New to me 2001 Ultra 150 questions

[Cloud_Master]

Howdy all. I'm bringing home a pair of skis that have been sitting for over 5 years. Sadly, these were owned by a buddy of mine that passed away.

One ski is a blue 2001 Ultra 150. Not sure if it was ever winterized or not, but since the battery is still in it--.


The last ski I owned was a 2004 Honda R-12X. And before that was a 1998 1100 ZXI. Haven't owned one for awhile now.


First thing is first, I'm looking to get all the old gas out and then a carb rebuild kit. Everything is factory except for the sponsons and ride plate(which I installed back in the day).


It has a shredmaster ride plate, and I believe an r and d intake scoop, and aggressor sponsons. Should I change anything here? I remember my buddy saying the ski turned so sharp it would toss him in the corners.


What else should I plan to rebuild/replace other than the carbs, and dump gas tank? Which triple pisser kit should I get? Skiworx?


I've got an owners manual and service manual on its way.


Thanks

[SplishSplash]

Replace the oil lines is more important than the rebuild of the carbs. They may be fine. But the fuel pump may fail, no parts for that it's a swap out only.
Things to check
pump Condition, ss ring, bearings ,impeller
Does the crank turn by hand?
New spark plugs
check Exhaust hoses condition
Waterbox, if not winterized and it froze could have split and you will sink with engine running
new Battery of course
Compression check
Triple pisser yes, and water strainer

[steve45]

Welcome aboard, Cloud_Master!

Sorry to hear that you lost a friend, but he must have been a good friend to leave you his 'Skis.

I can just about guarantee that the fuel tank has the dreaded brown goo from old fuel. It's a lot of work to clean out, but it can be done. Lacquer thinner will cut it. Drain as much as you can from the tank, then go to work cleaning it. Put in about a quart of lacquer thinner, then swish it around with a toilet cleaning brush. Put a gallon of cheap gas in it, swish it around, then siphon it out. Rinse, repeat until it's clean inside. You can look at it with an inspection camera. You can remove the filler hose and/or the fuel gauge sender to gain access to the inside. I'd bet money that the fuel level sender is warped from age and the float sticks.

Next thing to attack is the oil lines. They get brittle with age and split. Replace with Tygon hose and secure with Oetiker clamps or .025" stainless steel safety wire. Wrap the wire around the hose twice, then twist the ends together. Cut off the excess wire and bend the end over so you don't cut yourself on it in the future. Do NOT mix up the oil lines, they are different. Only replace one at a time. Pre-fill the lines with an infant oral syringe, available at your local pharmacy. Inspect the cable for the oil pump, it's probably frayed.

The Triple Pisser Mod is an important one, but you don't have to buy a kit. You can just buy the nozzles & fittings from Kawasaki and re-route the hoses. Tie the two discharge tubes in the back together to keep water out of the hull. Some people swap out the elbows in the cylinder heads for straight fittings. If you do this, you will have to buy the kit because the threads are British or some such thing. I run the OEM fittings and I installed a Groco WSM-500 strainer in the inlet water line to keep trash out of the engine.

I particularly like the trim mod. Some people cut the trim cable to give more UP trim. I made a new bracket that mounts on the nozzle and re-located the hole about 3/4" aft. This gives neutral to up, no down trim whatsoever. It's a LOT more fun to ride!

Pull out the display and seal the rubber plug and wires on the back of it. When you flip it over (and you will if you ride it right), you don't want to get water inside the display and ruin it. I recommend 3M 5200 Fast Cure sealant.

Cut the rubber bellows off of the gas spring on the front hatch. All it does is trap water and cause the spring to rust. It's probably already in bad shape.

There are lots of other little tricks and mods for the 150, but these will get you started.

Oh, yea, what's the other 'Ski on the trailer?

[Cloud_Master]

Replace the oil lines is more important than the rebuild of the carbs. They may be fine. But the fuel pump may fail, no parts for that it's a swap out only.
Things to check
pump Condition, ss ring, bearings ,impeller
Does the crank turn by hand?
New spark plugs
check Exhaust hoses condition
Waterbox, if not winterized and it froze could have split and you will sink with engine running
new Battery of course
Compression check
Triple pisser yes, and water strainer

Thanks for the info.

[Cloud_Master]

Welcome aboard, Cloud_Master!

Sorry to hear that you lost a friend, but he must have been a good friend to leave you his 'Skis.

I can just about guarantee that the fuel tank has the dreaded brown goo from old fuel. It's a lot of work to clean out, but it can be done. Lacquer thinner will cut it. Drain as much as you can from the tank, then go to work cleaning it. Put in about a quart of lacquer thinner, then swish it around with a toilet cleaning brush. Put a gallon of cheap gas in it, swish it around, then siphon it out. Rinse, repeat until it's clean inside. You can look at it with an inspection camera. You can remove the filler hose and/or the fuel gauge sender to gain access to the inside. I'd bet money that the fuel level sender is warped from age and the float sticks.

Next thing to attack is the oil lines. They get brittle with age and split. Replace with Tygon hose and secure with Oetiker clamps or .025" stainless steel safety wire. Wrap the wire around the hose twice, then twist the ends together. Cut off the excess wire and bend the end over so you don't cut yourself on it in the future. Do NOT mix up the oil lines, they are different. Only replace one at a time. Pre-fill the lines with an infant oral syringe, available at your local pharmacy. Inspect the cable for the oil pump, it's probably frayed.

The Triple Pisser Mod is an important one, but you don't have to buy a kit. You can just buy the nozzles & fittings from Kawasaki and re-route the hoses. Tie the two discharge tubes in the back together to keep water out of the hull. Some people swap out the elbows in the cylinder heads for straight fittings. If you do this, you will have to buy the kit because the threads are British or some such thing. I run the OEM fittings and I installed a Groco WSM-500 strainer in the inlet water line to keep trash out of the engine.

I particularly like the trim mod. Some people cut the trim cable to give more UP trim. I made a new bracket that mounts on the nozzle and re-located the hole about 3/4" aft. This gives neutral to up, no down trim whatsoever. It's a LOT more fun to ride!

Pull out the display and seal the rubber plug and wires on the back of it. When you flip it over (and you will if you ride it right), you don't want to get water inside the display and ruin it. I recommend 3M 5200 Fast Cure sealant.

Cut the rubber bellows off of the gas spring on the front hatch. All it does is trap water and cause the spring to rust. It's probably already in bad shape.

There are lots of other little tricks and mods for the 150, but these will get you started.

Oh, yea, what's the other 'Ski on the trailer?

Lots of good info, thanks for the heads up. The other ski is a 1997 Sea Doo GTX.

Can the fuel tank be removed easy enough from the front?

[steve45]

Can the fuel tank be removed easy enough from the front?

No, you have to pull the engine. You can do it all while inside the hull, like I said, it's a lot of work.

[Cloud_Master]

I’m getting ready to start working on this ski and get it going for the summer. Is there a carb rebuild kit worth buying? I’m figuring the rubber parts of the carb are going to be junk, but won’t know until I pull and check. Just figured it would be nice to have the new stuff on hand to put it back together. Or, I can buy individual parts from kawi. Any suggestions on what to get prior so I have it on hand?

[steve45]

Parts for those carbs are expensive, and some OEM parts are no longer available. I don't order parts for them until after I open them up and see what they really need. Usually, they just need a thorough cleaning and new O-rings under the needle valve seat and the fuel rails (same O-rings).

[Cloud_Master]

I plan to pull the pump out for rebuild. Does it make sense to send that out to be done? I see skiworx advertises going through the pump.

[steve45]

I see skiworx advertises going through the pump.

My mother used to say, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."

If you don't want to go through it yourself, send it to Impros.

[Cloud_Master]

I’m not familiar with impros. I’ll look them up.

on another topic, am I better off removing the Aggrssor sponsons and putting in the stickers for a more calm ride? I’m not 20 anymore. I don’t need to turn on a pin for slalom racing or anything.

[steve45]

Don't know. If you have them, it shouldn't be hard to change them and see how they compare.