEM) diaphragms, most are of low quality and will have a negative effect on fuel metering. Either the rubber is too thick and/or the metal nub is the wrong length. Mikuni OEM stuff is right the first time.
As far as fuel lines go, I'm switching over to nylon next time around, nylon won't rot, ever, period. I don't do this with customer boats b/c nylon isn't USCG approved. Nylon fuel line has been used by auto manufacturers for a couple decades now and can be found at most autoparts stores. No clamps are necessary if it fits properly, if not clamps won't help.
Make sure to throughly clean the low speed circuit, read the carb rebuild sticky on how to do that. I dunno why some people think Seadoo didn't use Tempo fuel lines in boats, I just posted they did so perhaps they can't read?
Downloand the Mikuni Super BN carb owners manual, good info in there on how these carbs operate. The manual covers the smaller version of the SBN, not the SBN46i used on the 951, so there's some stuff slightly different.
The 951 carbs on your boat are the Mikuni SBN46i model, "i" meaning improved fuel pump so the gasket kits including fuel pump diaphragm must be for an "i", not an SBN non-"i"
You can effectively clean the internal thimble filters using carb cleaner aerosol (acetone in spray can) and compressed air. You'll need these to clean the carbs passages as well. A couple cans should be plenty.
I think if your fuel baffle is very close to the exhaust manifold it must not be pushed down into the tank completely? I don't recall mine being notably close except maybe while removing it.
The plastic nipples are delicate, on both the carbs and the baffle. I think as they age they become more brittle incrementally. I was able to twist the fuel lines to break the bond then twist and pull them off the nipples. A little oil might help.
You don't have to remove the exhaust manifold to get the carbs off but there should be silicone o-rings on the carb throats that seal into the airbox, you need to remove these o-rings to reach the allen screw mounting bolts after removing the control cables and losening two countersunk screws that mount the carb separating plate to make it easier as those countersunk screws can be really tight, I used a #2 or #3 phillips bit in an impact driver.
If you'll notice, many of the screws in these carbs have a little dot indented in the head of the screw, denoting they are JIS (Japanese Industrial) standard, not actually phillips. So if you decide not to buy the JIS standard screwdriver bit your phillips bit must be a very good clean hardened bit, not some worn out dime-store screwdriver made of soft metal.
Else the heads on those very tight factory torqued screws that have formed a galvanic bond in the aluminum threads can be damaged. So press hard and use a good quality bit. Some guys even resort to using an impact wrench but I don't like the idea myself on those tiny screws. Engine case screws yes, but these tiny screws seems kinda crazy to me, overkill.
Unsnap the black plastic turnbuckle off the ball post this normally connects between the two carbs, avoid turning the turnbuckle else synchronization will be disturbed.
Carburetor cleaner will burn chemical holes through your rubber pieces so don't make the mistake of hosing them down in this strong solvent. Disassemble the carb first, remove the rubber pieces.
Leaking fuel lines inside a bilge are a recipe for disaster, make certain there are no leaks.
The ID of the small fuel lines is actually metric but 1/4" is slightly smaller than the metric size and will work fine (untested using 1/4" nylon, might fit well)
The large fuel lines are 5/16 ID
Oil the screw threads during assembly, or use antiseize compound, to avoid galling the threads. You could be surprised on how easily the threads might gall, it does happen and i'ts a PITA when it does.
Take your time and be paitent, it's gonna take s little time for you to find your way around in the bilge. Just remember, skis are really tightly packaged in the bilge.
