NoobBoater
New Member
So my Aunt bought a brand new 2004 4-tech sportster back in 04 and since then I have a very strong feeling that ZERO maintenance has been done, zip, zero, nada in addition to being left outside in direct sunlight without any covers....
I noticed that it looked like hell full of leaves/pine needles and crap and the trailer tabs/registration had been expired for since '11. They said they hadn't taken it out at all last summer and once the summer before that...
So I asked if I could take it out since they never do, I said I was willing to pay for tabs and get it up to par.
After getting new tabs for the trailer and boat, putting air in the tires and gas in the tank we were off...
Well, the first time out was a bust, the boat had a lot of stuff going on behind it but even at full throttle we only were going about 10mph.
I got a buddy to take her apart and he didn't find anything out of the ordinary but since it's never been winterized he said to first try some fuel injector cleaner.
The next time we took it out it seemed to run okay but not as fast as it should and even at steady throttle it would speed/up slow down AS IF we were throttle up/down so seemed like she just needs some good old fashioned TLC now. She'd probably do like 35-40ish, hard to tell.
Put some injector cleaner in a ran her around the lake for a bit and it was fun but it's not tip top and the gauges still don't work.
After inspecting the wiring there seemed to be some disconnections and afterwords the dash lights worked and the fuel gauge seemed to read okay. The tach would flicker and jump but no solid reading and the speedo gave us jack nothing. Looking at the manual I found online it seems the behind dash wiring fuse box goes
1. Radio
2. 12-volt jack
3. Blower
4. Navigation lights
5. Bilge pump
6. Spare
Nothing on gauges though so I'm still trying to figure it out. I'd like to do a full maintenance deal on her but the dealer wants $200.00 just for labor.
I got an expert mech on speed dial and was thinking of just asking him and giving him all the parts.
Plans include.
1. Oil change
2. Oil filter change
3. Fuel filter change
4. New spark plugs
What else am I missing and is it possible for an expert mech to do this or is it nesscary to employ the dealer for these or the things I'm missing?
I've never owned a boat and just wanted to fix my Aunts to use and have read all through the manual and knows that she never did any maintenance to include winterisation in the 8 years she has had it.
Sad I know, but I wanna get this thing up to snuff, it's a fun boat and I'd hate to see it waste away, I'll be posting what pics I can and would appreciate any help or imput and look forward to getting this thing back to sportster-ing. :thumbsup:
I noticed that it looked like hell full of leaves/pine needles and crap and the trailer tabs/registration had been expired for since '11. They said they hadn't taken it out at all last summer and once the summer before that...
So I asked if I could take it out since they never do, I said I was willing to pay for tabs and get it up to par.
After getting new tabs for the trailer and boat, putting air in the tires and gas in the tank we were off...
Well, the first time out was a bust, the boat had a lot of stuff going on behind it but even at full throttle we only were going about 10mph.
I got a buddy to take her apart and he didn't find anything out of the ordinary but since it's never been winterized he said to first try some fuel injector cleaner.
The next time we took it out it seemed to run okay but not as fast as it should and even at steady throttle it would speed/up slow down AS IF we were throttle up/down so seemed like she just needs some good old fashioned TLC now. She'd probably do like 35-40ish, hard to tell.
Put some injector cleaner in a ran her around the lake for a bit and it was fun but it's not tip top and the gauges still don't work.
After inspecting the wiring there seemed to be some disconnections and afterwords the dash lights worked and the fuel gauge seemed to read okay. The tach would flicker and jump but no solid reading and the speedo gave us jack nothing. Looking at the manual I found online it seems the behind dash wiring fuse box goes
1. Radio
2. 12-volt jack
3. Blower
4. Navigation lights
5. Bilge pump
6. Spare
Nothing on gauges though so I'm still trying to figure it out. I'd like to do a full maintenance deal on her but the dealer wants $200.00 just for labor.
I got an expert mech on speed dial and was thinking of just asking him and giving him all the parts.
Plans include.
1. Oil change
2. Oil filter change
3. Fuel filter change
4. New spark plugs
What else am I missing and is it possible for an expert mech to do this or is it nesscary to employ the dealer for these or the things I'm missing?
I've never owned a boat and just wanted to fix my Aunts to use and have read all through the manual and knows that she never did any maintenance to include winterisation in the 8 years she has had it.
Sad I know, but I wanna get this thing up to snuff, it's a fun boat and I'd hate to see it waste away, I'll be posting what pics I can and would appreciate any help or imput and look forward to getting this thing back to sportster-ing. :thumbsup:
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