2001 Seadoo Sportster LE. Just got it!

[Bonmotwang]

Murphy's law seems to love your boat more than mine lately but I'd just dip a stick and see, maybe right after running 30 seconds to stir the oil.

Oil smoke is blue tinted, not actually white like water vapor, I think the white oil smoke you see is actually blue. The reason this is important is b/c sometimes water can enter the cylinder thus color identification is important and not a subjective subtlety.

Wet oily plugs means there definitely is oil throughout, dry plugs are not convincing.

Yes, preventative brain surgery!

Again, I will take the good one: the white I am seeing is blue :-D
So I need to practice in different ways to see if I can get the plug wet by fogging through the carbs.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

see if I can get the plug wet by fogging through the carbs.

It might be tough to get the plugs wet with engine idling using some types of fogging oils in the spray can since the volume delivered via the spray tube is sometimes not quite enough to really drown the cylinder. That's not necessarily bad b/c I guess some people could make the mistake of spraying too much and hydrolocking their engine and bending a crank rod or something.

If you can see some smoke it's probably good enough for temporary storage but in that case feel free to remove the plugs and apply directly into the cylinders for longer storage periods and roll the motor over a couple of revolutions to distribute it, this might be the best approach if you cannot at least see some smoke.

I'm certain the white you see is actually blue, the sunlight angle is fooling your eyes.

During winterizing season I use a pump up chemical sprayer filled with CRC fogging oil, and that thing will shoot a heavy stream and make tons of smoke in a short time for doing 5-6 boats each day it's good to have.

 

[Bonmotwang]

Is it ok to spray directly into the spark plug holes for winterization?


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[Waterluvr]

Is it ok to spray directly into the spark plug holes for winterization?


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You're better off fogging the motor through the intake initially so that oil will make it's way all through the crank, rods, bearings and seals before it heads up and coats the cylinders and pistons.

I like to ditch the straw and fog via the intake until the motor dies and wait about 30 minutes, pull and ground the plugs and give the top end a good shot in each hole. Bump the starter to roll it over just a bit and reinstall the plugs.

 

[Bonmotwang]

You're better off fogging the motor through the intake initially so that oil will make it's way all through the crank, rods, bearings and seals before it heads up and coats the cylinders and pistons.

I like to ditch the straw and fog via the intake until the motor dies and wait about 30 minutes, pull and ground the plugs and give the top end a good shot in each hole. Bump the starter to roll it over just a bit and reinstall the plugs.

How long do you normally spray at the intake?
I need a helper to control press the red button when I am spraying then. My toe hasn't been qualified to operate the boat yet :-D


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[Waterluvr]

I pull the plastic air box cover off exposing the stainless intake screen and don't use the straw, I start the engine and head right back and let it have it full blast from the can moving it side to side a little bit, the engines usually stall within 10-15 seconds that way and it get's plenty of fogging oil in there, pistons and cylinders get it good that way to.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Nothing wrong with spraying into the carb throats while engine is running then going back and spraying through the plug holes.

So when are you going to install an in-situ oiler????

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Yep, try it without the straw and see if it works better. I've had cans before that didn't dispense fast enuff to make a good smoke plume.

One reason I always spray into the carbs is b/c I do a lot of V8 stern drive motors and there's no way in heck I'm gonna take out 8 plugs to spray into the cylinders if I can help it.

I think if your plugs are wet with oil you're done, there's no need adding more through the plug holes.

 

[Bonmotwang]

Yep, try it without the straw and see if it works better. I've had cans before that didn't dispense fast enuff to make a good smoke plume.

My straw is directly streaming, doesn't spread into into mist at all. I bet most of the fogging oil is sitting at the bottom of the intake.
A side question. What does the air silencer do? I have run the boat without it for a few trips, didn't find it being louder.


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[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

I bet most of the fogging oil is sitting at the bottom of the intake.
A side question. What does the air silencer do? I have run the boat without it for a few trips, didn't find it being louder.
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This is probably true, if the oil puddles you can bring it into the cylinders by blipping the throttle. I've noticed this when the fogging oil is thick/cold.

Running without the air box can cause a lean condition, the air box is part of the air/fuel calibration so it's dangerous to your pistons.

It can also be hazardous to your health if the motor backfires and spits out fuel or there are fuel vapors in the bilge you may have a fire.

 

[Bonmotwang]

I think it is better to run the fuel tank low before winterization? I still have 1/3 of tank.


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[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Some feel that adding the proper ratio of stabilizer and filling the fuel tank full is the best choice for them but I feel it's best to completely drain the fuel tank so that absolutely fresh fuel can be filled next year and there is less chance of trapping water in a layer under the fuel. Also if there is some kind of fuel tank leak, 22 gallons of fuel might come out and become an environmental or safety hazard.

So after fogging is complete, I drain my fuel tank by placing the switch valve in reserve position, place the bow in a slight upright position, disconnect the fuel line from the carb (I permanently installed a "T" fitting in the fuel line) and then hand pump/siphon the fuel into a gas can and pour that into my car or lawn equipment.

 

[Bonmotwang]

Doing cleaning and found this note came with the top end kit. It says: make sure all ports are properly chamfered!
At least I tried :-D


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[Bonmotwang]

The oil I put in the pump this time. It is clear color.
75W140

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[Bonmotwang]

Murphy's law seems to love your boat more than mine lately but I'd just dip a stick and see, maybe right after running 30 seconds to stir the oil.

Just checked the pump oil.
It is late, didn't run the engine.
I lowered the bow and took off the venturi. Took the plug off, the cone is not pressurized, which is good just some oil flowed out because the bow is not low enough.
The oil is almost like new, and original smell. I also put a stick in to sample more, same, clear oil. Happy

A question of the plug screw. this time it became looser. when the cone was new, I screwed to flush and pretty tight. this time I screwed in 1/8" into the cone, but still not tight yet.
Couldn't find a torque spec in the manual. Any experience number?

 

[Waterluvr]

I snug it up and use loctite 5452 hydraulic thread sealant for a little extra insurance on those threads, nothing is getting past that stuff in or out.

 

[Bonmotwang]

I snug it up and use loctite 5452 hydraulic thread sealant for a little extra insurance on those threads, nothing is getting past that stuff in or out.

I used taflon tape, but didn't work, it got pushed out of the thread.
Just ordered loctite 567. Didn't find 5452 locally.
So just snug it up with a small allen key and don't need to torque it?

 

[Waterluvr]

567 should work, I just use the 5452 because it fast cures. No torque spec on that plug I can find other than common sense, don't pull a thread out of the plastic overdoing it.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

I recommend a teflon paste pipe sealer or monkey poop is the stuff I used. There's no torque setting, flush is good. We need some thread sealer to keep the spiral leak under control.

I think you should fill the pump with boat level, too much oil leaves no room for oil expansion. I also filled with trailer tongue on ground and experienced a leak in that case.

Arrows on pistons to carb is the high compression option. (joke)

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

567 should work, I just use the 5452 because it fast cures. No torque spec on that plug I can find other than common sense, don't pull a thread out of the plastic overdoing it.

It's possible to run the plug all the way in and drop it into the housing, flush is good.

 

[68ragtop]

Hi ragtop, we're currently attempting to determine how much is enough by removing the inspection plug (Carb motor has a bolt there) judging the level is proving tricky!

Hoping since you've been in the bottom end of a couple DI's you might have some ideas of what we might expect if we should see some or if it should be at the top.

How much is enough and how much is too much, inquiring minds want to know!

When I first opened mine I couldn't see any oil so I added some but not to the top of the hole.

BONMOTWANG has been attempting to measure the volume in his.

BTW, the carb motor only has a bolt in the hole, there's no vent like the DI has.

I am finally putting together a fresh 951DI, So sorry for the late follow up. I tested to check somethings for the sake of knowledge with CB oil amounts. I put the case together completely dry. I added the required 40ml of oil & then set the engine on shims until the block was level front to rear & tipped the correct amount. At this point the oil came just under the threads. Never actually touched them, just a bit below. If I tipped the engine just a bit, the oil would come to the top. So, I think this is a very reliable way to measure the oil.

HOWEVER, I think there is a downside. After studying the empty case, it would be very easy for residual oil to get hung up in the CB shaft cavity near the end seals. The engine will need to be very level for it to have any chance to drain correctly. And as far as draining, I don't really see a way of getting all the oil out unless you could rotate the boat until the case parting lines are perpendicular. Short of a sling, I don't know how that would be feasible, especially in a speedster. But at least proper level can be checked.

I noticed this thread has become its own virtual forum , so sadly this information will probably be difficult to find for future reference, but at least its documented.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Good, thanks for the feedback ragtop. For this test I'm assuming your dry crankcase was populated with the CB shaft and crankshaft?

IMO at the moment, the primary risk of overfilling involves lack of expansion space for the oil, not sure if overfilling might cause some harm to the end bearings by contaminating the sealed lubricant or not (I guess that's a low risk since the lube probably gets into them anyway)?

I think what you're suggesting though is, if we fill to the bottom of the threads with the "boat" or crankshaft level then we should be very close to the correct amount. Or maybe you're saying we should only fill till we see oil?

I'm pretty sure you're suggesting the former as opposed to the latter.

Anyway, I plan to top off my CB oil during the upcoming winterization within 4-6 weeks.

I'm quite certain this subject will not immediately become buried b/c I will add this detail to my annual maintenance checklist.

 

[68ragtop]

Yes the case was dry & fully assembled. I would imagine its going to be hard for the oil on the PTO side of the CB shaft to gravity drain with the roller bearing in the way? Its going to have to drain through it & there a lip in there. But I think if the engine is warmed, level front to back, then drained a lot might come out. I am just not sure how a person can really get it all out. The CB gear is in the way to get a suction tube to the bottom of the cavity & how could you tip the boat 45 degrees & keep it level front to back? seems like a lot to ask.

But back to filling, Completely agree with your thoughts. think just below the threads so you can see the oil would be perfect. might be slightly overfilled that way because of the oil still on the gears, shaft & housing, but really shouldn't be more than 5ml total wouldn't you think?

I can't see that little bit hurting anything either, just a little expansion room lost. There is still a lot of air space in there.

 

[Bonmotwang]

Yes the case was dry & fully assembled. I would imagine its going to be hard for the oil on the PTO side of the CB shaft to gravity drain with the roller bearing in the way? Its going to have to drain through it & there a lip in there. But I think if the engine is warmed, level front to back, then drained a lot might come out. I am just not sure how a person can really get it all out. The CB gear is in the way to get a suction tube to the bottom of the cavity & how could you tip the boat 45 degrees & keep it level front to back? seems like a lot to ask.

But back to filling, Completely agree with your thoughts. think just below the threads so you can see the oil would be perfect. might be slightly overfilled that way because of the oil still on the gears, shaft & housing, but really shouldn't be more than 5ml total wouldn't you think?

I can't see that little bit hurting anything either, just a little expansion room lost. There is still a lot of air space in there.

Thanks for doing all this.
Do you think it is possible to over fill other than the 5ml with engine in the boat?


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[68ragtop]

My best guess would be gravity should be able to drain out the excess as long as everything is level. Unless somehow maybe excess oil became vapor locked & wouldn't drain out? Maybe vapor locked isn't the right term. like holding your finger over the end of a drinking straw full of water. I would think there is way to much air in that cavity for that too happen though.

Are the engines that easily accessible in the sportster & speedster boats? I have never worked on one, or seen one to be honest. the engine bay that is....