98 gtx limited taking in water (engine only)

[98limited]

I have just purchased a 98 GTX limied and ran it in the river here, after having a good hour of fun I took it out and had no issue... that weekend i brought it to a cottage and put it on the lake and drove it for about 1 hour- 1 hour and a half and parked it, couple of hours after i went to start it and it didn't want to start. So i took the spark plugs out and to my surprise there was water in the motor... So i took the ski back home and changed the cover gasket thinking that was the problem... After changing the gasket i ran it on a hose 3 times for 10-15 minutes with no issue, I then brought it onto the river here to test it out and no issue again. Thinking the problem was resolved i brought it back to the cottage and drove it for a good 45 minutes and parked it on the water. I came back a couple hours later and it wouldn't start due to water back into the engine again!! has anyone ever had this issue before? it seems that it's only happenning when parked in the water. has anyone ever heard of this or has expirience with this issue..

Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Dr Honda]

Did the ski sink? There really isn't any way for water to enter the engine. The only cooling is around the cyl, and in the head shell. So... if the engine is running well... they should both be sealed. Also, when it's parked... there isn't any pressure in the cooling system, so a small leak wouldn't allow water in.

I guess if there was in internal leak on the exhaust pipe... it could leak in. Or... if the lake has heavy waves... the water could push up the pipe... but I've never heard of that happening.

Seadoo's aren't rated to be left in the water. Also... running it on the garden hose for 15 minutes at a time will destroy the carbon seal on the driveshaft.

 

[Dr Honda]

After thinking about it... that has the 951 engine. If you have a bad head gasket... water could come in. But, here again... without pressure in the system... that's not very likely.


Honestly... if it was my ski... the engine would come out, and be disassembled to find the problem.

 

[98limited]

Thanks for the response,

No the ski has never sunk, it makes sense what your saying but the thing i dont understand is when i'm running it, it runs dry and very well, it's just after parking it on the water for a couple hours that this happens... I know it's not very good running it with the hose for that long but even with all that pressure I didn't get any water in the motor. I also had a compressor and blew air down the cylinder and I could hear water bubble in the bottom end when there was water in it. Im thinking it's coming from the bottom, is it possible that it enters the case through a seal when sitting in the water? like though the drive shaft or something? Im new to the seadoo world so don't mind if my questions seem off lol. And also I would just like to know out of curiousity why isn't it good to leave it in the water?

Thanks again

 

[Seadoobuddy]

Thanks for the response,

No the ski has never sunk, it makes sense what your saying but the thing....................... Im new to the seadoo world so don't mind if my questions seem off lol. And also I would just like to know out of curiousity why isn't it good to leave it in the water? Thanks again

Hi and welcome ,
See this thread about leaving ski in the lake...esp post #4.
http://www.seadooforum.com/showthre...p=258904&highlight=leave+ski+water#post258904

Also the hull won't get all slimy, zebra mussels, algae, etc. And if the paint/gel coat is chipped water "MAY" get underneath and start peeling away like my nephew's Yamaha did.

 

[98limited]

Thanks for that, I guess for when im at the cottage i'll just pull onto the shore so it doesn't fully sit in water... But i'm still puzzled over my issue with the water in the motor, I'm trying to find out as much information on ski's so i know how they work, im getting there but this is still a shitty situation lol

 

[Strizzo]

Guys, I think you may be overreacting a bit, it shouldn't be an issue to put the ski in in the morning, and have it in the water all day, parked while you take breaks, etc. leaving it in the water all season would be a different story of course.

 

[Dr Honda]

Thanks for the response,

No the ski has never sunk, it makes sense what your saying but the thing i dont understand is when i'm running it, it runs dry and very well,.....

When the engine is running... the internals are pressurized, and would keep water from coming in. Also... once you take the ski out of the water... the system will (mostly) drain.

... I know it's not very good running it with the hose for that long but even with all that pressure I didn't get any water in the motor.

If you know... then don't do it!!!!

Also.. on the garden hose... you don't really build any water pressure in the engine. There are more exits, than the volume of water coming in. So... the water is free flowing in the engine, with no pressure. Not to mention... your problem isnt' until you shut the ski off. AND... if you run the hose with the ski off... you will definitely fill the engine full of water.

Im thinking it's coming from the bottom, is it possible that it enters the case through a seal when sitting in the water? like though the drive shaft or something?

Nope. If you have a driveshaft seal leak... it will fill the bilge. BUT... that's why I was asking if it sunk. If the bilge was full of water, it could have come in thought the carbs, or if you have case seals... it could get in that way. So... once again... did it sink? It doesn't have to be completely submerged... but if it sank enough to put the engine under water... that's going to be the problem.

Im new to the seadoo world so don't mind if my questions seem off lol. And also I would just like to know out of curiousity why isn't it good to leave it in the water?

Thanks again

Along with what Seadoobuddy said... the carbon seal leaks by design... and leaving the ski in the water for an hour or two... and you can find a sunk ski.

 

[98limited]

No the ski didn't sink on me, for the hose running, I never leave the water running without having the motor on, and i turn the water off before i shut the engine off.. water wasn't coming in when I did that. when you pull the ski out of the water does the motor fully empty the water out that was in it? im trying to see if maybe by leaving it in the water (clearly the water doesn't flush out) if there's a slow leak in the bottom gasket and water enters through there.. but when I run it the water doesn't have time to seep into the motor untill i stop it then the pressure just pushes it through the gasket..

 

[98limited]

Hey guys,

So I just spent the week at the cottage, I figured out that when I leave the ski in the water I end up with water in the motor which doesn't allow me to start it "and no ski did not sink at all in the water" So instead of leaving it sit in the water I would pull the back end out of the water and by doing that I never had any issues.... Im happy I can use it now but im still confused onto how the water gets in the motor...

 

[Seadoobuddy]

98, if the water gets high enough, it will seep into the motor thru the air box/ carb area.

 

[98limited]

But how can the water get that high with out having water in the hull or the ski not sinking?

 

[Seadoobuddy]

But how can the water get that high with out having water in the hull or the ski not sinking?

It can't.

Now my ski usually sits on a hoist but last yr i put my nephews up, there to drain after he flooded his......well, one of my baler lines was off and it sunk over night. I drain the water from the hull....(of course the cable broke on my hoist due to the extra weight)....got it started and ran the H E (double hockey sticks) out of it for about 20 minutes to dry it out.

MMMMMMM, wonder if that's part of my "no power" problem..........TONY????????.....where are you???

 

[LouDoo]

I was thinking about your problem, and I'm no expert on 951's, but I was thinking. What if the hose for the engine intake and the flush hose were reversed? Actually I'm not sure, but I was thinking if the pump was sending higher pressure than the hose could the water somehow get into the engine?

Anyway just for kicks check and see if the hoses somehow got reversed.

Lou

 

[98limited]

thanx for the input!

I would check but I'm new with these machines and I have no Idea where the the flush hose would be located... is the intake hose the one where you would hook up the garden hose? Also I was looking to adjust my carbs and everything im reading is confusing the shit out of me lol, are the high jet speed and low jet speed settings the 2 little screws on each carb that's sitting on top? I also noticed that the throttle cable runs to the carbs and also to the bottom of the motor.. why is that? Im pretty furmiliar with working on cars but I never really worked on carbs and/or sea doo's. The reason I want to adjust the carbs is because I bogg out when Im trying to take off.

Thanks again for any information

 

[Dr Honda]

thanx for the input!

I would check but I'm new with these machines and I have no Idea where the the flush hose would be located... is the intake hose the one where you would hook up the garden hose? Also I was looking to adjust my carbs and everything im reading is confusing the shit out of me lol, are the high jet speed and low jet speed settings the 2 little screws on each carb that's sitting on top? I also noticed that the throttle cable runs to the carbs and also to the bottom of the motor.. why is that? Im pretty furmiliar with working on cars but I never really worked on carbs and/or sea doo's. The reason I want to adjust the carbs is because I bogg out when Im trying to take off.

Thanks again for any information

As far as Lou's suggestion.... if you have the manual... there will be a flow diagram in the cooling section. If you don't have the manual... you should get one since it makes life esier... but you can look up that ski on any on-line parts shop, and the cooling system picture will normally show the flow diagram as the parts explosion.


CARBS: Internal of the carbs... there are Main and pilot jets that do the bulk of the fuel metering. Then... there are external needles to "Trim" the fuel. (don't confuse the 2 types) OK... your High speed needle is toward the top (choke end) of the carbs, and are on the opposite side of where the throttle cable is. Your Low Speed Needles are at the bottom of the carbs, and are on the same side as the throttle cable. (Probably hiding behind the throttle arm)


The extra throttle cable is controlling the oil pump. Since your engine has a variable oil system... it has to know where the throttle is at.

 

[98limited]

As far as Lou's suggestion.... if you have the manual... there will be a flow diagram in the cooling section. If you don't have the manual... you should get one since it makes life esier... but you can look up that ski on any on-line parts shop, and the cooling system picture will normally show the flow diagram as the parts explosion.


CARBS: Internal of the carbs... there are Main and pilot jets that do the bulk of the fuel metering. Then... there are external needles to "Trim" the fuel. (don't confuse the 2 types) OK... your High speed needle is toward the top (choke end) of the carbs, and are on the opposite side of where the throttle cable is. Your Low Speed Needles are at the bottom of the carbs, and are on the same side as the throttle cable. (Probably hiding behind the throttle arm)


The extra throttle cable is controlling the oil pump. Since your engine has a variable oil system... it has to know where the throttle is at.

Yes I do need to get myself a manual, I found a site where everything is broken down into pieces "partshark.com" pretty good site IMO. Ok so for the carbs my understanding is the High speed needle is facing "the back of the boat" and the Low speed needle is the one facing "the front of the boat"? if not please correct me, When I take a look I only see those two needles. I'm guessing these shouldn't be adjusted to the same readings since they react differently? As for the extra cable for the oil pump now I understand.

Thanks alot for the help :thumbsup:

 

[98limited]

And I should mention that the two needles that I see are both sitting on top of the carbs "facing up towards the exhaust" so probably technicaly sppeaking they are on the side of the carbs? These two have a slot for a flat head screw driver and A "t" bar to adjust by hand if you dont have a screwdriver handy.

 

[98limited]

Bump... DR.? lol