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Power Fluctuations

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luv_my_grlz

luv_my_grlz

New Member
Hi All,

We just last week purchased a 2001 Sea Doo Sportster with the 130hp Rotax 2 stroke engine. Folks we bought it from seemed very knowledgeable and like they had taken good care of the boat. It had been winterized in the fall by the dealer.

Took it out to the lake this weekend. Starts like a dream and runs smooth at idle.

Acceleration is mostly normal with some hesitation, but at cruising speed a cyclical surging begins. Speedometer is inop, but the tach shows the engine fluctuating between 6,000 and 4,000 RPM. Fluctuations seem cyclical every few seconds, although occasionally the engine will give a good run at full RPM for up to one minute. Fluctuations are drastically worsened during turns. Engine sputters and dies at full throttle.

Applying 1/2 to 2/3 choke seems to alleviate the problem but boy, does that guzzle the gas!!! :ack:

1. We changed out the plugs which had no effect.
2. Also ran out that tank of fuel and put in new gas with no effect (running 87 octane per the owner's manual; I see that there is a large bit of discussion here on octane, should we try running premium?).
3. Impeller area looks fine, no debris or anything.
4. Getting water flow out the back.

Any thoughts? From reading other posts here, maybe the carb needs cleaned/rebuilt? Is that a fairly easy owner task to do if one has some technical ability, or is it best left to the dealers (who want about $400 to do it and they don't even have time to look at it till next week :( ).

Thanks very much for any thoughts or suggestions you might have.

luv_my_grlz
2001 Sea Doo Sportster w/ 130hp Rotax 2-stroke
 
Welcome to the seadoo forum luv_my_grlz. First stick with the regular fuel, it's what's recommended. As far as your problem it seems like it might just be the carbs are in need of being cleaned. You can do this service yourself, and save a lot of money. If you clean the carbs and don't tear the diaphragms, than chances you might need any rebuild kits for them. I have seen a lot of problems like this as it is spring time an all the seadoo's are coming out of storage. If you want you could join as a "premium member". As a premium member you can down load a authentic seadoo manual from the seadoo manual library. In the library is a variety of manuals for almost all years and models. You can view as many as you like on line as a PDF file, or download it and print it for your personal and privet use. There are operator manuals and repair manuals for you to do your own repairs on your seadoo. The repair manuals have everything from troubleshooting, repair procedures to winterizing. It contains wire diagrams torque specs and pictures for disassemble and assemble instructions. In the spec sheets it tells everything needed to maintain oil changes, spark plug gaps, carburetor rebuilds and impeller wear ring tolerances. Click on the "Seadoo Manuals" link at the top of the page for more details. If you need any help or get in a jam, we are always here to answer your questions too. :)

Karl
 
Karl,

Thanks for the advice.

I'm LUV_MY_GRLZ hubby (designated sportster mech). I've signed up for the premium and downloaded the manuals.

Thanks
again.

For giggles, ask LUV_MY GRLZ what happens when you tow your sportster down the road doing 70+mph!!!!!!
 
HAHA Mick do you have pictures of someone doing such a thing??
 
Thanks Karl!

Thanks for the reply Karl! Actually, dear hubby (hi mick11! :) ) is getting his premium membership now!

I'm thrilled that you think it might be worthwhile to clean the carb, as we've had a difficult time finding any dealers that will sell us the kit. Most of them want us to bring it in, which means we'd be out of our boat for one to two weeks (over the holiday weekend, :( ) and it would cost us a mint.

One service center guy did suggest we try throwing some heet in the tank; said that if water had gotten into the fuel we'd never get it out. Worthwhile?

Same guy also said he'd suspect the CVI module, but hubby and I still think this has got to be related to the fuel system since running with the choke improves things.

I guess our biggest concern is worry that if we continue trying things and taking it out to test, we might cause serious engine damage.
 
sounds like a loaded question...

mick11 said:
Karl,

Thanks for the advice.

I'm LUV_MY_GRLZ hubby (designated sportster mech). I've signed up for the premium and downloaded the manuals.

Thanks
again.

For giggles, ask LUV_MY GRLZ what happens when you tow your sportster down the road doing 70+mph!!!!!!
Click to expand...

You wouldn't be trying to get me in trouble would you ...:rofl: :cheers:

Karl
 
70 mph...

Hmmm, can I vote to ban dear hubby on the basis of him taking my post off-topic??? :p

But, alright, alright...we were in a hurry to get back from the lake and yes, I was towing the sportster a bit too fast and had a wee smidge of a tire blowout.

I have learned my lesson and from now on will keep the :driving: at 60!
 
Haha, could of been worse. A blown tire is a good way to learn though. :agree:
 
Ah, not to worry it was only 1 tire...you still had 3 other good ones... unless it was the trailer tire...:ack:

Karl
 
Yep, trailer tire

Yep, it was a trailer tire. And I didn't have a spare (that was on my "to do" list, but figured I could sneak in just one trip without it, OOPS!) Tread flew off but the inner tire held together just enough that I could get to the next exit, and then dear hubby headed off into the boonies to find the nearest town with a tire store.

I bought him a soda and candy though, so my debt's all paid, right?! ;)
 
Problems with Instructions?

Wow, what can I say except this forum rocks!!! :cheers: Thanks all!

Mick11 is on business travel so asked me to post for him. He's a premium member, so he tried to download the manuals but said all he could find was the Speedster manual (with the Merc). Ours is a Sportster with the Rotax. Could someone maybe email him or me with a direct link?

THANKS VERY MUCH for the link to SBT, those prices are way better than what we were told we could get the kit locally.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get the .pdf file to open? :(

Now for an update, before leaving town hubby did start looking in the engine compartment last night. It's obvious that that motor has been taken apart before (our bad for not noticing the evidence when we bought). One of the brackets is busted and completely disconnected even (though luckily everything still seems firmly in place). We're still happy we got the boat--it's exactly what we were looking for--but we're kinda worried now just how much we're going to run into once hubby starts really tearing into it.
 
The 2001 speedster specific manual isn't in the library, but the 2001 PWC manual is that has all the pertinent information. The majority of the information is identical. If you still need something different, give me a shout.

Karl
 
The Plan

Okey dokey. Chatted with hubby and here's the plan:

1. Go ahead and put some heet in the tank and try it this weekend, just to rule out that *maybe* it's only water in the fuel. (No, we don't really expect it to work, but figured start simple).

Question: It was a Sea Doo service guy that suggested the heet, but has anybody else here tried that? Is it OK or could it cause more problems than it is worth?

2. I'm going to go ahead and order the carb rebuild kit. Mick11 also noticed the gray fuel lines when he was poking around last night, so at this point we are assuming this is the problem.

3. Mick11 says he's come up with a way to fabricate a fix for the broken bracket so he'll do that.

4. When the kit is received, he'll tear everything down and clean or rebuild the kit as seems most prudent at the time.

Here's an additional question: I notice on the SBT site that impellers are $25. Is it a good idea to buy one of those to keep as a spare on hand? The previous owner stated that he had recently replaced the impeller, but on inspection we did notice that the leading edges have some wear/nicks.

Thanks everyone!!!
 
luv_my_grlz said:
Okey dokey. Chatted with hubby and here's the plan:

1. Go ahead and put some heet in the tank and try it this weekend, just to rule out that *maybe* it's only water in the fuel. (No, we don't really expect it to work, but figured start simple).

Question: It was a Sea Doo service guy that suggested the heet, but has anybody else here tried that? Is it OK or could it cause more problems than it is worth?

2. I'm going to go ahead and order the carb rebuild kit. Mick11 also noticed the gray fuel lines when he was poking around last night, so at this point we are assuming this is the problem.

3. Mick11 says he's come up with a way to fabricate a fix for the broken bracket so he'll do that.

4. When the kit is received, he'll tear everything down and clean or rebuild the kit as seems most prudent at the time.

Here's an additional question: I notice on the SBT site that impellers are $25. Is it a good idea to buy one of those to keep as a spare on hand? The previous owner stated that he had recently replaced the impeller, but on inspection we did notice that the leading edges have some wear/nicks.

Thanks everyone!!!
Click to expand...

well, I wouldn't add anything to the fuel. If it's bad, use it in the lawn mower. Use fresh and don't waste your time adding anything. Depending on how bad the carbs are you might just be able to clean and re assemble them. If you don't tear the diaphragms it should be a snap to just clean them.

Karl
 
Thanks Karl!

Those tips make sense. I'll post back after we've had a chance to clean the carbs and let everyone know the status!
 
Thanks again for all the support.

Will be back in St Louis on Thursday. Hope to do the carb clean and grey fuel line swap out that night before we head out to the lake.

How long does it take to clean a carb? My maintenencae skills are above average. I worked on F-16s in the USAF and certified aircraft mech with the FAA. Just curious on how long I will be up Thursday night before the trip on Friday.

Thanks again.

Mick
 
Depending on how frozen the screws are it could take about 3 hrs total time from removal to full install. Take your time and just do a good job.

Karl
 
That's not too bad.

It looks like the intake manifold (large black duct) need to come off in order to get to the carb. That doesn't look hard. A couple lines and a clamp.

I will take my time and lay out the parts as they come out, so I know where they go on the install.
 
I found the worst is the screws on the carb them self. I use PB BLASTER. That stuff is phenomenal! Spray it and let it sit a small while...out they come.

Karl
 
Hey Mick11

Hey Mick11, I just hope your "maintenencae" skills are better than your spelling skills!!!!!!!!!!!! :rofl:

(Sorry, but I had to get you back for bringing up the blown tire.)
 
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