I just bought a 2002 1200 STX-R. What should I do first?

[steve45]

The oil supply line to the pump is 1/4" ID. The lines coming out of the pump are 1/8" ID.

Here's is a source for USCG approved fuel line: http://greenhulk.net/forums/showthread.php?t=259423

nmpeter had a link recently for the same hose by the foot. Do a search for it.

I've installed a couple of old-style SeaDoo fuel filters. They work fine, AND you can unscrew the bowl by hand and clean them in the field.
https://www.amazon.com/Sea-Doo-OEM-F...a-594381342434

[nmpeter]

Is it ok to run it with the arrester off? That would make it a lot easier to visually see that the new lines are full of oil.

follow the previous advice to prime up the oil lines. Me?, I take the pump off and use a small electric drill to run it to make sure not only do the lines fill, but the flow rate is to spec. The pumps are really reliable, but who wants to eat an engine on a customers ski? I don't take many chances. That's why my shop insurance premium stays reasonably low

you can run with the flame arrestor off. idle only. keep your face away from the carbs

feed premix into the fuel line from a small container, or drain the tank and put a gallon or two of premix fuel in. When your ready to roll filling the tank will dilute it enough as to not to be much of an issue

hold the oil pump wide open to prime up the lines. new spring clips advised. avoid using zip ties. that doesn't work out well in the long run

gotta be careful working with open fuel containers and with the arrestors off.

have a co2 fire bottle or a fire blanket handy

[beekermartin]

I did watch a video using the drill method to prime the pump. I could give that a shot.

So I should change every fuel and oil line? I thought just the five 1/8 lines coming out of the pump needed to be changed. This is going to be a lot more work than I was anticipating. Oh well. I will get it done little by little.

[nmpeter]

I did watch a video using the drill method to prime the pump. I could give that a shot.

So I should change every fuel and oil line? I thought just the five 1/8 lines coming out of the pump needed to be changed. This is going to be a lot more work than I was anticipating. Oh well. I will get it done little by little.

and you wonder why the general opinion was to get something else?

the work is tedious and the material isn't cheap..if you are doing it to last, then the answer is yes. if you want to get on the water and do it next winter, the answer is no.

only the lines from the pump to the engine are critical. did you get a real compression reading yet?. I'd be pulling the pump before tearing into the carbs

be pretty disappointing to get all that work done on the fuel system only to have the pump grenade during your first real outing, as you know you are going to want to flat our, right?

with 200 hours on the clock and no history on the pump, that's where I would be in you rolled into my shop. at least get the cone off ( that's not much of a picnic btw) to see what comes out ( hopefully no water)

[turboman412]

Its not that much more money to do all the lines now. But really its your call, i have said in past to pull the pump 50 dollar rebuild kit now can save your summer we could make a bet now theres water in that pump.

Steve has great advise with securing with stainless safety wire, i do not trust those stock clamps. I have had no issues using lawson small zip ties with stainless tungs, i actually prefer them over other methods.

We did warn you about what might be needed, but all honestly your gunna do this to any used ski you buy.

[beekermartin]

and you wonder why the general opinion was to get something else?

the work is tedious and the material isn't cheap..if you are doing it to last, then the answer is yes. if you want to get on the water and do it next winter, the answer is no.

only the lines from the pump to the engine are critical. did you get a real compression reading yet?. I'd be pulling the pump before tearing into the carbs

be pretty disappointing to get all that work done on the fuel system only to have the pump grenade during your first real outing, as you know you are going to want to flat our, right?

with 200 hours on the clock and no history on the pump, that's where I would be in you rolled into my shop. at least get the cone off ( that's not much of a picnic btw) to see what comes out ( hopefully no water)

I understand why the general opinion was to get something else. From the searching I had done it seems like $2,000 to $3,000 bought a ski in this type of condition/hours with a trailer. In order to get one with a lot less hours and in better condition it appeared I would have to spend $4k plus with the sky being the limit. I did find a few 4 stroke Yamaha's that I know are a lot more reliable and last a lot longer. I was considering one of those and found one I liked for $4500 but it sold before I got to look at it. Also, I wanted something faster than the 53 mph the VX Yamahas are rated for. I don't want to spend top dollar for a modern 70 mph supercharged rocket though. That is how I ended up landing on this one. I knew it would need some work. Most of it I will be able to do myself with help from this great forum. Some I might have to pay someone else to do. I am ok with that up to a certain point. Hopefully the pump is good but if it isn't I will probably be regretting that I bought this. If it just needs a rebuild I should be ok.

I did not do a second compression test yet but I plan on it. Should I try to borrow a different tool from someone else, rent one or buy a cheap one on Amazon?

Do I need to pull the carbs to replace the oil lines? I was assuming I could change the lines without removing them. If the carbs need to be removed to change the lines then I am not going to do that without water testing it first. I will leave the arrester off, start it up and check for leaks. If there aren't any then I will try to take it for a light water test next. If the water test goes well I will then look into taking the pump cone off. I might just pay someone to do that if it is too difficult to do for an amateur with the ski on a trailer.

[nmpeter]

last comment on price.

Book value has a specific definition

your ski did not meet that definition by a wide margin

hence you overpaid by the amount of time and money you are about to spend on refurbishment

you can most certainly borrow a compression gauge from an autozone for a small deposit

being kind of a degenerate gambler, I'd lay even money against two free hours of telephone consultation that the pump has water in it and the bearings are rough. you don't want to take me up on that.

you can change the oil lines with the carbs in place, but only by using the factory clips, other methods are very tricky with them on, pullin them then means you have to deal with cleaning up the gaskets and all. more work, more expense and one broken bolt will ruin your budget. the amount of rust means lots of soaking with pb blaster and time to carefully pull it apart

a very light water test indeed. I'd suggest no more then half throttle

remember I said I don't work on two strokes anymore..these are all the reasons why.

pulling the pump might be easier then pulling the cone in place

oh wait...lemme have a look to see if by chance that later model has an inspection plug..brb

well there is some luck for you. there is an inspection plug!, you'll need a big ass long allen wrench ( 8 or 10 mm) or an allen socket for a 3/8 racthet. buy a cheap set, you'll need them. it's made of plastic the proper size wrench and a gentle touch is a must. they strip easily. nose up the trailer and pull it. with some luck, rusty water will not come out. grease it and reinstall. after a ten minute water test, pull the pug again. while the water doesn't dry out in there, we know nothing about how long it was since the last time that ski was in water

all assaults aside beeker, i we're all hoping for a good result for you with this ski. after getting back into the ski world 11 years ago ( I spent most of my working life as a software engineer), you can imagine I've seen enough of this kind of nonsense to get really snarky. Mainly for the benefit of the next guy, who might see all of this and decide it might not be worth the asking price.

[turboman412]

Much easier to do lines with carbs out.

If pump is no good its not the end of the world. Any stx with a 148mm pump will fit, all the tripple stxs used this pump. With good luck you can score one for 100 bucks, i have in the past. My ski needed a pump at 60hrs, its really not uncommon or the end of the road.

I dont know why the forum is making it seem like a broken bolt or cleaning gasket material is the end of the world. We are talking peanuts in money for base gaskets and you should open up those carbs to check to see if they are clean. This is your choice and purchase, you have a great first ski. My first ski was a seadoo sp with a 580 what a piece of crap that thing was.

[beekermartin]

last comment on price.

Book value has a specific definition

your ski did not meet that definition by a wide margin

hence you overpaid by the amount of time and money you are about to spend on refurbishment

you can most certainly borrow a compression gauge from an autozone for a small deposit

being kind of a degenerate gambler, I'd lay even money against two free hours of telephone consultation that the pump has water in it and the bearings are rough. you don't want to take me up on that.

you can change the oil lines with the carbs in place, but only by using the factory clips, other methods are very tricky with them on, pullin them then means you have to deal with cleaning up the gaskets and all. more work, more expense and one broken bolt will ruin your budget. the amount of rust means lots of soaking with pb blaster and time to carefully pull it apart

a very light water test indeed. I'd suggest no more then half throttle

remember I said I don't work on two strokes anymore..these are all the reasons why.

pulling the pump might be easier then pulling the cone in place

oh wait...lemme have a look to see if by chance that later model has an inspection plug..brb

well there is some luck for you. there is an inspection plug!, you'll need a big ass long allen wrench ( 8 or 10 mm) or an allen socket for a 3/8 racthet. buy a cheap set, you'll need them. it's made of plastic the proper size wrench and a gentle touch is a must. they strip easily. nose up the trailer and pull it. with some luck, rusty water will not come out. grease it and reinstall. after a ten minute water test, pull the pug again. while the water doesn't dry out in there, we know nothing about how long it was since the last time that ski was in water

all assaults aside beeker, i we're all hoping for a good result for you with this ski. after getting back into the ski world 11 years ago ( I spent most of my working life as a software engineer), you can imagine I've seen enough of this kind of nonsense to get really snarky. Mainly for the benefit of the next guy, who might see all of this and decide it might not be worth the asking price.

I knew the risk going in and I accepted it. The ski starts right up and seems to run well. On the trailer of course. The seller could be lying but he said it ran like a raped ape when he used it last year. Maybe I'll get lucky and it will be in perfect running order when I water test it. If it is then I can start tackling the preventative maintenance we have discussed.

I will rent a compression tester from AutoZone and recheck the compression. Hopefully all three cylinders are close to spec.

My next step is going to be to start it up with the arrester off and check for oil leaks. If there isn't any I will reinstall the arrester (possibly a replacement one since mine is missing the metal grates) and put it in the water to test it. I will do an easy water test to see what happens. After that I imagine I will have enough information to know what to do next. I assume a pump rebuild will be what I will do next so I know that is good for the season. If the oil lines aren't leaking I can always wait on those and keep a watchful on them until I am ready to pull the carbs.

Thanks again everyone for your posts. I understand some of you have seen what can happen and I appreciate the warnings. Please keep the posts coming. I am not discouraged, yet...

[turboman412]

Oil lines get brittle with age and give no warning when they are going to break/split. I bet you will understand when you go to replace and see how they fall apart in your hands. I dont think you know how important it is to replace those, i have seen many come victim to a broken oil line.