REALLY DISCOURAGED. Is the 951 JUNK???

[martymrgrin]

I just purchased 2 used 1999 GTX limiteds with the 951 motor. Everyone that I have talked to say that they are pretty good skis. I just took them to a local Sea-Doo dealer to have them check them out. I got them back today and now the buzzer/beeper isn't working, fuel filter housing ios cracked and they told me nothing but negative things about this motor and ski. They say that the 951 is junk.

IS THIS TRUE?????????????

What do I do to get the beeper working again?????

 

[seadooya]

not junk

I know this is not, your first rodeo, so why did you take them to the dealer, if you've been around the forum, for awhile?

Personally, i think they sabotaged your skis.

 

[jhjesse]

Although the 951 engine is a bit more maintenance that some of the other seadoo engines, with proper care it can live a long and usefull life. Most trouble that any ski encounters comes from a lack of maintenance and storage.

I know several jet ski enthusist, including myself, that have logged many hours of trouble free fun by just following a few simple tasks found in the owners manual before and after a day of riding.

Just remember you bought 11 year old skis and not all is going to be perfect.
They are going to require some care and maintenance.

As far as the beeper goes, this is an inherent SMALL problem on most Sea doo's after 1995 when the DESS system was introduced. (1996) The beeper can be fixed by removing it and going to Radio Shack and purchasing a new one, as long as you are sure it is just the beeper. The beeper on my GTX is a "sometimer," but it has no effect on the performance of the ski. I choose not to fix it. Maybe someday I will break down and replace it, but I would rather spend my time making sure my ski is properly maintained following a good day of riding by doing things like cleaning the water seperator, fogging the engine, a good cleaning, and making sure that the fuel system is drained all the way through the carbs so that the fuel doesn't sit in the carbs and "varnish up" the internals.

The fuel seperator housing can easily be replaced for around $20, just make sure that you dab a little vasoline on the O ring to insure a good seal.

Down load a manual and start having fun.

Hope this helps. :cheers:

 

[jhjesse]

I know this is not, your first rodeo, so why did you take them to the dealer, if you've been around the forum, for awhile?

Personally, i think they sabotaged your skis.

Now seadooya, you really don't think....do ya!!! :lols:

 

[seadooya]

Times are tough right now, Jess. They could've thought, hey lets do these little things, just to keep the ski, "in the doors", then they would REALLY hammer him/customer, with, you need new motor, or i found a crack on the cylinder..etc,etc,etc, and this is AFTER they've tore apart your ski. So whats left in the mind of the customer? Heck, if i refuse the service, i'll get my ski back, with a box of parts, with them say'n, good luck.....i've seen it happen.

 

[martymrgrin]

I know this is not, your first rodeo, so why did you take them to the dealer, if you've been around the forum, for awhile?

Personally, i think they sabotaged your skis.

Well, I got them about a month ago. I had a charging issue on one of them and put a new stator on it. That fixed it. I just had a couple other issues that I wanted a supposed sea-doo certified mechanic to let me know about. That's why I took it to them. They were both running on Tuesday. Both beepers worked. The other jetski wasnt charging and 1 has a rattle noise in the motor. The one that is not charging is also very difficult to start with starting spray. Once you spray it or get it started, it starts just fine for the rest of the day.

The mechanic come out and showed me the housing that was cracked/broken (was not broken when I took it in, cause I just changed the filter, so I know), he said that the noise in the motor means that it will have to be rebuilt, he never looked at the charging problem bvecause he said that he could not keep it running.( it sat outside my house and ran for over an hour hooked up to water). Then, that's when he started telling me about how these 951 motors are crap and that the 700 motor is much better. So I am confused now. Everyone else said that these were good skis.

 

[seadooya]

The mechanic come out and showed me the housing that was cracked/broken (was not broken when I took it in, cause I just changed the filter, so I know),

Shall i say anymore..:toetap05:

Alright, first with the "charging" issue. Somehow, you needto fire that ski up, with a known good/charged battery. While its run'n, volt test the battery, and "hope" to see readings from 13-14.5v. Anything under/over those numbers, your rectifier is shot. If thats the case, unfortuntly, the rectifier is located INSIDE the mpem, however, theres a rectifier kit out there(internet), that creates an external unit(rectifier), so no more ofthese, replace mpem when rectifier is bad, situations. With regards to it "hard starting", do you still have the grey fuel lines or has the carbs been off to clean out the internal filter?

The "rattling" of the motor, can alternatly be the pump assy noise, which are VERY common in ALL seadoos, which will go away with the depress of the throttle off idle.

 

[Wire4Money]

I would get a second opinion. The 951's are VERY high performance engines (will easily outrun a kawi or yamaha 1100), and if taken care of can be great. I have a 98 GTXL, bought with a shattered piston at 150 hrs. As they wear, these engines can get excessive piston clearances, and start rocking in the bores. After a rebuild, I have many fun hours on mine. Just check the piston clearance on the noisy one to make sure it is ok.

The biggest thing with Seadoos (and other brands) is to make sure the fuel system is up to par. Every Seadoo I've had, I replace fuel lines, clean carbs, replace oil filter, clean out fuel seperator, change pump oil, new spark plugs, etc., BEFORE I even take them to the lake for the first time. I then maintain them yearly, and have not had a problem yet.

 

[martymrgrin]

Shall i say anymore..:toetap05:

Alright, first with the "charging" issue. Somehow, you needto fire that ski up, with a known good/charged battery. While its run'n, volt test the battery, and "hope" to see readings from 13-14.5v. Anything under/over those numbers, your rectifier is shot. If thats the case, unfortuntly, the rectifier is located INSIDE the mpem, however, theres a rectifier kit out there(internet), that creates an external unit(rectifier), so no more ofthese, replace mpem when rectifier is bad, situations. With regards to it "hard starting", do you still have the grey fuel lines or has the carbs been off to clean out the internal filter?

The "rattling" of the motor, can alternatly be the pump assy noise, which are VERY common in ALL seadoos, which will go away with the depress of the throttle off idle.

About the rattle. The noise seems to be coming from more of the front/top of the motor but does go away when the throttle comes up.

Both skis have fully charged batteries and will start. The one that I put the stator on, is showing right at 13 volts. Not on a volt meter but an older battery/charging tester that I had from working on cars.
The other ski is hard to start, but once started, it shows around 10 volts when running, 12 volts when not running.

All of the supply fuel lines are red, all of the returns are still grey. I am not sure how old the red ones are.

The ski that is hard to start will fire right right up with alittle starting spray. Once started, you can cut it off and any time that day it will fire right back up. I don't have a clue if the carbs have ever been off or not. Once running, it runs really well. Tachs up quick and is very smooth while running.

On the rectifier, can I replace the one in the computer box? Or is that even where it is at? I am seeing these things on E-bay, new, for about $50.00

 

[jhjesse]

I would get a second opinion. The 951's are VERY high performance engines (will easily outrun a kawi or yamaha 1100), and if taken care of can be great. I have a 98 GTXL, bought with a shattered piston at 150 hrs. As they wear, these engines can get excessive piston clearances, and start rocking in the bores. After a rebuild, I have many fun hours on mine. Just check the piston clearance on the noisy one to make sure it is ok.

The biggest thing with Seadoos (and other brands) is to make sure the fuel system is up to par. Every Seadoo I've had, I replace fuel lines, clean carbs, replace oil filter, clean out fuel seperator, change pump oil, new spark plugs, etc., BEFORE I even take them to the lake for the first time. I then maintain them yearly, and have not had a problem yet.

X2
Yep
First diagnosing the problems with used skis.
Next is repairs.
Then the maintaining.
After doing these things to my stock 99 GTX, it will flat out run my friends Kawi. Ran 62mph on the GPS, even with my fat butt on it.

951's are a little harder to work than the 717's and 787's...so what do you think a seadoo mechanic is going to say.

 

[b15philly]

( it sat outside my house and ran for over an hour hooked up to water).

You should not leave any ski running that long on a hose.... No longer than 5 minutes you can burn up the pump bearing.....

 

[martymrgrin]

Although the 951 engine is a bit more maintenance that some of the other seadoo engines, with proper care it can live a long and usefull life. Most trouble that any ski encounters comes from a lack of maintenance and storage.

I know several jet ski enthusist, including myself, that have logged many hours of trouble free fun by just following a few simple tasks found in the owners manual before and after a day of riding.

Just remember you bought 11 year old skis and not all is going to be perfect.
They are going to require some care and maintenance.

As far as the beeper goes, this is an inherent SMALL problem on most Sea doo's after 1995 when the DESS system was introduced. (1996) The beeper can be fixed by removing it and going to Radio Shack and purchasing a new one, as long as you are sure it is just the beeper. The beeper on my GTX is a "sometimer," but it has no effect on the performance of the ski. I choose not to fix it. Maybe someday I will break down and replace it, but I would rather spend my time making sure my ski is properly maintained following a good day of riding by doing things like cleaning the water seperator, fogging the engine, a good cleaning, and making sure that the fuel system is drained all the way through the carbs so that the fuel doesn't sit in the carbs and "varnish up" the internals.

The fuel seperator housing can easily be replaced for around $20, just make sure that you dab a little vasoline on the O ring to insure a good seal.

Down load a manual and start having fun.

Hope this helps. :cheers:

Thanks, I appreciate that. Sorry for the delay in responding to your post. I am still trying to figure out the forum thing.

 

[martymrgrin]

( it sat outside my house and ran for over an hour hooked up to water).

You should not leave any ski running that long on a hose.... No longer than 5 minutes you can burn up the pump bearing.....

I didn't know that. Thanks for the info.

 

[crisso]

Reply

A mate of mine races jetskis and with his advice I got a GTX.They handle pretty well for a big ski,the motors are very strong(Maintaining them or any marine motor is essential) and They go like a cat shot in the arse.
What more do we need(maybe a cold beer)

 

[jhjesse]

( it sat outside my house and ran for over an hour hooked up to water).

You should not leave any ski running that long on a hose.... No longer than 5 minutes you can burn up the pump bearing.....

Martymrgin,
The best advice that I can give you is download a shop/owners manual and spend an hour or two reading it. It will be the best hour you will spend, as far as jet ski maintenance and repair goes. Then you can avoid things like b15philly did.

I seem to learn things the hard way so I can understand. :banghead:

 

[martymrgrin]

Thanks guys. I feel better about it now. I have downloaded the shop and parts manuals and will start learning more about them. I think that it just botheres me to hear that kind kind of crap from what supposed to be a technician.

Thanks again for all the help.....

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

Nope

I should hope not.
I had 289 hours on my '98 GTX LTD before it sucked in water and blew up.
I also have a 02XPw/the 951 and it SCREAMS...

the 951 is the biggest 2 stroke made by sea-doo... it may not be as bullet proof as other models, but I'll race any 700 engine out there... (stock)... as mine is stock...

 

[jhjesse]

They go like a cat shot in the arse.

:lols::lols::lols::lols:

You aussies are great!!
Gotta remember that one!!

 

[seadooya]

( it sat outside my house and ran for over an hour hooked up to water).

You should not leave any ski running that long on a hose.... No longer than 5 minutes you can burn up the pump bearing.....

good catch philly....missed that one.

 

[Minnetonka4me]

I think the tech was biatchin b/c they are a bigger PITA to work on than say a 800 or smaller machine.

Outside of that they are just like any other sea-doo. take care of it, do maintenance, keep water out of it, and it will last a long time.

The beepers are all flaky. I find that just smacking them on a hard surface will get them working.

Let me guess...that stator replacement ran you $800 parts and labor? Stealers.

If you were local it would have been $350-400 with a good used one...and I would have discounted other work performed like carb rebuilds and fuel lines while I had it apart.

The biggest problem with used skis is people do shade tree stuff to get them on the water...like steel hardware.

I had a GSX-L in last week for a bendix...well...the bendix was bad b/c the bottom starter bolt was broke off and the top one was steel w/ 8 washers on it to make it fit. The only way to do it right was take the motor out to get the broken bolt out.

Once I got into that I found the PTO and driveshaft shot b/c the engine was badly misaligned...I think due to someone installing a reman motor shadetree style. So those parts had to be replaced. Of course the VTS was bad too.

So a simple $200 job turned into $1200...I did also rebuild his carbs and replaced the fuel lines.

It was a nightmare, but now he can feel confident he can take it out this summer knowing almost everything has been touched and most of the shadetree stuff was fixed right....well I left the homeade VTS rod, and whatever they did to connect the oil pump cable to the cover! LOL