- Location
- Northeast Pa
So here's the story: It's a little long if you want to skip to the help part
When I was a kid my dad had this awesome 550 with every aftermarket part available on it. Bored all aluminum engine and shaved head, aftermarket exhaust and waterbox, 440 crank, ported, etc. Thing was the fastest jet ski on the local lake and everyone talked about it, even had it custom painted by a body shop with the family business name on it. It was awesome and I wanted to ride it in the worst way but a couple years before I could get a boat license he decided to sell it which I was unhappy about but eventually forgot all about it.
Flash forward about 10 years and I'm seventeen going to a friends graduation party on their family farm. This farm is about an hours drive from my house in the middle of nowhere. During the party, while everyone's hangin out in a clubhouse made of hay, I decided to go exploring through the barn. I get to the lower, underground level and see an old makeshift plywood trailer sitting in the middle of the room. I walked up to it and sitting inside it was none other than my dads motherf***ing jet ski. Once I cleaned myself up from crapping my pants I went to my friend and made them take me too its owner, her uncle. He told me it had been sitting there for years and he was the third owner since my dad. I told him I'd buy it at any cost but he had that farmer mentality of never letting anything go even if its junk. But eventually after 2 years of back and forth with the guy he agreed to sell it, so I bought it for $375.
I took it home, cleaned the gas tank and lines, rebuilt the carb, jerry rigged the hell out of the starter and after 7+ years of that thing sitting in the bottom of a barn it started right up. I was super excited and rode it every day all summer only having to fix a few minor things
The Help: So the end of the season comes around and I'm out riding when the boat commission stops me. They couldn't see the registration sticker but it was all good. I had shut the ski off and now all of a sudden it wouldn't start, no amount of cranking in the world would even make it fire. So the boat commission towed me back to the launch where I loaded it up and went home. Bought a manual and did every test in the book and couldn't find anything wrong so I figured bad seals, time for a rebuild anyway. So I tore it apart, cleaned and inspected everything and put it back together with all new pistons, rings, seals, etc. Still wouldn't start. I got it to fire a handful of times and actually blew up the waterbox when it loaded with fuel and fired. Now it's been sitting for two years and I'm ashamed to look at it.
To get to the point, I'm looking for a 550 expert in the New England area. I don't want to fiddle with it anymore, I want to take it to someone who's fixed innumerable amounts of these skis and can figure it out and tune it. I live in Northeastern Pennsylvania and am willing to drive it a good ways to the right person. Any help would be much appreciated, Thanks
When I was a kid my dad had this awesome 550 with every aftermarket part available on it. Bored all aluminum engine and shaved head, aftermarket exhaust and waterbox, 440 crank, ported, etc. Thing was the fastest jet ski on the local lake and everyone talked about it, even had it custom painted by a body shop with the family business name on it. It was awesome and I wanted to ride it in the worst way but a couple years before I could get a boat license he decided to sell it which I was unhappy about but eventually forgot all about it.
Flash forward about 10 years and I'm seventeen going to a friends graduation party on their family farm. This farm is about an hours drive from my house in the middle of nowhere. During the party, while everyone's hangin out in a clubhouse made of hay, I decided to go exploring through the barn. I get to the lower, underground level and see an old makeshift plywood trailer sitting in the middle of the room. I walked up to it and sitting inside it was none other than my dads motherf***ing jet ski. Once I cleaned myself up from crapping my pants I went to my friend and made them take me too its owner, her uncle. He told me it had been sitting there for years and he was the third owner since my dad. I told him I'd buy it at any cost but he had that farmer mentality of never letting anything go even if its junk. But eventually after 2 years of back and forth with the guy he agreed to sell it, so I bought it for $375.
I took it home, cleaned the gas tank and lines, rebuilt the carb, jerry rigged the hell out of the starter and after 7+ years of that thing sitting in the bottom of a barn it started right up. I was super excited and rode it every day all summer only having to fix a few minor things
The Help: So the end of the season comes around and I'm out riding when the boat commission stops me. They couldn't see the registration sticker but it was all good. I had shut the ski off and now all of a sudden it wouldn't start, no amount of cranking in the world would even make it fire. So the boat commission towed me back to the launch where I loaded it up and went home. Bought a manual and did every test in the book and couldn't find anything wrong so I figured bad seals, time for a rebuild anyway. So I tore it apart, cleaned and inspected everything and put it back together with all new pistons, rings, seals, etc. Still wouldn't start. I got it to fire a handful of times and actually blew up the waterbox when it loaded with fuel and fired. Now it's been sitting for two years and I'm ashamed to look at it.
To get to the point, I'm looking for a 550 expert in the New England area. I don't want to fiddle with it anymore, I want to take it to someone who's fixed innumerable amounts of these skis and can figure it out and tune it. I live in Northeastern Pennsylvania and am willing to drive it a good ways to the right person. Any help would be much appreciated, Thanks
