Servicing Challenger 180: DIY?

[Gizzygone]

I'm a new Sea Doo Challenger 180 SE owner. I read the owner's manual front to back, and was shocked when I saw that they recommend Oil Changes be performed by the dealer.

One of my personal problems is a lack of trust, stemming from countless instances of being ripped off or screwed over by dealers/shops (at least when it comes to cars).

Adding to my problem is the Sea Doo dealers within 50 miles of me told me they're "new dealers for Sea Doo" and they don't have any special tools or training for the now extinct boats.

So: do I roll the dice and trailer the boat 70 miles to an authorized dealer? Or are simple maintenance tasks DIY?

 

[twcanuck]

I am in a similar situation being in central NC. I have learned to do all of my own maintenance through the help of the awesome people on this forum. The oil change is pretty straight forward and if you've done it on a car it will be second nature to you. They even sell kits on sites like amazon and ebay that include oil, filter and o-rings. You're going to need an oil extractor as well. There are a bunch of threads on here about how to change oil and what type of extractor to buy. Let us know if you need help searching!

 

[Pirana]

with the oil extractor is easy. you will need a Torx bit and that's it.

 

[Paisano420]

DIY all day long. There is tutorials on YouTube

 

[Gizzygone]

Does anybody know the part number for the filter and oil? I know sea Doo makes kits for the PWCs but of course there's nothing as convenient for the boats....

 

[sstorti]

Shop Manual

Does anybody know the part number for the filter and oil? I know sea Doo makes kits for the PWCs but of course there's nothing as convenient for the boats....

If you become a seadoo forum premium member you can get access to the boat shop manuals which is what they use in the dealer and has every service procedure step by step. It also contains part numbers.

 

[Gizzygone]

If you become a seadoo forum premium member you can get access to the boat shop manuals which is what they use in the dealer and has every service procedure step by step. It also contains part numbers.

I was looking into that, but I dont think they have a service manual just for my model year? Do you know if anything major is different between the 2007 and 2009 years? I know the motors are mostly identical across the brand, but I also know they changed things like the supercharger clutch over the years, and wasn't sure if that affects the recommendations.

 

[timeman]

Does anybody know the part number for the filter and oil? I know sea Doo makes kits for the PWCs but of course there's nothing as convenient for the boats....

You can get a Seadoo oil change kit on Ebay for around $75-80 dollars,(delivered to your house) it includes seadoo 4 stroke oil, filter, O rings, and 3 NGK spark plugs. There are very detailed instructions on exactly how to do it available on this site using the search.

You will also need to get an extraction pump s you suck the oil through the dip stick tube.

It's a piece of cake, my boat came with three years of pre-paid maintenance, dealer was charging over $300, for oil filter and tune up, which amounted to plugs, once the pre-paid part was over I decided to do it myself, Only takes a couple hours for under 80 bucks.

Good luck and happy boating....