300/440/550 new ski

[hendo14]

Hey everyone im new to the forum. Ive just acquired a 1985 Kawasaki JS550. Im familiar with 2 stroke motors, but not all that familiar with jet skis. The ski has been sitting for 7 years. after starting to tear it apart, i saw that it needed new gaskets. What else should i look for? also, how do i know when one of my main bearings has gone out?

 

[onedumbtrucker]

rotate the main bearing with your hand, it should be very smooth with some resistance. if it spins real easy or feels at all grindy or sloppy, replace it. Also DEFINITELY pressure test the crank case once you have it back together. You should always as a rule replace the crank case seals but even with brand new ones you should pressure test. If the case does not hold 10psi then either they did not install correctly or your crank may be worn on the seal surface and needs to be polished before going in. Also replace the seals again if you are not 100% sure they didn't get marked up by the crank.

Hope this helped.

 

[hendo14]

yeah it helped, i ended up replacing my whole crankcase. the crank was shot.

 

[mdew1622]

i got the same ski...color and everything