What could be wrong? gasket???

[fisherjam]

Hi, I'm new to this site and was looking for advice.
I am looking at purchasing these two jetskis. Here is the ad:
I have two wave runners, a 1995 Yamaha and a 2004 Seadoo Bombardier. They both have been garage kept and maintained well. The Yamaha runs awesome and always has! The trailer is in great condition. I was working on the Bombardier and I think there was water in the engine. It had not been in the water only a hose attached to the back of it in the driveway while I was prepping it. I took it up north for the weekend and realized it was wet inside the plug so I dried out the motor and fired it up eventually putting it in the lake. I ran the lake for two more days without any problems. Actually it ran fantastic. My guess is it could be a cracked head or just a gasket or nothing at all. I know nothing about engines. I am starting a new business and could use the extra money so I am only asking $2200 serious callers only please. Includes Jackets, Tube and rope! Valued @ $6000.00
The pics look like they are both in great condition along with the trailer. What do you think the problem with the one is? Any idea on how much a gasket may run? I know nothing about motors so I would have to pay to have it repaired. There isn't a simple way to tell without opening up the motor, is there? Do you think it would be a good buy. I would get it fixed and then hold on to it till spring to probably resell, maybe not though.
We had an identical one to the 95 and it was a lot of fun. Depending on how fast the 2004 is I may keep them at our cottage to ski behind.

Thanks a lot.

 

[The Penguin]

Re: What could be wrong? gasket???

do yourself a favor and buy running skis.

the only way I would pay $2200 for the equipment listed is if I was able to do the repair work myself.

 

[rogerwa]

Re: What could be wrong? gasket???

From the ad he doesn't say there is a problem. But there are a few things to consider here and the net of it is that froma buyers perspective, without the truth and full knowledge of the situation, you would have to look at the engine as a rebuild.

The water could simply be that he turned on the hose to the flush port without the engine running. If the engine is not running prior to the water being turned on, the water will eventually find its way up the exhaust and into the cylinders. They could have sunk it and got water in that way, or there could be a gasket leak, which could be the exhaust or head gasket if it is anything like my Yamaha.

Now what makes the engine a rebuild is that you do not know how long the water stayed in the engine or how much or how he dried it out. If the water sat for any period you will need to rebuild it, its just how long it takes. The crank bearings will fail and there will be damage when the bearings fall apart.

If I were to buy it, I would price them separately and lowball the 2004 by the amount of a rebuild and then what the hassle would be worth to me to rebuild it myself. If you are not doing your own work this would not be a good deal since it is a better deal to just buy a good one. I totally rebuilt the engine on my GP760 with all new moving parts for ~$550 and a weeks worth of sweat equity. A rebuilt motor minimum price would be ~$800 (that is for a 2 cylinder 760CC 2-stroke motor) plus my time to install, so if buying damaged I would have reduced the purchase price by at least $1200 to make it a workable deal..

Just my .02