coolant leak

[shucky]

I have discovered a bit of a coolant leak the last couple rides out while flushing the ski out with fresh water. Its showing just under the jet pump and I cant seem to figure out where it would be coming from so I'm hoping some of you good people could give me a clue as of where to start looking at please.

08 seadoo gti 155 se
cheers guys .

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

I think I'd rig up a pressure leak check, about 10psi should be enough?

Are the hose clamps on the heat exchanger connections rusty? Someone mentioned they found rusted through hose clamps in another post.

 

[shucky]

Cheered sportster
Any suggestions on rigging up the pressure test? I'm not really sure what the heat exchanger is? But after looking at the hoses I don't see any visible rust.. There is one hose that feels a bit hard as I squeeze it and you can feel something inside of that hose move does that sound normal. I can post a pic of the hose in question later this arvo as its only 5 am here, I'm off to work.


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[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Hi Shucky, there may be some small hose near the top of coolant tank you can add a piece of rubber tubing by using a "T" fitting and connect to about 10psi air pressure source then watch for antifreeze leaking somewhere.

I remember someone mentioned they found the two hose clamps at the ride plate heat exchanger were rusted and there was an coolant leak as a result of the lose clamp. Maybe at the ride plate connection location of hoses #21 and #23 at the connection to the ride plate in this drawing? This is inside the bilge though, i appears your leak is outside the bilge? In that case, the rideplate heat exchanger may be the leak point....

http://partsfinder.onlinemicrofiche...ake=seadoopwc&a=173&b=2&c=0&d=-COOLING-SYSTEM

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

In the case of the hose you feel that's hard and has something inside, my pure guess is there's an insert inside, such as a coiled spring, that serves the purpose of keeping this hose on the suction side of the coolant recirculation pump of the engine from collapsing which could impede coolant flow and cause coolant starvation.

That is, it's my guess if equipped, this insert would serve an important function.

 

[devonte007]

If you are not getting any leaks inside the ski (water or coolant), and since the coolant leak is outside the hull it is most likely your ride plate/heat exchanger that is leaking. Here is a good diagram of the system:

The heat exchanger serves the same purpose as the radiator on your car, just designed a bit differently to work on a boat and with water flowing against it instead of air through a radiator.

To pressure test the system it is the same as pressure testing a car radiator, you would do it through the reservoir tank. Any kit designed to test a car radiator should have the correct fittings to work on this boat. You just pump the system with 13psi and look for the leak.

If you do find the leak and it is the heat exchanger they can be repaired by any reputable welding shop familiar with aluminum. Problem is that they are a real pain to get off as they are literally glued to the hull with some strong stuff. Shop manual says you need to pry the dang thing off with a 1 ton bottle jack....

This is not a common problem with these machines, don't hear much on the forums anyway, so it will probably be some type of corrosion issue or part defect. Good reason to change coolant every 2 years. Hopefully is is something simple you can get to without taking everything apart. In the mean time keep your coolant tank topped up.

 

[shucky]

cheers guys and sorry for the long delay, I haven't had much time to deal with things due to working, as I have time this weekend I can start looking into what you guys are suggesting.
I'm inclined to say the leakage is coming off the left hand side of the plate, after just squeezing a hose I now have a fresh little puddle of coolant on the plate. from what I can see and tell so far the clamps all seem to be in good condition ( tight and no rusty bits).
Sporster ..... you are correct about the hose having a spring in it .... I've just had a good second look.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Yep, seems your ride plate has sprung a leak.

 

[devonte007]

check out the last couple pictures in this post:
http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?69006-Challenger-4tec-Upgrade/page4

The guy retrofitting a 2-stroke boat with a 4tec engine posted some good pictures of a ride plate/heat exchanger taken apart. I am not an expert with these heat exchangers, but it appears they are a two part assembly. The top cover is secured in place with screws and most likely some type of mastic sealant so it will not leak. Possible yours is leaking from that mating joint. Either way, it will probably need to come off the ski before you can fix it which looks like a big pain....

Before you dig in you may want to try some sort of commercially available radiator leak stop product?

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Although it might work and the idea is tempting, I think I would avoid stop leak in this case. Just sayin', it might create other, difficult to repair cooling problems.

 

[Coastiejoe]

I would NOT use any type of stop leak product. It will likely work, but it can also cause issues by "trying"to plug any other smaller passages or tight corners where it can cling. Once it does, it starts to allow build ups And then over time you will get limited circulation and an over-heat situation.

 

[shucky]

ok... the leakage is coming from between the top side of the ride plate and the pump housing where it bolts on to the hull.
There is no coolant inside of hull. If it is the plate as sportster is suggesting what's involved in changing it I know the pump has to be removed other then that what sort of tools would I need please.?

 

[Coastiejoe]

Removing the ride plate can be VERY difficult. The manual shows the use of a jack to put pressure between it and the hull. These things are stuck on with the intent to stay there for life. If you don't have the manual, you will want one to see how they set the jack up.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

The hydraulic jack is placed between the ride plate and hull (using wooden blocks to spread the forces), and once all the attaching bolts are removed the jack is used to separate the plate from the hull.

I agree 100% about the service manual, make sure you have the correct service manual as there were some changes over the years. And study/follow the service manual procedure VERY carefully, to avoid costly mistakes.

Not a fun job, but doesn't look all that impossible to me.

Was your ride plate banged up by hitting stuff and it was slightly distorted? I'm not sure what caused it to begin leaking, perhaps the assembly sealant failed?

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

BTW, You aren't the only victim of a leaky ride plate:

http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?47805-Replacing-Ride-plate-02-GTX-4-tec

 

[shucky]

cheers guys...
Not sure about it being banged up I know I haven't hit anything other then waves. I'm looking to get a paper back copy of a manual as we speak found one online yesterday though not sure if its a downloadable version which I already have or what but woud be handy to have a hard copy.
I have looked through a fair few posts of the how to's here on the forum and came across some good ones with nice little tips and tricks.
I'm guessing its not a common thing for these plates to leak?

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Yeah that seems to be the case, most of the leaking plates are damaged by contacting hard objects but it's unclear. There are some spectacular adhesives available that I think would work well in this application, not sure what Seadoo used but I think 3M 5200 polyurethane adhesive would be a good choice to permanently cement the top plate onto the bottom plate.

It can never be taken back apart if 5200 polyurethane is used, so don't use this adhesive for sealing it to the hull !!!!

 

[shucky]

Just rang up looking for a plate but was advised that there are 2 plastic o rings which could be causing the issue, as I say the plate isn't banged up so now I'm wondering where these o rings are and how hard they would be to access for inspection? And has anyone heard of these rings causing a leakage?


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[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Ask the shop if those o-rings are inside the hull?

I think if those o-rings (inside the hull) were leaking the antifreeze would be inside the hull coming from the recirculation hose connectors? I believe those hose nipple connectors are threaded into the top of the ride plate and there's an o-ring to make a seal above the threads. I guess seadoo did this instead of using thread sealer but thread sealer seems like it can be used instead of replacing the o-rings.

I'm just guessing, I've never worked on one of these.

 

[shucky]

does these to fittings connect to the 2 hoses inside the hull and ride plate? I cant see them on the manual diagram or any pics above. And can anyone tell me the part number for the ride plate please? for some reason its either not listed in the manual ( cooling system section) or am I looking in the wrong section.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/AFTERMARKET-SeaDoo-retention-ring-Rideplate-plastic-fitting-GTX-RXP-RXT-GTI-GTS-/261505423112

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

I think you might want these part numbers Did you also check the coolant drain plug underneath for leaking?

13 271001557 RIDING PLATE (INC 13-15) 1 254.99
16 293710111 STRAIGHT PLASTIC FITTING 2 5.99
17 293300121 O-RING 2 6.99

http://partsfinder.onlinemicrofiche...=173&b=12&c=0&d=-PROPULSION-SYSTEM---INTERNAL

Seadoo recommends loctite 5900 flange sealant for the ride-plate to hull sealer:

9 293800066 SEALANT, LOCTITE 5900, 300 ML @ 41.49

 

[shucky]

wasn't aware of the coolant drain plug?
if the ski hasn't been started I souldnt be seeing fresh coolant on top of the plate should I? this would hence the drain plug you mention?
I have been unable to get past the caption in that link showing above for atleast a month now, that's even double checking the numbers I enter into the box match the green numbers.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

wasn't aware of the coolant drain plug?
if the ski hasn't been started I souldnt be seeing fresh coolant on top of the plate should I? this would hence the drain plug you mention?
I have been unable to get past the caption in that link showing above for atleast a month now, that's even double checking the numbers I enter into the box match the green numbers.

Agree, the leak doesn't seem to come from drain plug, underneath. Only way to pinpoint might be to drain antifreeze and pressure test using 10psi air and soapy water from outside to detect location of air leaking. I guess the leak is outside the hull, thus it seems the plate itself is the suspected culprit. The plate is two halves I believe, with some sealant or gasket between them, not sure if they can be separated and resealed or sealed from outside without removing from hull.

Not sure how the item #16 and #17 can be responsible for leaking outside the hull but I haven't disassembled one of these so no direct experience. I think the plastic nipples are brittle and easily broken though, you might need replacements if you remove the ride plate?

Here's that drawing that shows more detail, sorry I dunno why the link isn't working:

13~15 - 271001557 RIDING PLATE (INC 13-15) 1 254.99
16 - 293710111 STRAIGHT PLASTIC FITTING 2 5.99
17 - 293300121 O-RING 2 6.99
9 - 293800066 SEALANT, LOCTITE 5900, 300 ML @ 41.49

Item #14 is the drain plug, it has pipe sealant applied to keep threads from leaking:
15 - 293800013 LOCTITE, PIPE SEALANT, 250 ML @ 63.99

Item #21 is a gasket of some sort, not sure if this is important or can be reused:
21 - 293250087 GASKET 1 5.99

 

[shucky]

Cheers for the help Sportster... I'm at wits end on this one .
I have pressure tested sprayed soapy water, I am regretful to say it 's gotten me beat.
No worries with the link I have mentioned it to [MENTION=2]hfgreg[/MENTION] recently.


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[shucky]

Sadly to say I have had to surcome to stealership for the repair due to lack of equiptment and so on, but the upside is fully rebuilt jetpump leak fixed and pressure tested they even threw in a free service all for just over a grand. Ouch.


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