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Engine compartment gets smoked up...

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Goingtobeapilot

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Hello everybody. I'm new to the forum and so far I like what I see!

Anyways I just purchased a 1996 sea-doo gsx. The first thing I did was pull it into the garage and let it thaw out for a few days. After that I pulled the battery and charged it. I also changed the "beeper" due to the fact that it wasn't working. And where I believe my problem lies: I cleaned my rave valves... Sooo the valves were pretty bad and I decided to replace a few parts in them. Well when I put them back on I didn't realize that I hadn't tightened one of the valves completely...

So today I started her up for the first time. She needed some motivation to start (probably due to the fact that it was the first start of the season). I ran it for about 10 seconds and shut it off, let it cool down, then ran it again. I knew instantly what I did when I pulled the seat off and saw the oil rolling down under the valve. But I also noticed an extreme amount of fumes in the compartment. I turned on my flash light and you could literally see the beam of the light due to the smoke/fumes.

So my question is: Would the small gap from the rave valve being loose cause this? If not, is it possible that I just flooded the engine that bad? Or even better yet is this normal? And also what else should I check if none of these are the problem?
 
HI and welcome to the forum.

2 things w/ the Rave valves -
1. Did you put the little o-rings back on, should use new ones and new gaskets.
2. Did you put the valves back in correctly. The "top" should be facing the pistons. I assume you did this correctly since you ran it and didn't hear a lot of clanging as the valve are being torn apart by the pistons.
Screw the red cap all the way in.
 
Yes I replaced the gaskets and o rings on both of them... and I did make certain to put the "top" end up. However this particular ski has the 800 rotax and I thought the red caps were suppose to be even on the 800 and not screwed in? I could be wrong but I think they were even with the plastic when I took them apart. By the way thank you for the help
 
You are correct on the adjustment of the Rave valves. I suspect what you experienced is completely normal, if the ski was put away for winter and the cylinders were fogged it's probably just burning off the fogging oil. Also it's normal for some oil to be trapped in the crankcase and burn off.

BTW I've got the same ski, you're gonna love it.

Lou
 
tighten the valve and try it again. if it still leaks oil the O-rings likely need replaced as SDB said. stock setting for the red cap is flush with the top of the black cap. I would get it running and test it on the water before making any adjustment to the red cap. the raves open about 5000 rpm and you should jump to 7000 rpm. if there is a delayed acceleration, then try turning the red caps in probably 1/2 turn at a time.
 
as usual, brother Lou is 1 minute faster than me. We are really twins, but he was born 1 minute before me.
 
I have a 96 GTX with the 787 (800) and I also just cleaned the valve last august. Once running, check and see if moving the red caps in is better for you

From KustomKarl -


Here is some information on the RAVE Valve;
The RAVE, (Rotax Adjustable Variable Exhaust) valves are located above the exhaust valve. There are 2 of them per engine. They are round with a red adjustment screw in the middle. It has a clip that holds it together. How they work is that they open the exhaust port larger as the engine rpm's increase. When the rpm's drop down so do the RAVE valves. They work on the principle of the pressure of the exhaust system. Rpm's increase, pressure increases and the valve opens, rpm's drop pressure drops, Valve closes. They should be de-carbonized annual. To disassemble the rave valves, remove the spring clip on top, remove the black cover. There is a spring under the cover. Remove the piston by turning it with a metric socket. On the bottom of the piston is the rubber "Bellows" be careful with the small retaining spring that hold the bellows on the piston. Remove the 2 allen screws that hold the base on the cylinder. Remove the base and gasket. The long valve won't fall in the cylinder just pull it out. There is an o ring under the base, on the shaft of the guillotine valve. Be careful to see how it came apart as it has to go back together that same way again. On the base, notice the notch that it is facing down. Clean all the carbon off the guillotine valve. I use carb cleaner and 400 grit paper. Check the bellows for any small pin holes. If so replace it. If not, reassemble it on the clean guillotine valve, and install it back on the engine the same way it came apart. The guillotine valve only fits one way. The one closest to the exhaust pipe will come off differently then the other one. You will have to remove the allen screws and turn the base so it clears the exhaust pipe. I would do one at a time in case you forget how it goes back together again. This way you can look at the other one and copy it. Do both engines 2 per engine. Take your time and if you have questions give us a shout. We'll be here to help you out.
If the RAVE valves are dirty it will not rev up correctly and could be causing your problem.

The adjustment knob (the red cap) should either be screwed all the way in or flush to the top of the black ring of the cap. This will only affect performance, as far as how it jumps out of the hole or how well it runs for extended periods at WOT.

I hope this helps. Karl
 
Haha you guys are great. Well anyways what you said about the fogging oil burning off sounds likely. Hopefully that turns out to be it. And to whoever said I will love this ski... Thanks I really hope so. It seems like a solid build from sea-doo. Also though I would like to ask one more question:
How do I hook up a hose tho this ski to run it in the driveway? What parts do I need/ where could I possibly buy them, and where would I connect them? Thanks guys! :Angel:
 
RAVE Valve Adjustment

Speaking from experience, I have two SeaDoo's with 787, a 96XP and a 96GSX, I have never had to adjust the RAVE valves to anything except the factory settings. Which is flush with the top of the cap.

If you do decide to try adjusting them don't do any thing until you get the ski in the water and then adjust them as Jake suggested. Your ski will perform completely different in the water then it does on the trailer.

Lou
 
nothing to buy, there is a hose connection on the rear of the ski, upper left. important thing is so u dont hydrolock the engine.
1) start engine
2) turn on water
3) turn off water
2) stop engine.

never run water with teh ski off.
 
There's a hose connection at the rear of the ski, a garden hose just screws to it. When the hose is connected you are actually back flushing. Be sure to do this start the engine, turn on the water, turn off the water then stop the engine. If you don't do it in this order you can hydro lock the engine. Also don't run the engine for more than 10mins. on the hose.

Lou
 
just noticed you are in Charlotte. I'm going to be there tomorrow. Driving to Hilton Head and stopping Charlotte for the night.

The other thing you will want to do before the season starts is swap out the gray Tempo fuel lines if your ski still has them and rebuild the carbs. the gray fuel lines break down internally and plug up the fule system especially the internal filters in the carbs. here is a great thread on the subject and also has link to a step by step pdf to rebuild the carbs. use one OEM rebuild kits. http://www.seadooforum.com/showthre...el-Delivery-Problems-low-revs-bogging-surging
 
Hey thats pretty ironic about you being in charlotte tomorrow. As far as the fuel lines, they apparently have already been replaced because I don't see any grey lines. Should I still rebuild the carbs anyways? How major of a project is that?
 
it is fairly easy to follow the step by step instructions. the first time you do it, probably a couple hours, with the learning curve of how the carbs come off. since you don't know the last time they were done, I would do them.
 
Alrighty I will definitely rebuild them then. I've rebuilt the carbs on motorcycles before so I'm not worried about the rebuild itself..... Honestly what I'm nervous about is the fact that the carbs are buried in the engine compartment. But I'm sure I'll get through it.
 
Thanks I'll keep you updated on how it goes... and hey seadoolou (or anyone else who might know) on your gsx do you usually set the spark plug gap at .025?
 
I usually set mine at .022. It's a bit of a hassle taking off the air box and flame arrestor. Just go slow and easy, the slide "locks" can be tricky esp on the bottom where you cant see them. Lots of bolts to remove, all use metric sizes. Get a set of allen wrench sockets in metric.

Take a picture or make a mental note on how thing go back together.
And as Jake said make sure you check the internal carb filters, they are small and can get plugged up easily.

Good Luck and have fun
 
Alright so I fixed up my rave valves today and started it with the hose... Well everything seems much better except one major thing I noticed. There is a solid stream of water coming out of the exhaust right where it connects to the engine block. it shoots straight back to right behind the battery. So I'm thinking I probably need to replace some gaskets or something. Any ideas?
 
I assume this water coming from where 2 parts are bolted together? Are the bolt/nuts tight?

Can see you see if part of a gasket is missing?

Glad you got it going.....:cheers:
 
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