Another "water in engine" question

[PJ Moran]

My '06 GTI got caught in a severe thunderstorm and was repeatedly slammed against a retaining wall and up under a dock. The hull is damaged and the boat took on some water. But, it did not sink. However, it was listing badly by the time I was able to safely get it back onto a lift and drained.

I find no water on the oil dipstick. But, after reading several posts on here, I also pulled the intake manifold aside for inspection to find that it is full of water. Some water got into the intake area above the valves, but there's no standing water - just some droplets. Did a little splash in there? Did a bunch slosh in there? I don't know. I just know there's some moisture.

The instrument cluster is gone (lost in the carnage). The start button is gone. So, I know it won't run, but I can't even crank it in flood mode.

I'm trying to sell the wreckage to someone interested in the engine, but I can't figure out how to tell if it can be easily resurrected. Is there a way to "jumper the solenoid" like you used to could do on older cars? I need to see if it's "locked up" and/or there's water in any cylinders. I imagine any "standing" water would have made its way past the rings by now, but I still want to make sure it turns over and see if anything is spit out the plug holes.

I think I have identified the starter solenoid. There's a two-pin connector with smallish wires (brown/yellow and purple). If I apply 12v across those pins, will it crank? If so, which one is hot and which is ground?

I've read too many posts that say, "Take it to the dealer" That's not an acceptable option, to me. 1) There's not one nearby and 2) I can't see spending hundreds to a shop to tell me whether the engine is junk. I can't make any money doing that. I need to be able to assess this myself.

 

[skiasylum]

I would follow the procedure in your service manual for a water flooded motor. Starting or cranking the motor is the last thing thing on the list and jump starting your motor is a no no and could destroy a perfectly good ECM. I would do the oil change part and then tell your buyer that you have followed the service manual procedures up to starting the motor and let him decide what he wants to do from there.

 

[benjilafouine]

Do you have insurance on it? I think you could claim it at this point.

 

[PJ Moran]

FWIW... I learned that the local Honda dealer is also an authorized Sea Doo dealer and service shop. I talked to them about it and they said to swing by one morning and they'd put a camera down into the spark plug holes. He would be able to tell right away if the engine was OK or not. That'll happen next week. If the combustion chambers are OK, any water can be removed and everything made right without too much difficulty.

It looks like I have a buyer for one, any way, even knowing water is in the intake.

As for insurance, the only insurance I have for them is homeowner's insurance. I have no specific insurance on the skis. My place is on the water. The skis were moored to my dock/boathouse. My agent said I could probably file a claim and get as much as $1500 under my policy. But, like most folks, I'm reluctant to file a claim for fear of triggering higher premiums.

I have already found their replacements - a pair of '06 GTXs. One is 155 hp n/a. The other is 215 hp s/c. They are a few inches longer than my GTIs and definitely ride better. In the end, we have skis that are better suited to us any way. Silver lining

 

[benjilafouine]

With your homeowner insurance, you only get liability coverage or your 1,500.00$ as you say (I think it is the same if you get some stuff stolen in your car). Not worth claiming I think because the second one would cost you a bundle after that.

 

[Ckrawiec]

From an insurance perspective....I would never have my skis just covered under a homeowners policy....WHY would a homeowners policy cover a watercraft unless it was stored inside the home (assuming a loss would be covered inside the house).

Personally, each of my skis is insured individually for both LIABILITY and Loss PLUS I added a 1 million $ UMBRELLA Policy over everything I insure (House, 2 cars, 2 boats, 3 skis). When it was all said and done.....I had BETTER coverage (from Allstate) on everything for less money than I was paying with a previous insurer (and the previous insurer didn't have the umbrella).. I sleep better at night now. It was really surprising what Allstate was able to do for less money....shocking (in a good way) actually.

 

[benjilafouine]

With a homeowner insurance your ski is seen only as a bicycle.

 

[PJ Moran]

Update.

A buyer came to inspect the engine. He pulled the plugs and tried to turn the engine over by grabbing the driveshaft with pliers. That didn't work so well. So, he pulls out a battery and hooks it up. I wrongly stated that the cluster was gone. It was damaged and disconnected, but sitting there in its home. I plugged it in and incredibly, the engine cranked. He decided the engine was salvageable, and we struck a deal.

I took the other ski to the dealership where they scoped the cylinders. Clean and dry and perfect. No water appeared on the dipstick, but the level was high (water in the bottom?). The tech was "sure" there was no water in the engine. He told me to go ahead and start it up and recheck the oil.

Well, when I did that, it locked up right away. So, I pulled the plugs and tried again. Water spewed out like Old Faithful! So, the intake on this one was full of water, too. Much of it got sucked in upon cranking.

I pulled the intake and drained it out. I cleaned and dried everything as best I could and put it all back together. To my amazement, it actually started! It didn't run great (a little off-idle stumble), but it definitely ran. Rechecking the oil I found a milkshake

So, I'll get the watery oil out of there (I know how) and give her another good warmup or two.

It looks to me, though, that the intake tract outboard of the throttle body could still hold quite a bit of water. Is that also supposed to be removed and drained? In this case, I'm not sure it matters unless someone actually tries to "rebuild" this jet ski. Do I need to warn any potential buyers of the probability that the intake system is holding water and must be removed and drained before attempting to actually operate this boat in the water?

 

[skiasylum]

Somehow I get this creepy feeling that your skis are going to be flipped and resold to some unsuspecting buyers who will be writing on this forum how they just bought this really nice ski and that it ran great for 2 hours and just suddenly imploded. Buyer beware I guess.

 

[Ckrawiec]

CAVEAT EMPTOR.....buying "used" skis is always a crap shoot....Human nature being what it is, we WANT to trust the seller that we are getting the whole truth...when/but THEY may not even know themselves what they got (or they are just b'tards and are willing to take you) - hopefully KARMA eventually gets a hold of those who do that....in the meantime, "An educated consumer is what you need to become".

Buying a "used" ski from a private seller usually means "AS IS/WHERE IS", no warranty at all - so hopefully you go in with eyes wide open and a little knowledge base to avoid the really bad stuff (unless you are a glutton for punishment and/or that guy who belives he can fix anything - hahahaha!)

 

[PJ Moran]

All I can do is reveal what I know to be true and warn of what is possibly true. The hull is badly damaged and took on a great deal of water. I now know the intake system and crankcase took on some water and needs to be cleared out before operating it. Someone could patch the fiberglass and replace missing components and have the boat working, again. But, they could buy another one for less money, so I see this as a parts boat.

 

[skiasylum]

My remark wasn’t aimed at you P J, it’s the guy who buys your motor. All you need to say to any perspective buyer is that it’s a water flooded motor since whenever and that the water hasn’t been removed properly and timely per the service manual.