1998 gtx rfi. hydro locked

[J5less1]

1998 GTX RFI Hydro lock
not in lake for two years. last year (2022) started and ran on trailer. winterized gas, covered in carport. this year (2023) replaced gas, went to start, but appeared to be hydro locked. removed plugs, engine turned great, with rag over plug holes to catch oil/gas. installed plugs and tried to start. engine would spin for about 4 seconds and then appear to be hydro lock. repeated process with plugs out several times, and same reaction. hydro locked. what is strange is that every time that I reinserted lanyard, the engine would spin for about 4 seconds and then hydro lock. checked water intake for debris...none. checked fuses, all good. had work done on engine three years ago, (rebuilt top end) and since there was never any problem starting right away. engine has maybe 15-18 hours since repair. ski not used too much. more for grand kids.
battery at 12.5v and load tested good. any suggestions?

 

[POPPS]

please confirm,,,does fluid come out when you turn the motor over with plugs out.?

 

[J5less1]

yes. I repeated the process several times and each time the oil/gas mixture is less.

 

[POPPS]

Sounds like the inner crank oil seals are gone

 

[J5less1]

seals may be bad, but why does the engine crank over good with plugs out but then not turn over with plugs in. like I said with plugs in, the engine will turn over for 3-4 seconds and then not turn over. I have clamped the oil line and the oil is very minimum when I have the plugs out and engine turns over very good. and why does it turn over for 3-4 seconds with plugs in and then bind. I have even put two batteries on (jumper cable. still 12v) to give more cranking power, but same thing happens. both batteries 12.5v with load test good.

 

[burtshaver2021]

seals may be bad, but why does the engine crank over good with plugs out but then not turn over with plugs in. like I said with plugs in, the engine will turn over for 3-4 seconds and then not turn over. I have clamped the oil line and the oil is very minimum when I have the plugs out and engine turns over very good. and why does it turn over for 3-4 seconds with plugs in and then bind. I have even put two batteries on (jumper cable. still 12v) to give more cranking power, but same thing happens. both batteries 12.5v with load test good.

Your drawing oil into the combustion chamber lowering the oil is lowering the volume in the chamber and the pistons can’t compress it, that’s your locking. Roll
It over until
No oil shoots out the plug holes then it should start, clean the plugs up

 

[J5less1]

because I have the oil line clamped there is very minimal oil shooting out when cranking with plugs out. still stops cranking after 3-4 seconds with plugs in. maybe I should try to turn engine over with only one plug in and see what happens. alternating plugs to see difference.
it is coming to the point that I may pull head off to see what is going on?

 

[burtshaver2021]

because I have the oil line clamped there is very minimal oil shooting out when cranking with plugs out. still stops cranking after 3-4 seconds with plugs in. maybe I should try to turn engine over with only one plug in and see what happens. alternating plugs to see difference.
it is coming to the point that I may pull head off to see what is going on?

Have to wonder why it’s not firing up after rolling over for 3 to 4 seconds as well?

 

[J5less1]

because of this problem, I have the plug wires off and grounded. I do not want it to start just yet incase there is a bigger problem as to why the engine gets locked up.

 

[burtshaver2021]

because of this problem, I have the plug wires off and grounded. I do not want it to start just yet incase there is a bigger problem as to why the engine gets locked up.

if the engine is rolling over smoothly before it hydro locks on oil then I couldn’t see any issue with trying to start it, if on the other hand your hearing noises while it’s cranking over then yes best to tear it down. Good luck

 

[burtshaver2021]

But I would be Leary if continuing to roll it over with plugs in and wires off till it locks up because that can damage crank and it connecting rods

 

[J5less1]

let me go back. when first tried to start (2023) the engine would lock up immediately. then I pulled plugs to release any restriction in the chambers finding that it had oil/gas mixture on rag. I am not sure if the amount was enough to hydro lock the engine from turning, as there was not that much oil/gas on rag (approx. 3 inch diameter from front cylinder) I proceeded to continue to turn engine over again with oil line clamped. put plugs and wires back on and tried to start it again. the engine turned over good for may 2 seconds (guessing) then locked up again. checked the water inlet on bottom to see if any debris had entered.. clean. then I pulled plugs to turn engine. no noise at all (scraping/knocking). put plugs and wires on again and tried to start. same result. turns for 2 seconds and locks up. pull off lanyard, put it back in, (2 beeps) tried to start, same results. spins for 2 seconds and locks up. (pulled plugs again and engine turned great with very little oil/gas on rag.

 

[burtshaver2021]

let me go back. when first tried to start (2023) the engine would lock up immediately. then I pulled plugs to release any restriction in the chambers finding that it had oil/gas mixture on rag. I am not sure if the amount was enough to hydro lock the engine from turning, as there was not that much oil/gas on rag (approx. 3 inch diameter from front cylinder) I proceeded to continue to turn engine over again with oil line clamped. put plugs and wires back on and tried to start it again. the engine turned over good for may 2 seconds (guessing) then locked up again. checked the water inlet on bottom to see if any debris had entered.. clean. then I pulled plugs to turn engine. no noise at all (scraping/knocking). put plugs and wires on again and tried to start. same result. turns for 2 seconds and locks up. pull off lanyard, put it back in, (2 beeps) tried to start, same results. spins for 2 seconds and locks up. (pulled plugs again and engine turned great with very little oil/gas on rag.

With the plugs out it will turn over fine though with no locking up?

 

[J5less1]

yes. it turned good with plugs out, and no knocking or scraping sounds.

last year (2022) when I went to start the ski, it would turn over for maybe 6 seconds, I would stop for maybe 5 seconds then try again. it would start then. I would then run it at idle for maybe 10-12 seconds before revving it up for may be 15 seconds, let it idle, then turn it off. remove cable from battery, put on maintainer, conditioned the gas, covered ski put in carport for the winter. winter here in San Franciso bay area is very mild.

 

[burtshaver2021]

Hmmmm, sure sounds like it is locking on that oil, have you tried putting a volt meter in the battery to what the volts are while cranking? I know you had mentioned the battery was good but it does sound very similar to a weak battery? Perhaps some corroded connections somewhere? Best of luck to you,

 

[J5less1]

battery's (2) are at 12.5 v each. both have been tested at auto part store 2 different stores reading same reading (12.5 each and load tested good)
there is almost no oil (just a little. oil line is clamped) coming out of spark plug holes when cranking (for approx. 4-5 seconds.) engine spins good. no noise. (scraping or knocking)
Oh, forgot to mention. replaced positive battery cable and added another ground cable
Also, tried a new lithium battery (3x starting power and 5 x long life) (was too hard to try to secure it . it is very small)

 

[Spider4real]

This is just a guess. But the starter might be starting to go. Keep the plugs in. Let it crank until it stops. Then wait 5-10 minutes and try again. If it cranks for a few more seconds then I would say time for a rebuild.

 

[burtshaver2021]

I’m interested to see what everyone else thinks but I don’t believe you have any internal engine damage that’s preventing the motor from cranking, I would try and start it, i believe you said you have tried to start it? But if it’s cranking over for 4 seconds and not starting then there are other issues. Should start up near instantly

 

[J5less1]

will try to start it and when it gets blocked I will wait for 10 minutes and try again to see if engine will turn over. I will leave lanyard in, because when I take it out and reinsert it (2 beeps) engine will turn over for a couple of seconds and then freeze. I will let you know of results this week end. (ski is at vaca house at clearlake ca. I am approx. 100 miles away.)

 

[J5less1]

I’m interested to see what everyone else thinks but I don’t believe you have any internal engine damage that’s preventing the motor from cranking, I would try and start it, i believe you said you have tried to start it? But if it’s cranking over for 4 seconds and not starting then there are other issues. Should start up near instantly

engine cranks over for maybe 2 seconds and then stops.

 

[J5less1]

This is just a guess. But the starter might be starting to go. Keep the plugs in. Let it crank until it stops. Then wait 5-10 minutes and try again. If it cranks for a few more seconds then I would say time for a rebuild.

I had mentioned that in a earlier posting. glad to have some one else thinking like I try to do. oops! that was when I did not know how to post and was posting on a reply site, that did not have a posting. MY BAD.

 

[J5less1]

when I take the starter out I I know that it will spin without a load. how do I bench test it with a load.

 

[Spider4real]

If it cranks with the plugs out, it will spin on the bench.

I really don't know how to test with a load with the starter out. Thats why I would test it in the ski.

You said If you pull the lanyard and reattach it the engine will turn over for a few seconds. Does it do this everytime?

I don't think you can just leave the lanyard on. The MPEM will time out and not let you start it it after a couple of minutes. At least thats how my boat worked.

Maybe a better test will be to jump the solenoid and see if the starter will crank more than a few seconds. There could be an issue wth the MPEM. Although I am still thinking it's just a bad starter.

I thought that it did not start because the op said he disconnected the wires as he was worried about starting and causing more problems. I am assuming it will start once the starter is working.

 

[J5less1]

yes. every time that it stops and I pull the lanyard off and then reattach it, it will spin for a couple of seconds. I will try to leave the lanyard in and see if my MPEM will time out the start operation. I will try to start it after 5-7 minutes with lanyard in. (this weekend) I did jump the solenoid (lug to lug) before but I did not let it spin long., just maybe 2 seconds. will try that this week end, too. (hope it's not the starter, 'cause it it difficult to get to. I have done it before on another jet ski) JUST MECHANICS!!

 

[J5less1]

UPDATE!!
something came up for this week end, so I can't go to the lake. I will go to the lake next week end and try all of the suggestions from the friendly forum members. THANK YOU.