New member looking for advice - 1997 SPX

[Sideways Steve]

Well I finally got a chance to get stuck into the two ski's and can safely say I have discovered why the first one was having electrical issues .......................

Yes you can indeed see holes right through the mag housing due to corrosion !

Minnetonka, you have PM, I need parts !

But they do look rather cool sitting beside each other !

The second ski we bought has a seized engine, however its actually not too bad. One of the main shaft bearings has locked up and the needle bearing on the rear conrod has gone so its fully stripped down now and Ill get parts to repair it.

 

[racerxxx]

WOW, I thought my XP engine was bad yours takes the prize. My jaw is on the floor right now, I'm staring in amazement that the aluminum rotted out, I'm speechless. I can't wait to see your progress, I love a good brought back from the dead thread. Keep up the great work!:thumbsup:

 

[Britrick]

Yeah I thought my stator and mag were bad lol no where near as bad as that, does that engine still turn over by hand then ?

 

[Jetskigoodies]

We just bought a 97 spx today, it was a 7 hour round trip to ohio. The guy bought it used it one summer. Drained the gas and it sat in a barn since. He stated he had no idea if it would run, we took a battery and compression tester, 150 each cylinder, and the motor and everything inside is mint. We hit the start button everything works perfect. This is going to be a parts machine. Im taking the motor for a personal gsx and parting the rest. Its a shame because everything is mint but i have no need for another x4 hull. So if you need anything i have a complete parts machine. I will get some pictures up today

 

[Sideways Steve]

Britrick, sadly no, when I finally managed to persuade the rotten flywheel to come off the crank with a big hammer and a puller the bearing behind it was a complete mess, on stripping the lower crankcase off it the mag side conrod has completely seized onto the crank to the point where it looks like its all one piece ! I never managed to get a photo of that though Im afraid !

Luckily and strangely the casings are all ok, only the mag housing and cover are destroyed. I managed to get the crank out and it looks like it may actually be saveable but only time will tell. Worst case scenario is I need to buy a second hand crank.

Currently my plan is to build one good ski from the two the work out what I need to buy to build the second ski up.

I stripped out the wiring looms etc today and there now all cleaned up and in working order so there stored in the house to keep them from getting all corroded due to being kept in the cold garage.

Weirdly despite the second ski having a seized engine, its actually in near mint condition, the mag housing and stator etc are all like new and have no rust or corrosion whatsoever. I say weirdly because the ski you are looking at in the above photos was apparently only used in fresh water whereas the second one was used in salt water all its life ! Guess it was just looked after far better !

 

[Minnetonka4me]

We just bought a 97 spx today, it was a 7 hour round trip to ohio. The guy bought it used it one summer. Drained the gas and it sat in a barn since. He stated he had no idea if it would run, we took a battery and compression tester, 150 each cylinder, and the motor and everything inside is mint. We hit the start button everything works perfect. This is going to be a parts machine. Im taking the motor for a personal gsx and parting the rest. Its a shame because everything is mint but i have no need for another x4 hull. So if you need anything i have a complete parts machine. I will get some pictures up today

No good...clean it up and resell it in the spring! Find a donor motor in a crappy looking machine for your GSX.

I know some decent ones have to die, but I try my hardest not to cannibalize nice ones.

 

[Jetskigoodies]

Here are some pictures of the spx i just got. it is a parts machine, so if you need anything let me know. Nothing is gone yet, I will be stripping it at the end of the week. The only problem ive found cosmeticly was there is a few little tears in the seat where the seat hits the hull and there was a rusty metal stake laying in the foot pad area and left a stain but i took cleaner wax and it rubbed right out by hand, but i started to clean it and stopped and thought, parts machine what am i doing lol

 

[Matt Braley]

Wow what a freshy! Original engine paint looks great.

 

[Jetskigoodies]

Wow what a freshy! Original engine paint looks great.

I know i was shocked to see how nice it looked. It onky has 2 chips on the head bolts and thats it. I could tell the head hasnt been off and all the gaskets are still painted so it doesnt seem like anyone ever messed with it, but this weekend it will completely apart. I want to make sure there isnt any internal issues, want to check everything out before it goes into the gsx, sorry about hijacking the thread

 

[Matt Braley]

Take a gift when it's given. I don't think you will find any bad news in that engine. Maybe some dirty raves at most. Sorry for Hijacking also.

 

[Britrick]

You guys are so lucky !!! a nice ski like that and its only fit for breaking up for spares, thats way better than mine, only real rotters here are broken up lol.

 

[El Toro 33809]

Here are some pictures of the spx i just got. it is a parts machine, so if you need anything let me know. Nothing is gone yet, I will be stripping it at the end of the week. The only problem ive found cosmeticly was there is a few little tears in the seat where the seat hits the hull and there was a rusty metal stake laying in the foot pad area and left a stain but i took cleaner wax and it rubbed right out by hand, but i started to clean it and stopped and thought, parts machine what am i doing lol

That one looks beautiful!!! You are parting it out? If so, I'm with Nick on this. Too nice to cannibalize.

 

[Jetskigoodies]

Well to the respond to the last 2 posts. I always try to resurrect these machines, if you check out my how to buff thread i am selling that seadoo, that is what i do to most of them, that isnt one of the personal machines. This will be the first nice one we will be parting. I need a motor for one im currently keeping for myself.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

That one looks beautiful!!! You are parting it out? If so, I'm with Nick on this. Too nice to cannibalize.

actually I respectfully disagree, the parts are worth more separate, and frankly unless your buying/building it for personal use, these days in Florida your LUCKY to get $1500 out of a super clean x4 hull. my last two x4's sold for just over that price and both were near mint condition and they both took over a month to sell (6 weeks to be exact)

heck, one of my ride buddy's that was moving north had an absolutely gorgeous one with specI, flame arrestors, custom paint on engine and waterbox, two tto gauges professionally mounted, and brand new turf, (even the extended tabs on the back) and he only got $1650 no trailer, I almost bought it myself, i was going to strip down all the aftermarket parts, put it back to stock and sell off the goodies, but after having no luck selling my own x4 hulls I decided it was a lot of work to only net maybe $2-300 profit.

now maybe if your willing to wait until spring, the value might go up a couple hondo, but then you have to store a perfectly good ski for 6 months while you wait for tax time to come...

edit.. dammit, sorry I hijacked as well... back on track

how's progress steve ?

 

[Sideways Steve]

Slow, i need to find someone who can rebuild my crank to progress ! I have found a couple of places online but they are asking silly money !

I can do the main bearings myself at work but I don't have the equipment needed to remove and replace my damaged conrod

 

[Britrick]

Oh let me know if you find somebody Steve I will prob need the same . Have you tried Jetbore , think they are in Birmingham area , they advertise return postage .

 

[El Toro 33809]

Well to the respond to the last 2 posts. I always try to resurrect these machines, if you check out my how to buff thread i am selling that seadoo, that is what i do to most of them, that isnt one of the personal machines. This will be the first nice one we will be parting. I need a motor for one im currently keeping for myself.

You do fantastic work buffing out those skis, I'm not condemning you for parting this out and I agree with Spimothy that they are worth more as parts skis than as whole. My view is from a nostalgic point of view. That is a beautiful looking hull. They will not be making any more like that. Hate to see them taken out of the market. One of these days there will be none left. Guess I'm just an old school old timer.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

You do fantastic work buffing out those skis, I'm not condemning you for parting this out and I agree with Spimothy that they are worth more as parts skis than as whole. My view is from a nostalgic point of view. That is a beautiful looking hull. They will not be making any more like that. Hate to see them taken out of the market. One of these days there will be none left. Guess I'm just an old school old timer.

you do make a good point, 90's 2 stroke hulls are dwindling in supply every year.

steve re: crank, a 787 shouldn't be that bad, around here I thought they were around or under 200 to $250 for a good used one, heck, a sbt refurb is only 275 with a year warranty + crazy shipping of course. heck maybe you can find one that just needs outer bearings and if you can press those on yourself you'll save a bunch. I'm not a crank builder but i know if I give my guy a 787 crank that needs outers only, the next day i've got a usable crank and the bearings were only like $25 each (either german or japan bearings, not the cheap chinese ones)

 

[joshuadg]

iim having the same problem with a 97 gsx ive checked everything im getting power to the mpem but nothing turns on if i just press the start button or if attach the lanyard all connections seem to be good and all fuses are good does any one have any suggestions or know how to test the mpem

 

[Minnetonka4me]

If you are not getting your gauge to light up when you hit start...It usually has to do with the rear ebox....specifically that connector on top. If the pins are corroded it will cause it. That is where I would start. How do you know you are getting power to the MPEM? Meter?