New member, just bought my first Seadoo

[Trooper182]

Hello all, just purchased a 97 GTX for $400. Guy I bought it from says last time he ran it was a little over a year ago. Got it home and started cleaning it up. It surprisingly looks like it is in good shape. All the lines he replaced 2 years ago and rebuilt the carbs. I pulled the lines to check and none had the goo of death. Issues I have found. First is compression. My cheap HF gauge is showing 120 on the front cylinder and 150 on the rear. I put mystery oil in the cylinders and let it sit for 2 days. Same readings. Going to try with a rental gauge from autozone. I pumped all the old fuel out and cleaned the tank and put in fresh gas and fresh oil. Also replaced the plugs with new NGK ones. Replaced the fuel filter and oil filter. Fired it up on the hose and she smoked like crazy but ran. Let it run for a min and shut off. Today I pulled it out to the lake and let it run on the trailer. For about 10 min it smoked out the launch but then died away and had little smoke. Ran for 20 min and sounded great. A little hesitation on a stab from idle but quickly recovered.

So some other things I have noticed. The temp gauge is not working. Displays 89 degrees for 20 min of running. Motor never felt overly hot to the touch. The fuel gauge also is not reading. The gear lever sometimes gets jammed and have to play with it. Also when giving it gas the lever will move up a little towards the neutral position. Checked the line on the oil pump arm and it lines up perfectly. I have a feeling the motor will need a top end rebuild but hoping to get a season out of it and pull it in the off season. Ski is showing 97 hours on it.

Going to work on cleaning it up. Ordered new mats, seat covers and some other bits. Plugs in pictures are after running for 20 min.

 

[AKnarrowback]

Welcome to the Forum!

97 GTX is a great machine, lots of scoot, nimble for a machine it's size and pretty cush if you are cruising.

You see those grey fuel lines? Yes, all those fuel lines on the carb going to the gas tank and all over.... GET RID OF THEM. those are the famous lines you will hear about that turn to goo inside, plug up the carbs and destroy motors. Just replace them with 1/4 inch, black, automotive style gas line. You don't need high pressure line.

Get a real compression gauge and check the compression, holding the throttle wide open, with the motor clear (no extra oil in the cylinder). Make sure the caps are on the ground posts when doing this for safety. You are looking for 150 psi with 10% variation between cylinders being the max allowed before you should look into a rebuild.

The massive amount of smoke on startup is not suprising uf you dropped oil into the cylinders, the length of time it smoked is a little concerning and could be an indicator of a bad seal inside the motor.

My 97 had the fuel sender float soaked and not floating to give me a reading. They were not gas proof and would loose the ability to float, there are plastic replacements for cheap. Pull the fitting on the tank with the four gas lines in it, it's a tube that has the pickup lines and sender unit built in. Get it out of the

The temp gauge is not for the motor temp. My 97 GTX has temp for air and water (lake or river).

 

[Trooper182]

Welcome to the Forum!

97 GTX is a great machine, lots of scoot, nimble for a machine it's size and pretty cush if you are cruising.

You see those grey fuel lines? Yes, all those fuel lines on the carb going to the gas tank and all over.... GET RID OF THEM. those are the famous lines you will hear about that turn to goo inside, plug up the carbs and destroy motors. Just replace them with 1/4 inch, black, automotive style gas line. You don't need high pressure line.

Get a real compression gauge and check the compression, holding the throttle wide open, with the motor clear (no extra oil in the cylinder). Make sure the caps are on the ground posts when doing this for safety. You are looking for 150 psi with 10% variation between cylinders being the max allowed before you should look into a rebuild.

The massive amount of smoke on startup is not suprising uf you dropped oil into the cylinders, the length of time it smoked is a little concerning and could be an indicator of a bad seal inside the motor.

My 97 had the fuel sender float soaked and not floating to give me a reading. They were not gas proof and would loose the ability to float, there are plastic replacements for cheap. Pull the fitting on the tank with the four gas lines in it, it's a tube that has the pickup lines and sender unit built in. Get it out of the

The temp gauge is not for the motor temp. My 97 GTX has temp for air and water (lake or river).

Thanks for the advice. Tomorrow I will check the fuel sender float, way too hot in the garage atm lol. I read somewhere that the R/V could be leaking oil and that could be a reason I'm smoking so much. So if there is a leak and I let the ski sit for a. Few days, would oil build up and burn off when I start it again?

 

[Tyman2020]

Take those worm clamps off the pto boot and replace with heavy duty zippys that area is very balance dependent and this can cause premature failures in the carbon seal and or drive shaft !! GREAT BUY BTW

 

[AKnarrowback]

Yes on the oil. If you have a bad seal anywhere the RV shaft is enclosed it will cause excessive smoke on startup. The smoke will burn off and you can still run the machine, just keep an eye on the oil tank level.

Get a feel for how long the machine has to sit in order for it to smoke on startup. After the machine has sat long enough to do a smokey start pull the plugs out of the motor, lay a clean rag over the plug holes, and hit the start button. See if any raw oil gets blown out of the hole(s). If you get oil then there is a leak in the RV shaft area.

The crank seals for the RV shaft do tend to leak after a while. My 97 GTX started leaking before it had 97 hours on it, my son's 94 SP smokes a bit (not bad for 26 years old) but the one I'm not happy about is my 94 XP with a two year old crank is starting to smoke (I should have gone with a factory crank with oem seals).

There was a recent post highlighting the 787 leaking deals and how it may not always be the inner lip on the crank but the outter edge in the case letting oil past. The outter edge can be resealed without buying a new crank. If the inner lip has failed the only fix is a crank replacement since the seals are installed inside the pressed halves of the crank.

 

[Trooper182]

Take those worm clamps off the pto boot and replace with heavy duty zippys that area is very balance dependent and this can cause premature failures in the carbon seal and or drive shaft !! GREAT BUY BTW

Will do, ill have to go buy some good zip ties tomorrow. Do i need to take just the two small ones off or the big one also?

 

[Trooper182]

Yes on the oil. If you have a bad seal anywhere the RV shaft is enclosed it will cause excessive smoke on startup. The smoke will burn off and you can still run the machine, just keep an eye on the oil tank level.

Get a feel for how long the machine has to sit in order for it to smoke on startup. After the machine has sat long enough to do a smokey start pull the plugs out of the motor, lay a clean rag over the plug holes, and hit the start button. See if any raw oil gets blown out of the hole(s). If you get oil then there is a leak in the RV shaft area.

The crank seals for the RV shaft do tend to leak after a while. My 97 GTX started leaking before it had 97 hours on it, my son's 94 SP smokes a bit (not bad for 26 years old) but the one I'm not happy about is my 94 XP with a two year old crank is starting to smoke (I should have gone with a factory crank with oem seals).

There was a recent post highlighting the 787 leaking deals and how it may not always be the inner lip on the crank but the outter edge in the case letting oil past. The outter edge can be resealed without buying a new crank. If the inner lip has failed the only fix is a crank replacement since the seals are installed inside the pressed halves of the crank.

I figure I will let it sit until Wednesday and try pulling the plugs and see if I get oil out of the spark plug holes. If it is the RV can I still run it this season until I get time to pull the motor? And is there any way I can clamp the lines when not in use to keep oil from leaking if this is the case?

 

[AKnarrowback]

Yes, run it.

Yes, many people clamp the lines or put a valve in line.

If the seal is leaking you can still run the motor, if it leaks enough it can make that first start difficult and smokey but the rest of the ride is good.

 

[GGuillot]

Welcome!! and great ski, I have the same 97' GTX. Yours looks very clean, heck of a deal for it to run for $400. As noted above, change out the gray lines. I'd double check compression with another gauge, the ski has low hours and sometimes the gauges can be inaccurate.

Check the bucket adjustment, if you give it gas and it wants to move to neutral, it may be hanging just a tad to low catching the jet stream.

I snickered a little when I first read it, yeah, I wish we had an engine temp read out. It's just ambient temp and lake temp.

I use stainless steel zip ties on the pto shaft boot, they can hold a little tighter than regular zip ties. Make sure to grease that fitting, couple pumps until you see the shaft move back.

I'd flush the jet pump.

Common for the fuel read out to fail on these skis, through the glove box with it removed you can pull the sender and have a look. It's either the float has dropped out the bottom, it no longer floats, or the small F1 in the baffle has broken continuity.

You'll love this ski, once you work everything over it's very reliable, I just went out for a couple hours on it today, I'm third season since the build.

 

[Trooper182]

Welcome!! and great ski, I have the same 97' GTX. Yours looks very clean, heck of a deal for it to run for $400. As noted above, change out the gray lines. I'd double check compression with another gauge, the ski has low hours and sometimes the gauges can be inaccurate.

Check the bucket adjustment, if you give it gas and it wants to move to neutral, it may be hanging just a tad to low catching the jet stream.

I snickered a little when I first read it, yeah, I wish we had an engine temp read out. It's just ambient temp and lake temp.

I use stainless steel zip ties on the pto shaft boot, they can hold a little tighter than regular zip ties. Make sure to grease that fitting, couple pumps until you see the shaft move back.

I'd flush the jet pump.

Common for the fuel read out to fail on these skis, through the glove box with it removed you can pull the sender and have a look. It's either the float has dropped out the bottom, it no longer floats, or the small F1 in the baffle has broken continuity.

You'll love this ski, once you work everything over it's very reliable, I just went out for a couple hours on it today, I'm third season since the build.

Thanks, I was just looking at the bucket and it seems when the handle is all the way in forward the bucket does not lock. I have to slam the lever down to lock it. Looks like the rod linkage to the bucket needs to be adjusted. I ordered a complete line kit so will go ahead and change all the lines out. How do I flush the jet pump? And any marine grease will work for the shaft?

 

[Trooper182]

Also was looking at the wear ring. It has some very light scrapes but looks like it is in decent shape. Not sure if you can tell from the pictures.

 

[KyleW2]

Yes, run it.

Yes, many people clamp the lines or put a valve in line.

If the seal is leaking you can still run the motor, if it leaks enough it can make that first start difficult and smokey but the rest of the ride is good.

Yep, I put an irrigation valve on mine to block the flow in the off season. I wrap the lanyard around the valve when I shut off the flow so I don’t forget to open it back up.

 

[Trooper182]

Yep, I put an irrigation valve on mine to block the flow in the off season. I wrap the lanyard around the valve when I shut off the flow so I don’t forget to open it back up.

So the valve would go inline from the line running from the oil tank to the oil pump? And do you have to do any priming once you open the valve back up?

 

[Tyman2020]

Will do, ill have to go buy some good zip ties tomorrow. Do i need to take just the two small ones off or the big one also?

OK so I just zoomed in on your photo...Im assuming the PO lost the retaining clip that sits on the drive shaft you need to get that and replace this before it causes a good ski to sink...But yes take the worm clamps off the drive line completely the one on the bellows are fine because they do not spin. You can use the stainless ties however I found that they are a PAIN IN THE ASS to remove without tearing your boot. I just use zip ties and make sure to top of the grease every ride. No issues. However I would not put this thing near water till you resolve your issues with those worm clamps.

 

[Trooper182]

OK so I just zoomed in on your photo...Im assuming the PO lost the retaining clip that sits on the drive shaft you need to get that and replace this before it causes a good ski to sink...But yes take the worm clamps off the drive line completely the one on the bellows are fine because they do not spin. You can use the stainless ties however I found that they are a PAIN IN THE ASS to remove without tearing your boot. I just use zip ties and make sure to top of the grease every ride. No issues. However I would not put this thing near water till you resolve your issues with those worm clamps.

Is this the clip? I'll remove the worm gears today to see what's under it. Order a new clip today if needed.

 

[Tyman2020]

Yeah thats it just refrence the parts catolog for your ski and make sure you get the right part number....They may all be the same idk. I just know this is ganna cause a bad day.

 

[KyleW2]

So the valve would go inline from the line running from the oil tank to the oil pump? And do you have to do any priming once you open the valve back up?

Mine is a valve in the line that runs from the oil tank to the bottom of the engine, not the oil tank to the pump

 

[GGuillot]

How do I flush the jet pump? And any marine grease will work for the shaft?

Take the cone off, 3 small 8mm bolts, let it drain, put it back on and fill it through where the allen head grub screw is. Opinions vary, but I use full synthetic Valvoline 75-90w oil, same shit I use in the gearbox of my F1 shifting Maserati. I keep filling until all the air is out and up to the threads. I keep a tube of red synthetic grease in my grease gun to use for the PTO shaft, but a decent grease is all you need, I also slap a dab on the other end where the shaft goes into the jet pump impeller.

 

[Trooper182]

Yeah thats it just refrence the parts catolog for your ski and make sure you get the right part number....They may all be the same idk. I just know this is ganna cause a bad day.

Ok so here is what I found. I removed the worm clamp and pulled the ring seal carrier back with some force.. There is a rubber o-ring sitting in the groove on the drive shaft. As I understand it they switched to the c-clip instead of the o-ring? I think that worm clamp was on the shaft to keep the assembly from moving forward. Also sound that I can freely wiggle the carbon ring around on the shaft. From what I gather I shouldn't be able to do this without putting some muscle behind it? I'm about to order a c-clip to put in the place of the o-ring. Should I go ahead and order a new carbon ring? Judging from the fact all the boots have worm clamps I am wondering if the carbon ring has been replaced before. Found a video on YouTube and it doesn't seem overly complicated to replace.

 

[Trooper182]

Take the cone off, 3 small 8mm bolts, let it drain, put it back on and fill it through where the allen head grub screw is. Opinions vary, but I use full synthetic Valvoline 75-90w oil, same shit I use in the gearbox of my F1 shifting Maserati. I keep filling until all the air is out and up to the threads. I keep a tube of red synthetic grease in my grease gun to use for the PTO shaft, but a decent grease is all you need, I also slap a dab on the other end where the shaft goes into the jet pump impeller.

Ok perfect, ill add that to my growing list of things to do this weekend on the ski

 

[Trooper182]

When I had the ski on the trailer at the lake and let it run I had no water intrusion from the area of the drive shaft.

 

[Tyman2020]

That worm clamp fails your ganna have a bad day. Theres a reason they went to the c clip. Make sure thats not the o ring from the support ring

 

[Trooper182]

That worm clamp fails your ganna have a bad day. Theres a reason they went to the c clip. Make sure thats not the o ring from the support ring

Yup I threw the clamp in the parts bin. Going to order the c-clip in the morning if the local dealer doesn't have it. I'm not sure if that o-ring is from the support ring. Kinda hard to pull the ring back and look inside at the same time lol. I'll figure a way and if it is see if I can slide it back into place and then install the c clip.

 

[Trooper182]

Pulled the support ring back. There's no way that o-ring can be from inside. It fits the groove in the shaft perfectly and when in the groove the support ring slides over it perfectly. Tried seeing if it could even slide back under the ring and it is physically too big.. So I'll buy the c ring and cut the oring out and replace it.

 

[Tyman2020]

They did use o rings way beick when...lol def better with the c clip