How long should engine last?

[TomG]

New to jet skis. Can someone tell me what is considered high time for a jet ski engine? How long (if taken care of) can one expect to get out of jet ski engine? 4 strokes last longer?

Thanks for any replies, I have learned much from this site.

Tom

[frankey01]

Re: How long should engine last?

It is all in the main and care and a little luck. I have seen stories of motors lasting years. My 1995 XP is still on original motor where as my 1995 GTS I just rebuilt the motor last fall. SOOO go figure. Welcome to the forum good to see more Texas guys showing up lately.

[1fastski.com]

Re: How long should engine last?

like franky said its all in the mantanice , on the 4 stroke question , they should last longer but have not been on the market very long to tell , they do break and sink and the repair bills when they do are much more then any 2 stroke .

[WATERCRAFTSERVICES]

Re: How long should engine last?

I see a wide variety of skis with many different hrs on them. I have seen skis with 20 hrs on them with blown motors. I have seen 15 yr old skis still running strong. It is all in the maintaince and upkeep that prolongs the life of these engines.
I had a 1999 Yamaha suv in the shop last year with 1002 hrs on the clock. The oil pump line cracked and killed one cylinder. No telling how long it would have gone if the oil line would not have broken. If the normal maintaince schedule is performed and good fuel and oil are used then i would expect hundreds of trouble free hrs from an engine. I personally have 2 Yamahas and 2 SeaDoos with over 200 hrs on each and running great. The 97 SeaDoo GTX my wife uses has 388 hrs currently on the origional factory 787. Take care of them and they will treat you right.

[radiocontrolhead]

Re: How long should engine last?

i have a 1989 kawasaki and still runnin strong.

[Halter]

Re: How long should engine last?

my 900 zxi 96 is still running like new!!!

[FastUltra]

Re: How long should engine last?

I really don't see a supercharged 4 stroke (pushed to the endge) lasting considerably longer then a 2 stroke. But I could be wrong and this is just my opinion. Only time will tell...

[Bill O'Neal2]

Re: How long should engine last?

Paul, you wouldn't be wrong.

[joyenter]

Re: How long should engine last?

What will the bill be when I bring my ski in to the shop 2 stroke VS 4 stroke??

[Dan750SX]

Re: How long should engine last?

This year I'm rebuilding the engine from my 750SX. It still worked fine, I just figured it would probably be a good idea to do it BEFORE blowing it up.

The engine doesn't have all that much use on it, but after having gotten it apart I could tell that a rebuild was in order. The crank bearings were getting rough, a piston was cracked and had bad needle bearings, and there was a slight water leak in the head which had corroded two studs.

I'm hoping that this will last at least 5 years, hopefully another 10. Internally, everything will be new. New crank from SBT, new pistons bored .25mm oversize, new bearings.

Dan

[Frisbee]

Re: How long should engine last?

i have an 03 stx-12f sitting in my garage with 350 hrs on it that i bought for 125 dollars. quite comfortabe to sit on but does not run well at all. customer was given an estimate from dealer in the amount of 7 grand to fix the engine. second one i have seen that grenaded bottom end. i pulled engine and pan to get a better idea of damages. cheaper to buy new boat. in all fairness though,i believe the failure resulted from poor maint.or lack of.