March is fast upon us, and that means spring break is just around the corner. It also means the first time back on the water for many living in warmer, southern climates like that of E3 Spark Plugs' Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida hometown. If you're planning to spring your jet ski out of its wintertime storage and hit the waves soon, we've got a few tips for you.
Here are six top tips for de-winterizing your jet ski:
- Charge and replace your battery: If you properly winterized your jet ski, you likely removed your battery and connected it to an automatic battery charger to keep it maintained throughout the colder months. Make sure it's got a full, fresh charge before putting it back into your jet ski.
- Drain & refill: Completely drain and replace any fluids remaining in your jet ski, particularly the fuel and motor oil. If this is your first time, be sure you know the proper procedure. For instance, jet skis with two-stroke engines likely require a pre-mixture of fuel and oil placed into the same tank, while a four-stroke engine watercraft typically has separate fill tanks for fuel and oil.
- Grease and seal: Grease and seal all bearings to close the spaces between stationary and moving components in your engine. This helps to ensure that everything remains sufficiently lubricated and keep harmful contaminants like salt, sand and dirt from mucking up your engine and causing corrosive damage.
- Tighten up: Carefully inspect all wires, cables and belts, looking for visible damage including cracks, signs of wear and tear and looseness. Replace any that appear damaged or worn and double check to make sure all others are properly tightened or secured.
- Switch out your spark plugs: New jet ski spark plugs should be installed at the beginning of each season on the water. Some avid personal watercraft enthusiasts change them at every fifth outing and keep a spare set with them at all times. Just make sure you've got the right PWC spark plugs for your particular engine.
- Shine it up: Wash and rinse down your jet ski after every use, especially after a jaunt into salt water, as it can be particularly harsh on your engine and your paint job.
Water sports enthusiasts typically are work hard, play hard types. And so are E3's powersports spark plugs, designed specifically to withstand the fast wear and tear that these machines undergo and to provide clean, smooth and reliable power on every outing. Find the right plugs for your jet ski, ATV, motorbike or other machine in E3's online catalog.
