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To all the ZXI owners & Experts out there…
I could defiantly use your guidance on my new summer/ fall/ winter project. I managed to get a 96 ZXI 1100 w/ trailer for free here in Ohio. Probably wondering why it was free huh?
From what I understand is that the original owner had about 60 hours on the ski and the motor just blew up 2 years ago. Knowing the owner to NOT be very mechanically inclined and probably never took care or winterized the engine, I can’t imagine why it would have blown up lol… Anyways, I guess after it blew up, the dealer quoted him $4500 for a new engine, when the KBB on the ski was less than $5000 at the time. I guess the case was too badly damaged to even be salvaged.
Somehow, somewhere along the time of those 2 years, he found a guy who offered to build him a motor for $1600. He paid and I guess the guy passed away halfway through the process or something. And I wound up getting the ski with a good title for free.
So right now, I have a basket case 1100 motor. I was told it was NOT the original but one that they found cheap because it was also blown up, but salvageable… Upon inspection, most everything looks to be there. All the bolt and nuts -- everything is in labeled tupperware containers. The only parts I can see missing is all three pistons, wristpins and rings.
What caused the damage? Well with my untrained eye, it looked to me that something went wrong with the front cylinder. First off, the rod and bearing ( or rather, the lack of the bearing) are/is totally shot. The rod didn’t seem bent, but that section of the crank looks pretty scored. Not to mention the crank bearings on either side of it are seized. The rest of the crank assembly seems fine and the rest of the bearing turn ( but then again, this is too the untrained eye too). The bottom crankcase was welded because (from what I can see) when the rod bearing let go, the rod dropped down and fell through the bottom of the crankcase. The weld does look good IMO. So that may save me some money there… I can see A LOT of metal shavings all around the crankcase where the front cylinder is and also all over in one of the reed cages ( which I imagine was on the front cylinder as well)? I’m going to assume that I will also find metal shavings in the carburetors once I start rebuilding those. The front dome on the head is pitted pretty bad. I wouldn’t know if it is salvageable or not.
The one thing that confuses me, is that the cylinders look as if they are in perfect condition. I actually think they might have already have been bored and honed out ( but I thought you couldn’t do that without having the pistons or at least it‘s not recommended?) Maybe they were just re-sleeved… I can’t tell.
Below are some pictures, what is your analysis of what happened to this engine?
Crank
Lower Crank Case
Upper Crank Case
Head
Cylinders
Reed Cages
This is where you previous owners and experts can help me out! What happened -- can anyone tell from these pictures?
What should I do next? I would like to mod the engine while it's apart.
I could defiantly use your guidance on my new summer/ fall/ winter project. I managed to get a 96 ZXI 1100 w/ trailer for free here in Ohio. Probably wondering why it was free huh?
From what I understand is that the original owner had about 60 hours on the ski and the motor just blew up 2 years ago. Knowing the owner to NOT be very mechanically inclined and probably never took care or winterized the engine, I can’t imagine why it would have blown up lol… Anyways, I guess after it blew up, the dealer quoted him $4500 for a new engine, when the KBB on the ski was less than $5000 at the time. I guess the case was too badly damaged to even be salvaged.
Somehow, somewhere along the time of those 2 years, he found a guy who offered to build him a motor for $1600. He paid and I guess the guy passed away halfway through the process or something. And I wound up getting the ski with a good title for free.
So right now, I have a basket case 1100 motor. I was told it was NOT the original but one that they found cheap because it was also blown up, but salvageable… Upon inspection, most everything looks to be there. All the bolt and nuts -- everything is in labeled tupperware containers. The only parts I can see missing is all three pistons, wristpins and rings.
What caused the damage? Well with my untrained eye, it looked to me that something went wrong with the front cylinder. First off, the rod and bearing ( or rather, the lack of the bearing) are/is totally shot. The rod didn’t seem bent, but that section of the crank looks pretty scored. Not to mention the crank bearings on either side of it are seized. The rest of the crank assembly seems fine and the rest of the bearing turn ( but then again, this is too the untrained eye too). The bottom crankcase was welded because (from what I can see) when the rod bearing let go, the rod dropped down and fell through the bottom of the crankcase. The weld does look good IMO. So that may save me some money there… I can see A LOT of metal shavings all around the crankcase where the front cylinder is and also all over in one of the reed cages ( which I imagine was on the front cylinder as well)? I’m going to assume that I will also find metal shavings in the carburetors once I start rebuilding those. The front dome on the head is pitted pretty bad. I wouldn’t know if it is salvageable or not.
The one thing that confuses me, is that the cylinders look as if they are in perfect condition. I actually think they might have already have been bored and honed out ( but I thought you couldn’t do that without having the pistons or at least it‘s not recommended?) Maybe they were just re-sleeved… I can’t tell.
Below are some pictures, what is your analysis of what happened to this engine?
Crank
Lower Crank Case
Upper Crank Case
Head
Cylinders
Reed Cages
This is where you previous owners and experts can help me out! What happened -- can anyone tell from these pictures?
What should I do next? I would like to mod the engine while it's apart.
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