No oil

[CoolHandJohnny]

I’ve got a 2002 GTX RFI. I was riding Saturday and after about an hour or so got a hi temp warning. I got it back to the dock and let it cool off. Later I drove it to the ramp and it seemed fine, no warning. Brought it home, flushed it as normal. It flushed fine so no obstructions. I never could find a reason for the hi temp warning unless it has to do with what else I found. I looked in the engine compartment and the two middle oil lines were almost empty. The reservoir is full. I left the seats off and flushed it some more and no oil is running through those lines. I’ve got an oil filter ordered as it’s been a while since it was changed. It isn’t normal for these two lines to be empty is it? The large hose below the filter is full of oil. I only got a Hi temp warning with the continuous beep. It didn’t shut off by itself, I shut it off. No warnings or anything out of the norm when I flushed it. I’m real hesitant to take it back to the lake without having fixed the problem. Any ideas?

 

[mikidymac]

Those oil lines are your oil injection.
With no oil in them your engine ran without oil and had to have done major damage?

I would do a compression check and find out why there is no oil in them.

 

[CoolHandJohnny]

The motor sounds good and strong. It ran great after I let it cool off and the hi temp warning stopped coming on.

 

[mikidymac]

I'm sure it's fine then, lubrication is for suckers.

 

[burtshaver2021]

They always run strong right before they die, do a compression test and figure out why there is no oil in t he lines before you do any more driving

 

[CoolHandJohnny]

it’s a factory rebuilt motor I just had put on the first of last Summer. This doesn’t sound good. I’ll have to get a comp. tester then I’ll let you all know.

 

[CoolHandJohnny]

From the response Im seeing so far, Im guessing this couldn’t be as simple as a clogged oil filter is it?

 

[CoolHandJohnny]

They always run strong right before they die, do a compression test and figure out why there is no oil in t he lines before you do any more driving

I absolutely will

 

[mikidymac]

The only time I have ever heard of one of these oil filters clogging is when two different oils were used and it created a thick gel from a chemical reaction.

If it was mine I would first check compression.
Then install a new oil filter and make sure it has good flow to the oil pump.
Bleed the oil pump.
Make sure oil pulses all the way to the intake manifold.
I would put a little oil down each carb and some in each sparkplug hole as it is going to be dry with no oil at startup.

 

[CoolHandJohnny]

The only time I have ever heard of one of these oil filters clogging is when two different oils were used and it created a thick gel from a chemical reaction.

If it was mine I would first check compression.
Then install a new oil filter and make sure it has good flow to the oil pump.
Bleed the oil pump.
Make sure oil pulses all the way to the intake manifold.
I would put a little oil down each carb and some in each sparkplug hole as it is going to be dry with no oil at startup.

Thank you for that information. It is very helpful. I've got to go buy a compression checker this afternoon and will check when I get home. I'll let you know what I find out. Does the GTX RFI have a carb? Sorry if that is a stupid question, I am certainly no mechanic. I won't be able to swap the filter until it comes in tomorrow. I already put some oil directly into the gas at about a 100:1. Not much but better than turning it on with nothing in there. I did that when I noticed it didn't have oil in those lines. When I first noticed, it did have some but not much. Now, there isn't much of anything in there.

 

[mikidymac]

Sorry, no you don't have a carb and you should not premix an injected ski.

You can put some oil into the throttle body and it will get to teh crank and bearings.

 

[CoolHandJohnny]

Sorry, no you don't have a carb and you should not premix an injected ski.

You can put some oil into the throttle body and it will get to teh crank and bearings.

 

[CoolHandJohnny]

I got the compression tester from Autozone. I’ve been reading on how to do it and the directions I see say to disable the ignition and fuel. Can you all give me directions on how to do this for my ski? I’m not finding it online.

 

[mikidymac]

You should have grounding lugs for the sparkplugs (I think RFI?).

With the sparkplugs out and the tester in one hole, hold the throttle wide open (This will cut the fuel injectors on a RFI) and crank until the needle stops moving and repeat for the other cylinder. 150 psi is perfect and 120 psi it is done, the cylinders should have basically the same pressure.

 

[CoolHandJohnny]

I must be missing something or this tester from Autozone is defective. Both spark plugs are out. Plug wires hooked into the grounding bracket. Full throttle and when it turns over 5-6 times, it shows 0 compression. Same on both cylinders. I also made sure I had the tester in tight. Did I miss a step?

 

[mikidymac]

Can you post a picture of the tester.
At zero compression the engine would never even start out of the water.

 

[CoolHandJohnny]

Can you post a picture of the tester.
At zero compression the engine would never even start out of the water.

 

[mikidymac]

Something must be wrong with it, maybe the little Schrader valves are bad on it.

 

[CoolHandJohnny]

Something must be wrong with it, maybe the little Schrader valves are bad on it.

Figures. I’ll take it back tomorrow and buy one.

 

[Legacy37]

Are you positive it is screwed tight into the plug hole?

 

[CoolHandJohnny]

Are you positive it is screwed tight into the plug hole?

Yes, it was as tight as I tighten spark plugs.

 

[burtshaver2021]

Maybe try pulling the button out on the side of it that’s used for releasing the pressure? Maybe it’s stuck in?

 

[CoolHandJohnny]

Maybe try pulling the button out on the side of it that’s used for releasing the pressure? Maybe it’s stuck in?

Thanks. I already tried it. I even blew in the end and the pressure release button worked fine.

 

[CoolHandJohnny]

Yea, the compression checker I had was defective. Just got home and showing 122 and 124 psi. SMH, now what? Just went out of warranty last month and I probably haven’t used it 5-7 hrs. Well, I just tried it again and got 135 in both.
I swapped out the oil filter. The lines going to the injectors are mostly empty. Some oil down by the pump. I loosened the bleeder screw but didn’t change anything in the small lines. I’ve got to get an air bubble out of the filter and then will put on the hose to see if those lines fill with oil.
Update- I ran on the hose and I can see a slow pulse pushing up the injector hoses but no fluid is coming up, just some air bubbles. I only ran about a minute. Could this air bubble be the culprit or will it just take longer?

 

[mikidymac]

You have to get the air out of the filter first.
1. Hold the oil filter vertical and pull the hose off for a split second and it will purge the air. Lay down some paper towels as it will make a mess.
2. Open the bleed screw until clean fresh oil comes out and no air, this only fills the pump.
3. Start the engine and hold the oil pump lever wide open. This will go to max flow and pump oil into the two small oil lines very quickly.
4. Let everything cool then do step #3 again until oil is all the way to the intake manifold and the exhaust starts smoking a lot.

Compression is low but you are out of warranty so you really have nothing to lose at this point.