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The X4 Thread

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Calling [MENTION=59978]kicker[/MENTION]. Tygon tubing available at mcmastercarr.com is oil and fuel resistant and it is yellow, so that is the obvious choice. It is also kind of expensive.

I wonder if there are cheaper alternatives.


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^ home depot sells three different sizes of this... cheaper as well
 
EVERYTHING from McMaterCarr is expensive, it's not cheap to print out those bulletproof catalogs. They are convenient though...
 
EVERYTHING from McMaterCarr is expensive, it's not cheap to print out those bulletproof catalogs. They are convenient though...

LOL, SOME stuff is not cheap but a lot of what WE(my business) buys is. Their shipping is cheap and I never have to wait for a backordered item--they ALWAYS have it. And for me I can order before 11am and have it in my hands by 3:30 PM the same day,that's clutch when were in the middle of building a custom machine and need the item in a few hours vs. days from another vendor.

If you want one of the 6" thick catalogs let me know. You pay for the shipping I'll send you one. I throw them out(just trashed the newest one a few weeks back--never opened it), we get them at work and I never use them. They make a great doorstop. If you have a manufacturer and their part# you can look up by that sometimes (Loctite 242 will get you exactly that in their search), you can also call and talk to customer service and give them a MFG and their part# and if they carry it they will get you all set up. Or just come close to what your looking for and they will give you a nice list to choose from.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#mcmaster-carr-catalogs

On the left choose McMaster-Carr Catalog, they might send you one for free.
 
Currently rebuilding my carbs and service manual says 1 turn +\- 1/4 for low speed screw and 0 for high speed screw does that mean screw in the high speed screw untill it bottoms out?
 
Haha not really lol still got a few things I need to do before install. Gotta get some new water hose that goes from back of cylinders to exhaust tip. Any suggestions?
 
Ok guys I just did my final price drop to blow out the last few remaining parts. They are at half the cost of what I have seen on that auction site and the first post has been updated. Just want to clear the rest of my shelves in the garage as fast as possible! thanks for all the help and support over the years, it's been fun!
 
Is there a torque spec for the flywheel nut? Or is it just tight? Haha

77FT/LBS

Page 08-01-2--you need the manual if you don't already have one, it's got all the nitty gritty in there.

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Hey guys, I am new to the X4 community and wanted to introduce myself. I really didn't know anything about X4s but stumbled across a 97 SPX on Craigslist that was advertised for $400 not running. I contacted the guy and he said it was in the water and he had no ramp so it pretty much had to be fixed at his dock. He immediately came down to $250 so I headed out. It looked terrible but I didn't care for the price. When I got there, it didn't have a battery so I hooked up my jumper and it started after a while. I was excited but found the throttle was sticking so I had to cut it off quickly. After I connected a bungee cord to the linkage and a quick test drive, I handed the guy the money. He acted like it suddenly didn't want to sell it but I told him I wasn't fixing his seadoo for free lol. It was bitter cold that day and very windy so he said I should come back in a few days when it was warmer but I wasn't leaving it there after fixing it. So, I directed my wife and friend to the nearest ramp and rode 15 minutes to meet them. By the time I got there, I was completely soaked and numb. There were no other boats out so if it broke down I was going to be in bad shape but I made it. I loaded it onto a utility trailer, took it home, rebuild both carbs, replaced all the fuel lines, cleaned the gas tank and valve, cleaned and rebuilt the rave valves, changed plugs, wired in a 451m relay and cleaned the VTS trim motor to get it all working. I also confirmed compression was good and gave it a good cleaning and buffing and now have a very nice ski for about $400. I am also installing a Blacktip seat cover Thursday. I was shocked at how fun it was when I first rode it. I assumed it was an old slow ski that would be good for just cruising around the lake but it is a blast. Since then (5 weeks ago), I have bought and fixed up two other X4s (95 and 96 XP) which I'll describe later. I still need to install the seat cover and paint the sponsons and rub rail but here are before and after pics of the SPX:

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Def a good find for the price! I would replace the top end bearings. Not an expensive thing to do, but would give you the peace of mind knowing your needle bearings aren't going to fail on you and rain death down into your motor. I picked up my 97 for $500, and after fixing a bad coil ground it too ran great. FOR A MONTH OR TWO :( Also, these skis are not good to just "cruise the lake". They are way too fun to not haul ass on and eat the shit out of some gas. The tanks just aren't big enough for a full day of cruising (unfortunately).
 
Love the barn find cheap fix up story. Man that thing looked sorry sitting at that dock.

Glad that drive to the ramp worked out for you, there are a lot of ways that could have gone wrong.
 
Hey guys, I am new to the X4 community and wanted to introduce myself. I really didn't know anything about X4s but stumbled across a 97 SPX on Craigslist that was advertised for $400 not running. I contacted the guy and he said it was in the water and he had no ramp so it pretty much had to be fixed at his dock. He immediately came down to $250 so I headed out. It looked terrible but I didn't care for the price. When I got there, it didn't have a battery so I hooked up my jumper and it started after a while. I was excited but found the throttle was sticking so I had to cut it off quickly. After I connected a bungee cord to the linkage and a quick test drive, I handed the guy the money. He acted like it suddenly didn't want to sell it but I told him I wasn't fixing his seadoo for free lol. It was bitter cold that day and very windy so he said I should come back in a few days when it was warmer but I wasn't leaving it there after fixing it. So, I directed my wife and friend to the nearest ramp and rode 15 minutes to meet them. By the time I got there, I was completely soaked and numb. There were no other boats out so if it broke down I was going to be in bad shape but I made it. I loaded it onto a utility trailer, took it home, rebuild both carbs, replaced all the fuel lines, cleaned the gas tank and valve, cleaned and rebuilt the rave valves, changed plugs, wired in a 451m relay and cleaned the VTS trim motor to get it all working. I also confirmed compression was good and gave it a good cleaning and buffing and now have a very nice ski for about $400. I am also installing a Blacktip seat cover Thursday. I was shocked at how fun it was when I first rode it. I assumed it was an old slow ski that would be good for just cruising around the lake but it is a blast. Since then (5 weeks ago), I have bought and fixed up two other X4s (95 and 96 XP) which I'll describe later. I still need to install the seat cover and paint the sponsons and rub rail but here are before and after pics of the SPX:


Congrats on the X4 pick up! It doesn't even look like the same ski, nice work.

Hit the sponsons with a heat gun and that should being the black back. Don't paint the rub rails lacquer thinner will "melt" them back nice. Use a few paper towels folded nicely and load it up with lacquer thinner and just keep working the towels back and forth in about a 1 foot section at a time. They will look like new again and get rid of the dry chalky look/touch.

You can see the results in the following link, scroll down. This will work even with them still on the ski.

http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?68705-1995-XP800-Resto-Project-Sugar-and-Spice
 
Def a good find for the price! I would replace the top end bearings. Not an expensive thing to do, but would give you the peace of mind knowing your needle bearings aren't going to fail on you and rain death down into your motor. I picked up my 97 for $500, and after fixing a bad coil ground it too ran great. FOR A MONTH OR TWO :( Also, these skis are not good to just "cruise the lake". They are way too fun to not haul ass on and eat the shit out of some gas. The tanks just aren't big enough for a full day of cruising (unfortunately).

Oh I agree... I just thought it would be a little slow commuter ski until I rode it and it nearly threw me off! Now I'm trying to do 360s and working my way up to bigger and bigger jumps!
 
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Congrats on the X4 pick up! It doesn't even look like the same ski, nice work.

Hit the sponsons with a heat gun and that should being the black back. Don't paint the rub rails lacquer thinner will "melt" them back nice. Use a few paper towels folded nicely and load it up with lacquer thinner and just keep working the towels back and forth in about a 1 foot section at a time. They will look like new again and get rid of the dry chalky look/touch.

You can see the results in the following link, scroll down. This will work even with them still on the ski.

http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?68705-1995-XP800-Resto-Project-Sugar-and-Spice

Thanks for the tips... I'll try that and post after pics along with the seat cover this weekend.
 
After realizing how much I like the X4s, I started looking more and found an ad on Craigslist that said "Seadoo XP might need battery and carb cleaned". No pics or year. I contacted him and he told me it was a 96 and sent pics. He said it runs but cuts out some at higher RPMs. We agreed on a price of $550 with a trailer but I had to pick it up from his lake house with no key so it has been sitting in my garage for over a week. We agreed that I would pay him after I get the key in the mail and check it out which is nice that I can take as much time as I need to inspect it at my house. I did a light cleanup but plan a full buffing once I confirm compression is good and no other major issues. The DESS key should be here tomorrow.

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And here is my most recent find. The guy just had it listed as "95 XP runs good needs seat cover with galvanized trailer $1000" with no pics. I contacted him and found it was just a couple miles down the road from me. I told him I was looking for a fixer upper for around $500 and he said come get it because he is moving at the end of the month. I got there and it wouldn't start because the battery was dead. The seat skin was in good shape but wasn't installed correctly as it had tons of wrinkles. Since it wouldn't start, I told him I could do $300 as is and we finally agreed on $380. I got it home, put my lawn mower battery in it and it fired right up. I then cleaned both fuel filters and replaced the oil injection lines and rode it all weekend with no issues. Then I buffed it last night, tightened the seat cover, and installed a Blacktip handlebar cover. Total investment is $420 with a $350 trailer!

I plan to sell this one to recover the cost of the last two seadoos and keep the trailer. Before and after:

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And here is my most recent find. The guy just had it listed as "95 XP runs good needs seat cover with galvanized trailer $1000" with no pics. I contacted him and found it was just a couple miles down the road from me. I told him I was looking for a fixer upper for around $500 and he said come get it because he is moving at the end of the month. I got there and it wouldn't start because the battery was dead. The seat skin was in good shape but wasn't installed correctly as it had tons of wrinkles. Since it wouldn't start, I told him I could do $300 as is and we finally agreed on $380. I got it home, put my lawn mower battery in it and it fired right up. I then cleaned both fuel filters and replaced the oil injection lines and rode it all weekend with no issues. Then I buffed it last night, tightened the seat cover, and installed a Blacktip handlebar cover. Total investment is $420 with a $350 trailer!

I plan to sell this one to recover the cost of the last two seadoos and keep the trailer. Before and after:

569.jpg




LOL, that seat cover looks like a cheap dollar store poncho. C'mon you can see the resemblance, right. Looks so much better WV after the restretch.

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seeing this pic,

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I can't help but think of this pic...

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any chance you can give us the Sea Doo version ? :lol:


ps.. the awful condition of the hood makes me wonder if eventhe meguiars trick would save it...

but... it DID save this one....
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and turn it into this..., so its worth trying.. but please take b4 and afters !

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seeing this pic,

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I can't help but think of this pic...



any chance you can give us the Sea Doo version ? :lol:

That literally made me laugh out loud! This was taken right after I got home and I was pretty much crazy from the stress of buying something I knew little about then riding in the freezing water and wind in jeans lol.

This pic shows the "after" condition of the hood. I used steel wool and purple power to get all the grime off then polished it with Meguiars 105 compound and a Porter Cable DA polisher. It pretty much looks new now!

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That literally made me laugh out loud! This was taken right after I got home and I was pretty much crazy from the stress of buying something I knew little about then riding in the freezing water and wind in jeans lol.

This pic shows the "after" condition of the hood. I used steel wool and purple power to get all the grime off then polished it with Meguiars 105 compound and a Porter Cable DA polisher. It pretty much looks new now!

560.jpg

awesome !!!
 
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