[Magic4711]

This is my first jet ski so I am a complete noob on these things. I plan on taking it out for the first time tomorrow. In the manual it says to launch watercraft and for the first 5 min of break-in to operate engine at idle speed. I would like to check the oil before i take it out to make sure the techs got enough in there. Would it be ok to do the 5 min idle break in on the hose so I can check the oil. I will do the 30 min of below 5000 rpm's and 1 hr of below 6500 rpm's on the lake.
I also noticed when i took the seat off today, there is a black hose that hooks up underneath the seat in the rear that says 'vent' on it, however the other end is not hook to anything. What does this end go to?
I'm probably going to pay to have it winterized this year because i dont know that much about it yet but would like to do it myself in the future. I read bulldogs101 tips for winterizing (lots of good info), where do you guys buy the yamaha engine fogging oil, the silicone lubricant to spray on the engine, oil and filter? is dealer the only choice? 1 last question..where do I get the pump to pump the oil out of the engine?
Sorry for all the questions and thanks for your help.

 

[Ernest T]

You can check the oil on the hose, but you may need to run it a little longer than 5 min. to get an accurate reading. Remember to start the engine before the water, and turn off the water before you turn off the engine on the hose.

You can get stuff from here: Parker Yamaha.Com and Parker Sports Center Home I use K&N oil filters and get them and the spark plugs off Amazon. You can find a cheap oil extractor at Walmart, or many auto parts stores.

The maintenance is pretty easy to do yourself. Don't be surprised to see a $200 bill from the dealer.

 

[Magic4711]

Thanks for the reply. I couldn't find the oil filter on amazon, but i did find it here K&N KN-204 - K&N Powersports Oil Filters - Overview - SummitRacing.com or is it this one
K&N KN-303 - K&N Powersports Oil Filters - Overview - SummitRacing.com
wish the manual would say which one.

Thanks for website link, i can get the engine fogger, rust inhibitor and cable lube on there. Now that i think about it, the winterization seems pretty easy. Its changing the oil and filter next spring thats going to take some work.

 

[fsugatorbait]

Let me know how you like yours. The wife and I are looking at getting a pair of VX's in the near future.

 

[Ernest T]

I also noticed when i took the seat off today, there is a black hose that hooks up underneath the seat in the rear that says 'vent' on it, however the other end is not hook to anything. What does this end go to?

I forgot to mention that the vent hose goes to the battery. There should be a little port on the top of the battery on one end if it is a Yamaha battery that you connect the hose to. Most maintenance-free batteries will not have this port.

 

[Magic4711]

God I am soo $*@($*@ mad. The idiot at the dealer that put together my trailer not only forgot to tighten ALL the lugnuts (which we didn't see until after we drove it to lake and back) and now the lugnut holes on the rims are egged out so the rims are junk now but he also didn't put the trailer together right. It must be missing a bump wheel or something because now there is a nice 1 in by 3 in gash in the bottom of my NEW jetski!! And the trailer is dented where the ski bottomed out on it. They are going to get a bitch fest come monday. Depending on what they do is whether i take them to court or not. Touching up the paint on the bottom of my ski is not going to take care of the gash in my fiberglass.
But before all this happened, we had an absolute blast on this. With 2 of us on the ski in real choppy water we got it up to 55 mph

 

[Ernest T]

Sorry to hear about damage to your new ski. That sucks! Hope you get is straightened out.

Here is another good place to shop for stuff for your ski: ISLAND RACING

 

[Magic4711]

Sorry took soo long to update how things went. Dealership agreed to pay for repairing the bottom of my ski, I just have to take it in at the end of the season. It took a little arguing but they finally gave me some new rims for my trailer too.
Couple pics of the bottom of my ski:



This is where my ski hit the trailer:

I cant seem to understand why in the hell shorelander has that tube going soo far back. It could have ended where the other bars 'Y' off and probably of been fine.

Now that I have hit the 10hr mark i need to change the oil. I noticed that when the ski is cold the oil level is in the middle of the high and low marks on the dipstick. But when I pulled it out of the lake this afternoon and checked, it was way high. Obviously the nimrod at the dealership only checked the oil level cold when he was filling it. I was going to measure how much i sucked out and put that much back in when i changed it but now that wont work. Should i suck all i can out and just add a little over 2 qts (manual says 2.33q w/ filter change)? One last thing, anyone know what oil filter this takes? Preferably what K&N filter. I can't find the info anywhere

 

[Outlaw]

Sorry took soo long to update how things went. Dealership agreed to pay for repairing the bottom of my ski, I just have to take it in at the end of the season. It took a little arguing but they finally gave me some new rims for my trailer too.
Couple pics of the bottom of my ski:



This is where my ski hit the trailer:

I cant seem to understand why in the hell shorelander has that tube going soo far back. It could have ended where the other bars 'Y' off and probably of been fine.

Now that I have hit the 10hr mark i need to change the oil. I noticed that when the ski is cold the oil level is in the middle of the high and low marks on the dipstick. But when I pulled it out of the lake this afternoon and checked, it was way high. Obviously the nimrod at the dealership only checked the oil level cold when he was filling it. I was going to measure how much i sucked out and put that much back in when i changed it but now that wont work. Should i suck all i can out and just add a little over 2 qts (manual says 2.33q w/ filter change)? One last thing, anyone know what oil filter this takes? Preferably what K&N filter. I can't find the info anywhere

Yes you should siphon out what oil is left. I use a vacum hand pump from West Marine called the "Topsider" works great with a controlled draw. just wiggle the siphon tube while it is drawing.

When you refill add the two quarts and check the fill level. Then top off and see if it took it all or not. That way you will know what came out.

As far as a filter ask Ernest T on this forum he knows Yamaha real well

Good Luck

 

[Ernest T]

Nasty looking scrape, but should be easily fixable. My Triton trailer has a similar piece, but at least they put a sturdy rubber bumper over it, so it doesn't scrape the bottom of the ski. My son managed to run the bottom of my ski over a submerged rock a few weeks ago. I have a very similar problem on the bottom of my ski now to fix this winter.

With these Yamaha 4 strokes, you need to get the engine hot to check or change the oil. I make it a point to check mine on the water after I've ridden at least 10-15 minutes. On the water it is perfectly level, and hot enough to get a good reading. You don't want to let it sit around or the oil drains back into the system and you don't get a good reading.........check it right after you get off. You can do it on the hose, but you need to run it longer than 5 minutes or it will not be hot enough.

Over filling the oil on these skis is an extremenly common problem, and you see it fairly often done at dealerships. You can't do it like a car or you will get it wrong everytime. If your is overfilled, be sure to check the air filter for signs of oil.......even a little on the filter will reduce performance. Overfilling oil also tends to foul the spark plugs. I recommend always changing the oil when the engine is hot. If you don't you will not remove many of the suspended particulates, and you will also not be able to get as much oil out, because it has drained back into the engine.

I'm pretty sure the KN 204 filter is the one your want. Shoot for a hot oil level 1/2 way between the marks.

 

[Magic4711]

Yes you should siphon out what oil is left. I use a vacum hand pump from West Marine called the "Topsider" works great with a controlled draw. just wiggle the siphon tube while it is drawing.

When you refill add the two quarts and check the fill level. Then top off and see if it took it all or not. That way you will know what came out.

As far as a filter ask Ernest T on this forum he knows Yamaha real well

Good Luck

Thanks for the advice on the Topsider, it got good reviews so I will probably end up getting that one, I just wish there was a way to measure the oil inside the container. I guess I will use the empty containers from my car oil. There was one i seen a week or so ago, cant remember if it was this website or another, but the container was a ball shape and had marks to show the amount of fluid, its driving me crazy because i cant find it again.
Now just need to know my filter and if this wrench will fit then i will be ordering :thumbsup: