Newbie questions before you rebuild or buy a ski.

[TopCop931]

Water inside the hull always makes its way towards the rear of the hull. When you are riding, or even floating, the rear is always a little lower than the nose.

That is why a bilge pump is always tucked into the rear of the hull, as are the siphon bilge pickups. BTW, make sure the mesh screens on those are clear.

If you want to know that you have water in the hull, put the sensor down low in the rear.

I did clean those mesh screens. You can tell that they are silver again. My theory for placing the float a little further up was because the bilge pump should be working all the time so if water was coming in from a seal or something the bilge would not keep up and water would make its way up. I see your point though. The float should be close to the bulge pump anyway if it was not running all the time like they do in these things.

I was just told that I could use 3M 5200 Fast Cure instead of the screws and it would hold tight. Have you ever used it?

[K447]

...I was just told that I could use 3M 5200 Fast Cure instead of the screws and it would hold tight...

3M 5200 will hold almost anything in place.

You might need a chisel to remove it later, so make sure it is located exactly where you want it to be

Still use SS screws on the bilge drain fitting. Use screws just long enough to securely hold the fitting to the hull. You don't need excessive screw length.

[TopCop931]

3M 5200 will hold almost anything in place.

You might need a chisel to remove it later, so make sure it is located exactly where you want it to be

Still use SS screws on the bilge drain fitting. Use screws just long enough to securely hold the fitting to the hull. You don't need excessive screw length.

Got ya!

[ripcuda]

Newbie... now onboard

Hi Gang,
Newbie here. Been living on a lake for 3 years now and finally decided to get a pwc for the kids now they are getting old enough to enjoy it.

Thanks to the wealth of knowledge and friendly advice from the regulars here, the available online repair manuals/part #s/etc. and the seemingly abundant supply of parts online (ebay and such)... I decided to buck the "friends don't let friends buy Polaris" crap and I specifically wanted a Polaris as my first ski.

I turn all my own wrenches and love to take things apart and fix stuff. Got a good bit of automotive and small engine experience... but I was a little timid about the learning curve for pwc's and larger 2-strokes (only had worked on weedwhackers prior). Well thanks to all the great info here and after reviewing repair manuals, and after studying all the parts available on ebay and more importantly after buying my own and disassembling it... I can now say I'm no longer intimidated by them. Pretty cool machines!

I found a great deal on a non-running-in-years '94 SLT 750 on a single place trailer. It was being sold by the original owner and was always covered well. It is in pretty decent shape for it's age with the only known issue having been a Mag cylinder/piston rebuild a few years back... but had run well after that partial rebuild until it was parked. When I got it home I discovered two "big" issues that as an excited newbie I probably should have seen when I bought it. 1st was a thumb-sized rock in the impeller which broke off chunks from 3 of the pump housing vanes. Rock was even still in there... d'oh. 2nd was ebox shorted against battery and fried/melted the entire length of the black ground wire coming off the stator... grrr. I talked with the seller about this and he was cool enough to lower the sale price and refund me some money. Very upstanding guy.

So with some expensive parts needed, I scoured ebay... then found another identical '94 SLT 750 nearby (fate? haha) that had a blown engine and was already disassembled... a true "basket case". But the ebox was clean and the stator+wires were good and the impeller and pump housing we good... so I bought it for parts. Happy Birthday to me! haha. So out of two will come one plus extra parts for a rainy day.

Well... that's my start to the pwc world. Glad to have found this place... guess I should ask my newbie questions now?

> where's the best place to buy gasket kits, seals, o-rings? Here from the online store?

> the head on my mag cylinder is black (was rebuilt at one time)... not the normal blue... does this indicate anything special? came off a diff engine? aftermarket?

> if I disassemble the carbs to clean, do I automatically ruin gaskets that must be replaced? Or are there o-rings and such that if still in good shape will work again?

Cheers!

[K447]

Welcome ripcuda

The Greenhulk online store does not handle Polaris stuff. But they give us a great forum to play in, so we forgive them

Click below for a partial list of parts sources.

Polaris PWC Parts Sources

Is that black cylinder head painted black, or burned paint black?

Buy genuine Mikuni carb rebuild kits, and new needles and seats. It is much better to use the genuine parts, and know it is done properly.

Look up how to check carburetor pop-off settings. Not hard to do, and it helps you know you have it all ign right.

[ripcuda]

Is that black cylinder head painted black, or burned paint black?

Buy genuine Mikuni carb rebuild kits, and new needles and seats. It is much better to use the genuine parts, and know it is done properly.

Thanks for the welcome and reply K447!

The black cylinder head is definitely original black... not painted over black... I'm guessing that's what you mean by "burned paint black".

I've read the strong recommendation to only use Mikuni carb parts... and I will... if I need to. Does a carb teardown for cleaning guaranty I will need any gaskets or parts?

[K447]

... I'm guessing that's what you mean by "burned paint black"...

If an engine is severely overheated, the blue paint can turn black just from the smoking hot cylinder head.

That is what I mean by burned paint

[egman2005]

trailer

Ok.

So i bought a slxh toward the end of last years shitty summer that didnt come with a trailer dirt cheap. Engines compression is great and its in decent shape.

But I bought a trailer today and just would like to know how or if i even need to do anything with it as far as registration.

I live in michigan and the trailer has a perminate michigan trailer plate on it. All the trailer came with was a bill of sale that myself and the seller filled out and signed.


Oh and the ski has the famous grey fuel lines. Whats the easiest way to replace those and best place to get the lines from

[TopCop931]

Another quetion after a long explanation.

Hey guys,

I have another newbee question for you but first I want to let you all know where I am at with this project. As I stated earlier my SLT 780 has not run in about 4 years or more. I have replaced everything. It was turning right over and then after sitting for 4 days would not start and eventually flooded out. I pulled the plugs, let the cylinders air out and then she turned back over. I have narrowed the problem down to the fuel switch. If it is left "on" there is no problem when it is turned "off" and left for a few days for some reason I flood out when the switch is turned "on."

Anyway, once it turned over today everything seemed okay and I noticed that my brand new seat was getting spit on with what seems to be black oil as I had it resting against the house behind the jet nozzle. This stuff is as black as Texas Tea and seems to be all over the back of my ride plate. I have no leaks anywhere so I am wondering if this is fogging oil that has made it's way out there. Could this be what it is?

The woman that owned it before me was winterizing it every year even though it was not running. I can't understand why there would be anything there because the entire back end was supposed to have been re-done right before it stopped running. (Needed a CDI)

There was some oil mixed with water on the bottom of the hull that I washed out a couple of days ago but I don't see how that could have made it's way to the top of the ride plate especially on both sides and it was not jet black like this stuff. I cleaned off as much as I could for now but if you guys have no ideas I think I am going to have to take down the ride plate and investigate.

Again, keep in mind that I didn't notice this until after it wouldn't start and then it seemed to appear after it turned over.

Also I have positioned the trailer so that the stern is lower to the ground since the last time I started it. Before the trailer was level.

[ryandi2]

Hey guys,

I have another newbee question for you but first I want to let you all know where I am at with this project. As I stated earlier my SLT 780 has not run in about 4 years or more. I have replaced everything. It was turning right over and then after sitting for 4 days would not start and eventually flooded out. I pulled the plugs, let the cylinders air out and then she turned back over. I have narrowed the problem down to the fuel switch. If it is left "on" there is no problem when it is turned "off" and left for a few days for some reason I flood out when the switch is turned "on."

Anyway, once it turned over today everything seemed okay and I noticed that my brand new seat was getting spit on with what seems to be black oil as I had it resting against the house behind the jet nozzle. This stuff is as black as Texas Tea and seems to be all over the back of my ride plate. I have no leaks anywhere so I am wondering if this is fogging oil that has made it's way out there. Could this be what it is?

The woman that owned it before me was winterizing it every year even though it was not running. I can't understand why there would be anything there because the entire back end was supposed to have been re-done right before it stopped running. (Needed a CDI)

There was some oil mixed with water on the bottom of the hull that I washed out a couple of days ago but I don't see how that could have made it's way to the top of the ride plate especially on both sides and it was not jet black like this stuff. I cleaned off as much as I could for now but if you guys have no ideas I think I am going to have to take down the ride plate and investigate.

Again, keep in mind that I didn't notice this until after it wouldn't start and then it seemed to appear after it turned over.

Also I have positioned the trailer so that the stern is lower to the ground since the last time I started it. Before the trailer was level.

im guessing its left over fogging oil/water gas crap sitting in the water box untill you started it up..

[TopCop931]

im guessing its left over fogging oil/water gas crap sitting in the water box untill you started it up..

I am hoping that you are right. Freaking gunk almost ruined my brand new seat.

[ryandi2]

I am hoping that you are right. Freaking gunk almost ruined my brand new seat.

run it on the hose if you can.. if not run it strapped too your trailer and make sure your not over heating or leaking anything.. but you should be fine.. it always smokes alot..

you said she winterized every year even though it didnt run? yeah there is alot of oil in that thing..

[TopCop931]

run it on the hose if you can.. if not run it strapped too your trailer and make sure your not over heating or leaking anything.. but you should be fine.. it always smokes alot..

you said she winterized every year even though it didnt run? yeah there is alot of oil in that thing..

I have already run it on the hose today and it did seem to clear up. I am definitely not leaking anything in the hull. From what I have learned about the jet pump there is no oil in there just grease so it can't be coming from in there and the ride plate is sealed all around. It just seemed to be pooling around the top of the ride plate that is exposed on each side of the impeller nozzle.

I am really hoping I don't have a case full of fog oil. The plugs are a little wet when I turn it off and pull them out right away but that is not uncommon for a 2 stroke. The plug in the PTO cylinder just seems to be a little wetter than the other two.

[bowsniper]

there are plugs on the side of the cases on the carb side down low that can be opened to drain the case.

talk about junk in the case, check this out. the engine was from a sl750 a 94. i took the motor out and put it my slt. runs good. I couldnt believe how much gas oil n water were in the bottom as I tipped it up and all this spilled out of it..

that stuff could of made its way to the pulse fitting and stop the fuel flow in the carbs, diaphrams dont like water, or oil in them..

[ripcuda]

If an engine is severely overheated, the blue paint can turn black just from the smoking hot cylinder head.

That is what I mean by burned paint

K447... you were right (I bet you hear that alot around here!). What I *thought* was black paint, was in fact blue paint burned black. That MAG cylinder is toast... only 30 lbs compression. Another reason why you should always do a compression test when buying a ski. Good thing I bought two! haha

I'm replacing that cylinder/head with one off my parts engine. Does it matter if I use the CEN cylinder off one engine as the MAG cylinder on another (same engines btw)?

Thanks for the crankcase drain tip bowsniper! My engine is one that has sat for a few years too... I wouldn't have thought to check that.

Another newbie question... where's the best place to buy genuine Mikuni carb kits? My carbs are a little old and corroded looking inside.