2003 GTI LE RFI Leaking

[Ghathaw]

Thank you for investing your time to read this.

I have a 2003 GTI LE RFI that I finally got running on land. When I run it on land with a hose connected after starting everything is great! this past Wednesday I took it to the lake and put it in the water. Since this was the first time I had it on the water I pulled both seats and checked for any type of leaks. Finding none. I pulled away from the dock and it "sputtered" a little but I expected that, being it has sat almost a year. I didn't want to push it hard so I took it to approximately 35-40 MPH. Things were going well but I noticed it seemed to begin to "drag" a little. Eventually after about 5-10 min of riding I noticed it was sitting lower in the water. Having bad carbon seals in a former ski I knew I had to get back, and I could only reach 6 MPH then. eventually it stalled and like all of us a little "trickle" can seem like a flash flood and by that time water had reached a level where the back end was slightly under water.. We hooked a rope to it and towed it back to the ramp. Hooked to the trailer we pulled it out looking for any sign of leaks coming out with water inside the hull..."NOTHING. I drained the water, backed the trailer back into water and searched for leaks. NOTHING. Started the engine and water seemed to "flow" from under the left side (facing front on the ski) of the engine. Shut off the engine and rode the other 96 GTX (what a battle horse) and headed home. Hooked it to the hose, started the engine, turned on the water and NOTHING. no water, no leak.

Here is what I can tell you:
No leaks with the hose and there is a stream of water coming from the left side out the small opening.
No leaks from the inside out.
No leaks under the exhaust. The hoses all seem to be properly connected.

With the hose hooked up I see the "pee trickle" squirting from the left side. There are two openings but only one squirts. (I think the other one is ventilation for the battery.

At this stage I've not pulled anything. I've talked to two pretty good mechanics and they tell me the hose test would allow water to exit the muffler if the freeze plugs went bad.

I don't think the motor has frozen but I cant tell for sure.

Keep in mind she runs like a champ out of the water.


Thanks ahead for all your help.

 

[etemplet]

If you checked all the hose connections and hoses, along with the welded areas of the exhaust pipe you have eliminated the engine and cooling system leakage. That said, leaks can be very sneaky so don't rule out the cooling system.

I'd put the ski on a nice angle and fill the hull with water... not so much water that it can get the engine or electronics wet. You can get a good bit of water in the hull to check things.
Sponsons can leak.
Fittings that go through the hull can leak
The seam where the two halves of the hull are joined can leak.
The pick-ups for the suction system the operates the bilge drains can leak. (I had trouble with this onl when the ski was turning.) This is difficult to find. I had to put two containers, one under each suction plate. When I turned the ski, the containers quickly filled up with wather. Root cause was that one of the -rings were off the nozzle connection at the rear of the jet pump.

Enjoy the adventure. Good Luck !!

 

[Ghathaw]

All good advice and I thank you. It had a good amount of water when I pulled it out of the water. Not to the joining of the top and bottom but enough to work its way up front. I didn't seen any leaking "inside out" while sitting on the trailer. So drained water. closed the drains, rolled it back into the water and looked for leaks just sitting. Nothing. When I started the motor I noticed a slight flow under the left (port) side of the motor. I did have one person suggest the drains for the bilge have a ball in them and can suck water in with the motor running if they are missing or messed up. But I thought I looked in that area but I may have missed it if it was running out close to the bottom of the hull. problem is the lake is 1 hour away to just run and test.

 

[etemplet]

There are 2 cylinder drain lines above where you felt the water. You could also have a water jacket leak or head gasket leaking.
Check the fitting on the bottom of the engine near the Mag. That line goes under the engine to the cooler. Your cooler could also be leaking

 

[Songsingerrr]

Would both of those leek with a hose hooked up?

 

[etemplet]

Would both of those leek with a hose hooked up?

All of those would leak with the water flushing water and the engine running. If you have a leak. I find the exhaust pipes pretty sneaky when it comes to leaks. Check the aluminum welds.

 

[Songsingerrr]

Thank you.... I'll check all the above and let y'all know the progress.

 

[etemplet]

Dry that hull good before you start looking for leaks. If you don't find any time to stand it on end and fill up the back of the ski with water. Good Luck !!

 

[Songsingerrr]

Just recapping.. there are no leaks with the motor running on the hose. There are no leaks with the ski sitting in the water. There us a leak sitting in the water with the motor running. I've never left the hose running with the motor off.

 

[etemplet]

Put that ski up on a good angle and fill the back of it with water. If you have leak you'll find it. pinch off your bilge vacuum lines.
You could have a leak at the bottom of the engine on the coolant cover but that would leak with the hose I think. You could pressure test that with a few pounds.

 

[Songsingerrr]

I'm not sure how to pressure test the system or where the cooler is?

 

[etemplet]

Here you go. This is the cooler on the bottom of the engine. If you wanted to test for leaks you simply pinch off one hose and pressure up the other to about 10 pounds. I use a hand held air pump. If it holds pressure it isn't leaking.

 

[Songsingerrr]

I think I got it... I'll try

 

[Songsingerrr]

Etemplate,
I finally tried clamping off the out hose and "adapted" a small air pump and found the hose at the inlet connection to the cooler was not clamped tight. I thought I tightened it enough but was still leary of success.... sure enough I found at the ramp it was still not tight.

Now I believe I have it very tight and plan an returning to the lake this weekend.

I never would have found this without your help.. thank you

 

[POPPS]

Awesome work guys!

 

[Songsingerrr]

Well... bad news... the leak remains! I'm not sure where it is. It is smaller in comparison but I'm tired of fussing with it so I traded it even up for a 97 GTI...I figured I came out leaving a little money on the table but the wife and I smiled today while riding them...(Georgia)