'98 GTX LTD Oil Pump?

[bills96gtx]

There is a small black pump of some sort mounted to the hull under the seat. It has a plug with two wire coming into it and 3 small black rubber lines. One of the fittings is broken off. Is this an oil pump?

 

[bills96gtx]

I looked up a parts diagram and it's a Rave Valve Solenoid. What does the solenoid do?

Thanks

 

[kustomkarl]

That solenoid controls the RAVE valves,( Rotax Adjustable Variable Exhaust), which control the rpm,s Can you repair the broken fitting?

Karl

 

[bills96gtx]

I priced out a new valve at the local dealership and it's $57.00 so instead of trying to repair it i'll go ahead and get a new one. With the solenoid not working could it have done any damage? or cause it to have low compression/ ticking noise at idle?

Thanks

 

[bills96gtx]

Two more questions :

The plastic fitting that is appears broken off is located at the end of the solenoid. It pushes in and it pulls out. Is it supposed to be molded in to the housing?. And one of the Rave valves is missing the spring under the cover. Is there supposed to be one under each cover?

Thanks

Bill

 

[nswillin]

Bill, if is just the rave valve solenoid that is broken it will cause some performance issues.

Coming out of the crankcase there is a small black hose connected to a small gray check valve that will have an arrow on it and from there it should go to your RAVE solenoid.

If this check valve breaks, or the hose attached to it from the case to the valve, it will cause the engine to suck air because that valve keeps back pressure form getting back into the engine. Just make sure all of these are ok and you shouldn't have any damage.

If that check valve breaks, and you keep running it, it will burn up a piston.

There are supposed to be one spring for each RAVE.

 

[bills96gtx]

Thanks that what I needed to know. The only part that was broken was the nipple on the solenoid. It appears that someone broke it off in the past, drilled it out, and stuck a new hose fitting in there which just pops out

 

[bills96gtx]

Would the missing RAVE spring & the RAVE solenoid not working cause the "ticking" noise at idle. I went to use my compression guage and it was not working properly however I was able to determine that the cylinder that had lower compression was also the one with the missing spring

 

[EvilVtec]

The RAVE's are simply Air Operated Valves (AOV's) that use checked crankcase pulse to open. The spring inside of the plastic dome is there to hold the valve in the closed position until the solenoid valve opens and air supply is introduced to the diaphram. This slides the valve in the jug open and improves exhaust flow and alters exhaust harmonics. If the spring is missing, then the valve will not be held closed, and could rattle around inside the valve guide. For a simple fix, you could just place a generic spring in the housing to see if the click noise goes away. But DO NOT operate the motor in high RPM's with the generic spring installed. Replace it with the original spring so that the diaphram mechanism will operate properly. Good luck.

 

[bills96gtx]

I took a spring off my 97 GTX 787 and it seems to be quiter but still has a rattle when at idle. I ordered the correct spring and solenoid so hopefully in the next couple weeks I can try it out on the lake.

 

[nswillin]

Does it tick in the water or out?

 

[bills96gtx]

It ticks out of the water. As soon as the parts come in and I get the RAVE solenoid replaced and the sping I am going to take it out to the lake and try it out. I did notice some excessive play in the steering nozzle in the back which I believe could cause the rattling noise out of the water

 

[bills96gtx]

The thing that get's me is it starts right up and runs great but at idle it has the rattle noise. Anything over idle it sounds great

 

[nswillin]

It could be coming from the jet pump cone area. In some of the older ones they rattled a bit. Some of the new ones have an anti rattle spring in the cone of the jet pump. Some of the after market springs people sell usually break pretty fast anyways. If that is what is making the noise it's all good, just a noise when out of water.

 

[bills96gtx]

I noticed that the steering nozzle was metal not plastic like my 97 GTX. Is this standard?

 

[nswillin]

Yeah it's metal on yours.

 

[bills96gtx]

With the RAVE spring missing and the solinoid broken could it have done damage to the engine?

Thanks

 

[timmyboy76]

With the RAVE spring missing and the solinoid broken could it have done damage to the engine?

Thanks

Hey bill....possible that the broken/missing parts will not effect the compression reading, however those same parts missing/broken, may have played a roll in the cylinder "now" having low compression...?

 

[bills96gtx]

Update

I used some hot glue to fix the solenoid- just temporary until the new one comes in. I also installed the new RAVE spring and picked up a quick connect at ACE Hardware for the hose and to my suprise it ran really good:hurray:. No more weird noises, the engine is smooth and purrs like a kitten except when it hits 2500 it will jump to 2700 or so for a second and right back down. I think it's just the carbs since it's been sitting.

 

[timmyboy76]

:cheers:, good job, bill

 

[bills96gtx]

Thank you guy's for the help and for the advice :cheers:. I probably would have bought that ex rental ski and had nothing but problems with it. I took the front storage compartment out and there are no oil lines coming from the top of the tank. Is it supposed to be like this?. I have attached a photo of what it looks like

 

[timmyboy76]

bill...do yourself the favor, and replace those grey fuel lines with 1/4in black fuel lines from any auto parts store, stuffs about .25 a ft. 20ft should be enough, along with stainless steel hose clamps.
As for the resivoir, doesn't look right to me, because the "return" line from bottom of motor, goes to top of tank, the side w/ black plug on it, other end-cap is a check-valve(gas filter look'n thing). Double-check the oil lines to see if, previous owner "looped" the system, taking a hose from one side of motor to other, thats filled w/ oil.

 

[bills96gtx]

I checked the lines and nothing appears looped. I will replace the fuel lines this winter- at least the previous owner replaced them already on my '97 GTX