travial
Member
Hey guys, I'm back! It's been a few years since that last posted, but I've got some updates for you. Here's my last thread where I cobbled together a jet ski hoping for the best, Check it out for a refresher, but here's the update:
'97 GTX Build (Cutting corners, gambling on parts, etc.) Pitchforks and popcorn welcome.
So... I got that last jet ski running, ran flawlessly for about an hour, then I let it sit for a few weeks while I repaired some fiberglass on the Shuttlecraft boat. The next time I took it out, it had problems running at higher rpm long story short in 30 min I seized the engine, blew a piston, and had to flag down a couple frat bros in a boat to tow me back to shore. They definitely didn't want to pick us up, but there were like six other hot chicks on the boat that felt sorry for us and convinced the guys to tow us LOL. Anyway pretty frustrating to say the least because I built that engine from the crankshaft up and it lasted all of 1 hour. I'm convinced that it was the 5 year old gas that I never drained from the gas tank that gummed up the carbs after I first ran it (full tank of 5yr old gas, yeah, I know now thanks). Total bummer.
Moving forward, I scrapped that one, and the same summer 2019 I just bought a replacement 1996 Seadoo GTX For $1200. It ran, but had an exhaust leak (one of the freeze plugs was busted), and it had a stutter at higher rpm. It would rev up to full speed for a few seconds then stumble back down to like 6200 RPM. I ran it all summer anyway, all the while pulling the spark plugs and seeing considerable bits of aluminum deposits on the PTO plug. Whatever, I'm still having fun on the lake. It finally gave up the ghost at the end of the season, and quit running for good, and it was a couple years until I got back to it.
So earlier this year the wife is complaining about this broken down jet ski boat sitting in the driveway, so I summoned the gumption to get it back on the lake. I pulled the head, PTO piston and cylinder were f*cked, but I still have my first broken-down jetski in the backyard with one good cylinder, and I had a random WSM piston to put in it too. I obviously need to deglaze the cylinder for the new piston, but I don't have a ball hone so I improvise. I cut up a huge sponge into a circle, and strap some 320 grit sandpaper to the outside and bolt it all to a drill and get (what I deem) a nice crosshatch on the walls. Then I'd bought a cheap $20 gasket kit off ebay, predictably it was total sh*t; basegasket was like one millimeter. Luckily I randomly found another gasket kit I forgot I bought online a few years ago, that one was more like .8 mm, Still like .3 millimeters thicker than the original, but let's go with that one anyway. Measure squish? Ain't nobody got time for that. Check Ring gap? Na, let's gamble. I did rebuild the carbs with a genuine Mikuni kit though, I'm not a heathen. Bolt everything back up, and attempted a pressure test with some blocks of wood and rubber inner tube that I bolted to the block, but the wooden blocks leaked so I never got an accurate reading, looks like I'm gambling again. I swapped the tuned pipe with the busted freeze plug with my old good jet ski pipe, and fired it up. Smoke billows from the exhaust flange in the hull. Damn, didn't get the collar seated right with the copper ring, AND used the wrong gasket maker. I go buy the right copper gasket maker, put the exhaust back on again, and were golden, no leaks.
So were all good now, I break the "new" engine in and all is golden, except for some cavitation issues. Take it on the lake 5 or 6 times and all is well, until...
It starts having issues over 5k RPMs. Starts randomly stuttering/missing, like the engine sparkplugs randomly stop working intermittently. it's all random, and under 4k it runs flawlessly. I thought maybe the plugs were fouled from the 1st tank of gas/oil mix, but new plugs didn't change anything. Gets even worse, and I'm limping it back to the dock, get about 30 ft from it and the engine dies completely and won't restart, engine is locked up. It was then that I realized I forgot to pull up my anchor and I've been dragging it a good 1/2 mile, and sucked up the rope into the impeller. Oops. We're coasting toward the dock at an alarming rate, with no options but to ride it out. I bump the dock and bust out the front navigation light. There's a stiff breeze/waves threatening to wash us ashore onto some rocks, so I jump out of the boat, swim to the dock, and tell my brother to throw me a rope so I can pull the shuttlecraft over. In his haste, he fumbles the throw, loses balance and slowly tips overboard taking out the bimini top. We finally get it to the trailer, but that's just the beginning...
'97 GTX Build (Cutting corners, gambling on parts, etc.) Pitchforks and popcorn welcome.
So... I got that last jet ski running, ran flawlessly for about an hour, then I let it sit for a few weeks while I repaired some fiberglass on the Shuttlecraft boat. The next time I took it out, it had problems running at higher rpm long story short in 30 min I seized the engine, blew a piston, and had to flag down a couple frat bros in a boat to tow me back to shore. They definitely didn't want to pick us up, but there were like six other hot chicks on the boat that felt sorry for us and convinced the guys to tow us LOL. Anyway pretty frustrating to say the least because I built that engine from the crankshaft up and it lasted all of 1 hour. I'm convinced that it was the 5 year old gas that I never drained from the gas tank that gummed up the carbs after I first ran it (full tank of 5yr old gas, yeah, I know now thanks). Total bummer.
Moving forward, I scrapped that one, and the same summer 2019 I just bought a replacement 1996 Seadoo GTX For $1200. It ran, but had an exhaust leak (one of the freeze plugs was busted), and it had a stutter at higher rpm. It would rev up to full speed for a few seconds then stumble back down to like 6200 RPM. I ran it all summer anyway, all the while pulling the spark plugs and seeing considerable bits of aluminum deposits on the PTO plug. Whatever, I'm still having fun on the lake. It finally gave up the ghost at the end of the season, and quit running for good, and it was a couple years until I got back to it.
So earlier this year the wife is complaining about this broken down jet ski boat sitting in the driveway, so I summoned the gumption to get it back on the lake. I pulled the head, PTO piston and cylinder were f*cked, but I still have my first broken-down jetski in the backyard with one good cylinder, and I had a random WSM piston to put in it too. I obviously need to deglaze the cylinder for the new piston, but I don't have a ball hone so I improvise. I cut up a huge sponge into a circle, and strap some 320 grit sandpaper to the outside and bolt it all to a drill and get (what I deem) a nice crosshatch on the walls. Then I'd bought a cheap $20 gasket kit off ebay, predictably it was total sh*t; basegasket was like one millimeter. Luckily I randomly found another gasket kit I forgot I bought online a few years ago, that one was more like .8 mm, Still like .3 millimeters thicker than the original, but let's go with that one anyway. Measure squish? Ain't nobody got time for that. Check Ring gap? Na, let's gamble. I did rebuild the carbs with a genuine Mikuni kit though, I'm not a heathen. Bolt everything back up, and attempted a pressure test with some blocks of wood and rubber inner tube that I bolted to the block, but the wooden blocks leaked so I never got an accurate reading, looks like I'm gambling again. I swapped the tuned pipe with the busted freeze plug with my old good jet ski pipe, and fired it up. Smoke billows from the exhaust flange in the hull. Damn, didn't get the collar seated right with the copper ring, AND used the wrong gasket maker. I go buy the right copper gasket maker, put the exhaust back on again, and were golden, no leaks.
So were all good now, I break the "new" engine in and all is golden, except for some cavitation issues. Take it on the lake 5 or 6 times and all is well, until...
It starts having issues over 5k RPMs. Starts randomly stuttering/missing, like the engine sparkplugs randomly stop working intermittently. it's all random, and under 4k it runs flawlessly. I thought maybe the plugs were fouled from the 1st tank of gas/oil mix, but new plugs didn't change anything. Gets even worse, and I'm limping it back to the dock, get about 30 ft from it and the engine dies completely and won't restart, engine is locked up. It was then that I realized I forgot to pull up my anchor and I've been dragging it a good 1/2 mile, and sucked up the rope into the impeller. Oops. We're coasting toward the dock at an alarming rate, with no options but to ride it out. I bump the dock and bust out the front navigation light. There's a stiff breeze/waves threatening to wash us ashore onto some rocks, so I jump out of the boat, swim to the dock, and tell my brother to throw me a rope so I can pull the shuttlecraft over. In his haste, he fumbles the throw, loses balance and slowly tips overboard taking out the bimini top. We finally get it to the trailer, but that's just the beginning...
