• This site contains eBay affiliate links for which Sea-Doo Forum may be compensated.

2005 GTI LE RFI, starts hard in the water

T

tarrk

New Member
hello im new to the forum and seeking help on diagnosing my 05 gti rfi, so i bought it last summer cheap as it had a hole in the hull i repaired the hole and ran it all summer but as i ran it it would start harder in the water all the time, id have to give it throttle to finally get it to start and once it does it spits and sputters till it finally cleans out then runs flawless until i shut it down again, but out of the water on the trailer it starts up immediately everytime?

any help is appreciated, Thanks
 
so ive seen some stuff about the rotary valve, how would this become out of spec without adjusting it and how do i check the spec on it?
 
ok so ill have to research that a bit, so if the clearance is off it will make it start hard under load?
 
ok so looks like tonight i will be tearing off the intake to check the clearance with my feeler gauge, i do not have the manual does anyone know what the clearance should be on the 787 rfi engine?
 
Last edited:
tarrk said:
ok so looks like tonight i will be tearing off the intake to check the clearance with my feeler gauge, i do not have the manual does anyone know what the clearance should be on the 787 rfi engine?
Click to expand...
Not sure about the 787 but the 717’s maximum allowed clearance is .014. It will be easier if you have a set of feeler gauges with a 45 degree angle bend on the end of them, I find the gauges over .012 hard to bend. I would check your compression before taking the intake manifold off
 
ok i will have to get a set of those then, so i checked the compression last night as i thought that could be the problem, keep in mind my compression test kit came from harbor freight but both cylinders checked out at just over 150 psi
 
Your guage is probably off. You can rent one for free at the auto parts store, I'd get one of those and retest.
 
tarrk said:
ok i will have to get a set of those then, so i checked the compression last night as i thought that could be the problem, keep in mind my compression test kit came from harbor freight but both cylinders checked out at just over 150 psi
Click to expand...
150 is perfect, as @Grim mentukned harbour freight gauges can’t be trusted, normally they read low though, usually they read 90 pounds maximum no matter what the compression is. I would double check with a loaner gauge
 
ok checked with the store they have one i can use so i will be getting that tonight and double checking my reading and will let u know how i make out. Thanks again
 
not sure that it matters but the hard starting issue is all the time in the water no difference hot or cold.
 
So tonight I double checked the compression with a different gauge, and 155 in both cylinders, also for kicks took the fuel pump out and both filters looked terrible with black debris in them I could blow through but ordered new ones to put back on
 
while im waiting for the new filters i think i will go ahead and look at the rotary valve clearance, i see allot of you are saying the best way to do this is the solder method, can someone explain to me how this works?
thanks again
 
Ok so last night I tore the rv apart, I didn’t have the proper size solder to test the clearance but here is a pic of it, is this normal wear?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_4463.jpeg
    IMG_4463.jpeg
    274.5 KB · Views: 25
No, not typical wear and looks pretty bad.
Can you feel the grooves with your fingernail?
What oil was used?
You ae going to have to measure the clearance.
 
yes you can def. feel the grooves with your fingernail, bought used but the previous owner ran brp full synthetic not sure about before him though. yes im planning on picking up the proper solder size tonight to test clearance this weekend. so i think spec is .010 to .014, do you know what you can actually get away with before experiencing troubles? the machine has 373 hours on it, not sure if its ever been tampered with before.
 
mikidymac said:
No, not typical wear and looks pretty bad.
Can you feel the grooves with your fingernail?
What oil was used?
You ae going to have to measure the clearance.
Click to expand...
So just measured, on the edge of the intake valve opening I have .019 and between the intakes I have .017
 
Easiest fix will get a machined cover from SBT.
Be sure to measure the new cover, don't assume it is correct.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
05 RFI starts hard when warm
Replies
6
Views
313
HallsPWC
HallsPWC
T
2005 GTI RFI starter disengages
Replies
6
Views
301
DaddyLoafin
D
Q
2004 GTI LE RFI won’t restart
Replies
2
Views
284
mikidymac
mikidymac
C
2005 gti le rfi impeller replacement
Replies
0
Views
209
chad5178
C
E
No start in water 02 GTI le
Replies
9
Views
308
mikidymac
mikidymac
Back
Top