Ran Sea Doo in shallow water, stirred up sand

[sheim]

Last week my kids got too close to the beach with the Sea Doo and I noticed the impeller was stirring up the sand. After about 2 seconds, we shut of the motor. I pushed it out to deeper water, it started fine, but no water came out of the side water outlet for about 5 seconds. After that, the water streamed out as normal and the machine ran fine for another 2 hours. Today, 1 week later, I ran it for about 2 hours with no problems. Then all of the sudden it seemed to loose power and stopped running, just like it ran out of gas. The motor turns over but it won't start. I'm wondering if sucking up sand could have caused today's problem. Any ideas?

 

[benjilafouine]

These engines a cooled with water. If the water circuit was stuck for a while (water not pissing), the engine could have overheated. I would do a compression test right away to see if it is at 135 PSI or above and not a big difference between the two cylinders. You'll find plenty of information on how to check compression on this web site. I haven't checked my engine for two years so I kind of forgot...

 

[mikidymac]

As Benji said it’s always good to check compression.

5 seconds isn’t really a concern for the water to start flowing especially since you ran it for so long after the sand issue.

Does your overheating beeper work?

Is the engine paint discolored anywhere from excessive heat or melted hoses?

You can run it on the hose which actually back flushes the cooling system removing most debris. Always make sure it’s engine on then water on then water off engine off. You never ever want the water on with the engine off or you’ll pump water into the cylinders and crankcase.

 

[benjilafouine]

If the engine won't start anymore, don't worry about the garden hose yet. You can run it for 30 seconds without the hose (but no more). Since it is not starting I am suspecting that your water may have flowed but slower than it should have, hence engine overheating. As for overheat warning beep, never happened to me but my engine blowing case was different: it was due to water ingestion.

Unless something would be stuck in the impeller (but yet your engine wouldn't turn at all I guess)?

 

[sheim]

Thanks, I will start check those things

 

[sheim]

The compression was 140 on one cylinder, and 35 on the other. I was really surprised since it's a 3 year old SBT motor with 40-50 hours on it. The motor was installed by a dealership in my area. The original motor failed 3 years ago with an oil pump problem.

 

[mikidymac]

SBT is not the greatest quality but I always suspect the fuel system and carbs when a cylinder drops like yours.