southernmarylan

Hey all. First of all, I have no experience whatsoever with Jet skis, so if the following sounds like a novice is explaining it, that's the reason.

So if you're reading this, you may not know the story, but I received a free 1992 Kawasaki 750SS, and when I received it the guy said all it needed was a "battery". That's code for new engine. haha. This is a project for me and my buddie's son, so if it dosen't cost too much, we're going to pull it about and get it running.
So I went and purchased a new battery today and installed, put the choke on, lanyard in place, and hit start and it tried to turn over. It was cranking and the sound from the engine literally sounded like a bunch of rocks tumbling around in a dryer. Not a banging, but it's hard to describe as I'm not a mechanic, but I know it didn't sound good. It sounded really rough, like something dry rubbing together. Not steel on steel, but not good. I hooked up the hose flush without the water on in case it started, as I didn't want to burn up the engine. It tried to turn over a few times, and then it just started making that noise like when your starter dies or battery is dead going click, click, click.. I pulled the battery and it def. sucked some juice, but recharged in a few minutes.
Any suggestions on what to do next, besides lighting it on fire? haha. Hopefully I didn't toast the engine, because I"m sure I should have poured a little oil in the pistons and turned them by hand.
Well, who knows. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

YamaDoo

That "rocks in a dryer" sound usually means you need the whole engine rebuilt. Yes, you should pour some oil in the cylinders when starting a motor that has been sitting for a while but I doubt that is the cause of your issue. Is the noise coming from inside the motor?

I found a motorcycle once on Craigslist that also supposedly "just needed a battery" and he was asking only a few hundred dollars for it. I called him and he said "Yeah it runs great" this and that. So I go to look at it and it looked like it had been sitting outside the last decade. Rust everywhere, seat torn to bits, ignition key broke off in ignition, chain rusted solid, etc. I said no thanks. Sorry that was off topic but that's my story with a "it just needs a battery" item.