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Just purchased a 2001 Seadoo Challenger 2000 Mercury v6 240 hp

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jennsavage2001

jennsavage2001

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I used to own the 1997 Seadoo Challenger with twin rotax engines and sold it a few years ago. This year we decided to get another one, this time we purchased a 2001 with the Mercury V6 240 hp. When I called up the mechanic who used to service my 1997 to schedule an engine service, he told me I should have called him before I purchased this particular boat because he said these are extremely difficult to find parts for and he won't work on them. I did happen to find a shop who claim they do work on them and will be dropping it off to them and I am praying they know where to find the parts for it. I wanted to see if other people struggle getting the parts they need for these since Seadoo is out of the boat business now. I wanted to also see if anyone else has owned both engine types and which one you preferred and why. Wish I had thought it thru prior to purchasing. This boat is in pristine condition in every way....as long as I can keep it running...
 
I just purchaed a 2003 with same powerplant and looking for same feedback in another thread. Mine has issues
 
I have the same model year for your boat, mine is a 2002 Sea doo Challenger 2000 V6 M2 EFI engine Gen. 1. Parts really hard to fine, ebay has some and boats.net but when I bought mine, last year, I have a problem with vapor separator and attached electronic fuel pump and apparently there's no more genuine parts wherever you find them and I just bought them non-OEM manufacturer but lifetime warranty. So the boat is really good just prepare to find parts right away in Ebay or non-OEM manufacturer. My boat is still doing well and plan to run this spring here in California. Dr. Honda here is very good in helping me before.
 
Thanks good to know. I am contemplating on buying the software diagnostic tool in case something goes bad
 
Any advice on winterizing? Not sure if you are in a cold climate there. The jet skis are a process but this seems easy but i dont have any manuals at the moment
 
Sorry I don't winterize out boat here, what I did I just put fuel stabilizer in the fuel and ran the engine once a month since we don't have really bad snow/winter here. I just spray the whole engine and all the lines/connector with heavy duty silicone lubricant to keep parts from corrosion. What I need to maintain that I haven't change yet is the gear oil in the stator since it is still an old oil since I bought it. I bought the manual on ebay and when you bought the manual please type your engine serial number since Mercury V6 M2 engine is Gen. 1 or Gen. 2 but since yours is 2001 probably that's a Gen. 1 engine. Here in California, it is very hard to find a mechanic to repair my unit since they don't do it anymore. They said they will repair Mercury engine not on a Sea Doo boat because parts is hard to find and they don't have it in stock. It's up to you to buy software diagnostics but I don't have one, I did repair my ECU at Simon Performance motor sports in San Diego, CA. They are specialist on repairing ECU's. Usually you got to watch out for the electric fuel pump in the vapor separator because if it fails hard to find parts and not easy to repair. My challenger 2000 when I bought it, it is not used for 7 years but it's in the storage, and low hours per Simon Motorsports when I repair my ECU since the mobile mechanic that I found in craigslist suggested it but after that repair, still the boat won't start and the mobile mechanic gave up my boat so I decided to buy a manual and do it myself and I realize that there's an electronic fuel pump inside the vapor separator and when I open it, it is all rusty, clog and not functioning and I change the fuel pump did the installation myself through the manual and change the plugs, change the water separator filter and boom ran like a champ. I didn't change any shifting cables yet and I install Lowrance fishfinder ran it to the front dashboard, install new marine sound systems from amazon, install new decals and my next project is the seat cover I already order from Jetarmor.com. Just ask any questions about your new challenger and enjoy it. I ran my boat salt water for fishing here in cold california ocean and water sports in nice california lake. Post any questions here and you'll find a lot of answers from members same engine as yours.
 
I found a boat dealer here in AZ who claims they do work on these, I took it in for a yearly service and some minor repairs, hopefully they can do what they say they can do.
 
jennsavage2001 said:
I found a boat dealer here in AZ who claims they do work on these, I took it in for a yearly service and some minor repairs, hopefully they can do what they say they can do.
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What do you think so far of the boat. I just purchased one also. So far i like how it is designed and seems easy to maintain. I have not had mine in the water yet though. I was curious as to your thoughts
 
We are picking up from the shop today and taking to lake tomorrow to see how it runs. When we lake tested the steering was bad and it needed a tuneup, so all of that and other repairs have been completed. Spent about $2600 total, as it is a dealer they charge more for everything. Will let you know what we think. I am happy that the Mercury engine takes regular gas....our previous Challenger had twin Rotax engines that needed premium gas....the oil is cheaper on this boat too.
 
Don't know why some say parts are hard to get-- Merc has been using that engine for many years on their outboard (except the crank). I have the same boat and engine, can find any part I have needed. But they are EXPENSIVE.

Most Merc dealers won't work on them because they are hard to work on. Sometimes standing on your head almost.
 
I called all over town in Phoenix and surrounding area and only found one shop that will work on it. My previous independent mechanic who used to service my 1997 Challenger with twin Rotax engines just flat out said no to working on it. He said because it is a prop boat motor married with a jet propulsion unit, the parts a proprietary and harder to find and he didn't want to mess with it. I am really sad Seadoo got out of the boating business...They are the only jet boats I like and they will become increasingly harder to find parts for since Seadoo doesn't make them.
 
I am interested in your update. I think this boat is one of the easiest and more simple to work on. Those mechanics are crazy. My sea doo xpDi is a PITA. Your correct the parts are very overpriced for the engine and anything from sea doo. I spent prob $300 on a few little plastic pieces. $150 for a regulator is pretty much on par, the plugs I get from rock auto for $4 vs 16 each. The only overpriced stuff I see is all tied to the jet system not the engine. Engine parts are pricey but jet parts are way over the top. Everything is so easily accessible too. I personally hate the sea doo rotex engines and their jet systems. They seem very poorly designed for the money you pay. I much rather have this system
 
turbosl2 said:
What do you think so far of the boat. I just purchased one also. So far i like how it is designed and seems easy to maintain. I have not had mine in the water yet though. I was curious as to your thoughts
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I think the boat is easy maintenance and havent run for 2 months and started it again and boat is fired right up.... as long as you have the manual and forum’s help you’ll be able to fix it like a mechanic could do and save money to it. Just the parts im worried about... i go to boats.net usually for parts or crowley marine.
 
My 2 cents for what it's worth. These are 2 stroke engines so spark plugs will need replaced. They are just SportJet engines and they aren't hard to work on. When you call a service shop just tell them its a SportJet. Don't mention its in a jet boat. Mechanics don't want to work on them because they aren't hanging off the back of a boat therefore they are a little harder to get to. Parts are not hard to get. Other than yearly maintenance the only thing we ever did to winterize was to pour RV antifreeze into the wash out nozzle. At one point the gasket that mates the engine to the pump leaked. I did have a hard time finding someone who would work on it because it was a jet boat. Finally someone was willing to fix it. I stayed and assisted and the hardest part was getting the engine lifted out of the compartment because in the challenger it does sit just barely behind the opening after you removed the rear deck lid (sunpad). I have the Mercury 240 SportJet in my Islandia now. Once we get into fixing anything it was pretty straight forward. These engines are workhorses and will perform well for a long time if taken care of.
 
So had the 2001 Seadoo Challenger 2000 out on the lake today and it ran like a champ. We only got her up to about 42 mph with a full tank of gas and about 650 lbs of passenger weight. We ran pretty hard for about 2.5 hours...the gauge says I have a half tank left...so burned 20 gal of gas as we fueled right before we went to the lake... I spent the afternoon taking out carpet rivets and filling holes with epoxy and installing marbled blue Blackfin hydro turf. Turned out really nice. Will try to get pictures next weekend...got dark before I could get any today. Now I am just trying to find a fitting name for my new toy.
 
jennsavage2001 said:
So had the 2001 Seadoo Challenger 2000 out on the lake today and it ran like a champ. We only got her up to about 42 mph with a full tank of gas and about 650 lbs of passenger weight. We ran pretty hard for about 2.5 hours...the gauge says I have a half tank left...so burned 20 gal of gas as we fueled right before we went to the lake... I spent the afternoon taking out carpet rivets and filling holes with epoxy and installing marbled blue Blackfin hydro turf. Turned out really nice. Will try to get pictures next weekend...got dark before I could get any today. Now I am just trying to find a fitting name for my new toy.
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Awesome buy!
 
jennsavage2001 said:
So had the 2001 Seadoo Challenger 2000 out on the lake today and it ran like a champ. We only got her up to about 42 mph with a full tank of gas and about 650 lbs of passenger weight. We ran pretty hard for about 2.5 hours...the gauge says I have a half tank left...so burned 20 gal of gas as we fueled right before we went to the lake... I spent the afternoon taking out carpet rivets and filling holes with epoxy and installing marbled blue Blackfin hydro turf. Turned out really nice. Will try to get pictures next weekend...got dark before I could get any today. Now I am just trying to find a fitting name for my new toy.
Click to expand...

Awesome, I cannot wait to get mine out and see how it does, hopefully just as good. One thing I noticed is the fuel gauge is def off. My sender reads perfectly and send me the right one signal but with about 20gal out of the 40 it just starts to read on the gauge. I am curious if you lifted your hatch how much fuel is really there, you might have 3/4.
 
turbosl2 said:
Awesome, I cannot wait to get mine out and see how it does, hopefully just as good. One thing I noticed is the fuel gauge is def off. My sender reads perfectly and send me the right one signal but with about 20gal out of the 40 it just starts to read on the gauge. I am curious if you lifted your hatch how much fuel is really there, you might have 3/4.
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I will know next weekend when I pick it up from the storage place and fill it up for next weekend's campout trip. Will let you know how many gallons I needed, I know the gauges are not accurate. I do know my speedometer was, I have a Garmin fish finder in it that tells how fast you are going through GPS.
 
jennsavage2001 said:
I will know next weekend when I pick it up from the storage place and fill it up for next weekend's campout trip. Will let you know how many gallons I needed, I know the gauges are not accurate. I do know my speedometer was, I have a Garmin fish finder in it that tells how fast you are going through GPS.
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Sounds good. I was suprised on how much fuel it took to get the gauge to register. I know the sender is 100% since i replaced the baffle and tested the ohms the entire way of travel. Curious as to what you report
 
So we took the boat out for a campout this weekend...it is guzzling 10 gallons per hour which is twice what it should be burning, so it is going back to the dealer to find out how to fix that. Initially it was only topping out at 42-45 mph which probably is not as fast as it will go either, so hopefully fixing the gas guzzling issue will also give me more performance...we will see what mechanic comes up with.
 
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