2017 GTI SE 155 Ran Without Oil Cap.

[pawn]

Hi:

Pulled my Sea-doo out for the season today and took it out to stretch its legs. 5 minutes in it started to bog out. Took it directly back in and pulled the seat and saw the oil cap was off. I must have forgotten to replace it last fall when I serviced it. Engine was pretty hot and it was still hot after 2+ hours. I assume it overheated and went into limp mode.

There really wasn't a lot of oil in the compartment. Just looked like spray on the hoses but I have no way of knowing what spilled to the bottom and got bilged out. Checked the oil and it looked low but in all honesty, I find the dipstick hard to read. I got some more oil and now I think I overfilled it (by a lot). Gonna leave it for the night and pump it out completely tomorrow and refill so I'm not guessing at the oil level.

I'm posting here because I have to know: how much damage could I have done here? Again, literally 5 minutes before limp mode (assuming I'm right about that). Never went above 30mph and even that for only a few seconds here and there. But I find it disturbing.

Thanks for any insight.

 

[POPPS]

If you have the oil filter cap off,,,it will shoot the oil out into the surrounding area…you may have pooched the motor,,,do compression test on all 3 cylinders with a fully charged battery.

 

[pawn]

If you have the oil filter cap off,,,it will shoot the oil out into the surrounding area…you may have pooched the motor,,,do compression test on all 3 cylinders with a fully charged battery.

Should have been clear - it was the filler cap.

 

[Milehighguy303]

I have never tested what happens running with the oil cap off. But if you lost a significant amount of oil out the cap opening, you would have oily residue all around the area, splashes on the inside of the hull, bottom of the seat, etc. You would have a mess, and it would be obvious.

As for how long does it take to damage an engine when low on oil - not long. But you would lose oil pressure and you would have an engine warning light for that. Not sure if you saw a warning or not.

So based on your description of no oil mess, and no mention of low oil pressure, you may not have run the engine low on oil. But get your oil level correct, do a compression test, and see how it runs. I think it is possible you may find you have another issue for the limp mode and could be OK with no engine damage.

 

[pawn]

Thanks for the reply. I'm pretty freaked. I drained the oil and I don't think there was even a litre of oil in there (snaked my pump around 20 ways, pretty sure on this). No idea why there wasn't more oil sprayed around. Put new oil in and same bogging. Gonna pull it out and see if there's anything in the propulsion system and then I've run out of things I'm capable of doing.

Before I take it to a dealer, do these things have something that forces you to take it to a dealer to reset whatever happened before it comes out of limp mode (assuming that's even what it is - it gives pretty rough right now)? I don't want to get taken advantage of. I didn't see any warning lights to answer your question.

Thanks again.

 

[xspook]

good info @ 56 second mark on this video:

 

[pawn]

Tested the cylinders. All between 100-110 psi. Bypassed the IBR to have a look, all clear. Intake flawless. Same result today after putting fresh oil back in. It wants to spin up but starts vibrating and seems like it's in a limp mode but for all I know, it's something physical.

No codes on the display. There is a weird horizontal bar at the bottom that almost looks like an LCD leak but maybe someone here knows better.

*But* the bilge now has 1" of oily water at the bottom. I've owned this since new and there's never been a drop of water down there.

Pictures attached of the LCD screen and bottom of bilge. I think it would be a travesty to have to take this for service. Please, please help.

Thanks.

 

[xspook]

The compression numbers on my 2012 GTI 155 are approx 182 on all 3 cylinders.

I don't see any issue with your gauge.

 

[pawn]

Seems OK right now. Pumped out the oily water in the hull, changed the gas with new. Checked the cylinders again, still 110-115. Might be a shitty gauge, at least they're all about the same. Still can't read the oil level. Doesn't matter how long I let it sit out how hot or cold, oil runs up the dipstick making it look overfilled. I even pulled 2 litres out just for fun and checked again (including rechecking the cylinder pressure with less oil). Same results. Also same bad results when I put it in the water (bogging, feels like cavitation more than anything except the machine shakes). After a few minutes i wound it up a bit and it was fairly smooth staying at 4000rpm. Kept it like that for a bit then slowed and sped up and it seems good now. Bright6 it up to 7500rpm and 55mph with no issues.

Might be just bad gas. I would swear I put stabilizer in last fall but then someone that forgets to replace their oil cap would forget a lot of things. I'll take it out tomorrow and follow up here in case anyone's interested. A lot of drama if it was just bad gas. Sigh.

 

[xspook]

You're checking the oil with the ski level, correct?
I place a level on the rub rail to ensure it's just right.

 

[pawn]

You're checking the oil with the ski level, correct?
I place a level on the rub rail to ensure it's just right.

No, I was probably a little inclined yesterday on the trailer and today it was in the water when I checked. I had no idea if needs to be level. I'll make sure next time and thanks. Seems impossible it would make that much of a difference though. I got the tester at Napa for like 40 bucks. Looks decent to me. Very perplexing that the pressure would be that low with zero issues starting the machine.

 

[skiasylum]

Sea-Doo does not publish any correct compression values and their service manuals only use leak down tests to determine health of their engines.
Download a service manual and a operator manual for your particular ski and start reading.

 

[pawn]

Thanks all, very helpful as always on this site.

 

[Coolride17]

Thanks all, very helpful as always on this site.

Change the spark plugs , sounds like what mine was doing when I first bought it. Plugs can all look great, but be bad.

 

[Jgalloy]

Definitely change the spark plugs and gap them correctly. Most likely will fix your issue. Might also want to clean your fuel injectors.

 

[pawn]

I'm following up as mentioned. Right now I think the thing is running OK. Definitely not 100% but very close. I can consistently reach 57mph and 7500rpm which is just slightly less than I got when it was new. I even hit 58mps briefly with a slight tail wind (58mph was the max speed I could ever reach). Runs smooth. I wouldn't be concerned at all if it wasn't for the low pressure readings I mentioned above and the fact there's just the slightest wisp of tail smoke when idling after running it for a bit.

Here's what I think I did to it:

- As mentioned, it bogged out and limped home when I first took it out. No gauge warnings, etc.
- Took off the seat and saw the oil cap was off. I now think I overreacted to this and that it was no big deal - just a little oil sprayed out.
- Added oil. Maybe a half quart. I'm now confident I overfilled it.
- Changed the gas. Was now more or less running OK. I personally believe bad gas was the original problem and I confused the whole thing because of the oil cap.
- Removed all oil (or so I thought). I believe now my siphon wasn't in there correctly and I left oil in it (even though I moved it all around - there's a sweat spot I was missing).
- Refilled the oil, had a lot of trouble reading the dipstick. I now believe because I was...overfilling it.
- In all of this time, I doubt I put more than 30 minutes on the machine.
- Changed the oil and filter one last time. This is when I found the sweet spot and I know I got it all out. Refilled and the oil was just below half on the dipstick when cold. Drove it and checked again when hot - well above the fill line. Took out a third of a quart.
- Changed the plugs.

Ran for a few hours and got the decent mentioned above. And that's where it sits. I'm out in the boonies, it's a big ordeal to take to a dealer. Does anyone think I have a problem and that I can do more damage by running it based on above? Obviously I'm mostly concerned about the smoke. Like I say, it's just a tiny wisp here and there. I have no idea if it ever smoked before because I wasn't looking for it. Comes out of a weird spot (back right/starboard side - not on the exhaust side). Also, it now takes on a little water when sitting at the dock. I'm sure that's new. Not a big problem, pumps right out when running.

Sorry for the long story.