Salt Water Problems

[kawiguy827]

Hey all, new to the forum, how's everyone doing?

So my family and I recently (a couple years ago) picked up an 02 GTX 4-Tec and an 04 GTX 4-Tec SC. These both have closed loop cooling systems, so they're ok to run in the ocean, provided you flush em out well (per sea doo).

Well, after a few trips, i noticed that the steering got difficult to manage on the 02 craft. It was difficult to turn the bars. Took it in for service, and the dealership told me that the salt had built up around the steering cable and made it difficult to operate.

I LOVED going to the ocean with these things. It was the time of my life. But i can't keep doing it if it's going to cost me $500ish every four or five times i do it.

Any ideas? Is there any way to lubricate the steering cable? Is there any way i can continue going to the ocean and not messing up my watercraft? Are there any published fixes for this problem?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks, all!

-J

 

[Coastiejoe]

Hey all, new to the forum, how's everyone doing?

So my family and I recently (a couple years ago) picked up an 02 GTX 4-Tec and an 04 GTX 4-Tec SC. These both have closed loop cooling systems, so they're ok to run in the ocean, provided you flush em out well (per sea doo).

Well, after a few trips, i noticed that the steering got difficult to manage on the 02 craft. It was difficult to turn the bars. Took it in for service, and the dealership told me that the salt had built up around the steering cable and made it difficult to operate.

I LOVED going to the ocean with these things. It was the time of my life. But i can't keep doing it if it's going to cost me $500ish every four or five times i do it.

Any ideas? Is there any way to lubricate the steering cable? Is there any way i can continue going to the ocean and not messing up my watercraft? Are there any published fixes for this problem?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks, all!

-J

That is not the norm,,,

What you need to do after you ride is to do a MAJOR rinse, VERY soapy clean, then heavy rinse.
Before you go out you should spray the various components down with Fluid Film or a similar product. This coats the metal and helps to keep the salt issue at bay.

I bought a pressure washer and LOVE it.. It saves me hours of cleaning and does a fantastic job. I dry the skis and once the fully dry, I spray ALL THE METAL and connections with Fluid Film.

Yes, salt water riding requires a bit more personal time on the skis, but worth it.

 

[kawiguy827]

That is not the norm,,,

What you need to do after you ride is to do a MAJOR rinse, VERY soapy clean, then heavy rinse.
Before you go out you should spray the various components down with Fluid Film or a similar product. This coats the metal and helps to keep the salt issue at bay.

I bought a pressure washer and LOVE it.. It saves me hours of cleaning and does a fantastic job. I dry the skis and once the fully dry, I spray ALL THE METAL and connections with Fluid Film.

Yes, salt water riding requires a bit more personal time on the skis, but worth it.

All of that seems like fantastic advice! Thanks!

The marina out there has water spouts to hook up hoses. I usually hook up there after i trailer them, plug the hose into the rear of the sea doo, and let it idle with various and infrequent throttle blips for a minute and a half to two minutes, as per sea doo.

As far as spraying the parts down, are you suggesting i pop the seat off and spray the internals all around with fluid film before AND after I ride? Are you suggesting i spray the back end bits (jet, bolts, connectors, etc.) with all of it before and after the ride? Or all of the above. Please forgive my ignorance.

All the washing seems time consuming, but i have absolutely NO problems showing my watercraft a little more TLC!! :hurray:

 

[Coastiejoe]

... let it idle with various and infrequent throttle blips for a minute and a half to two minutes, as per sea doo.

As far as spraying the parts down, are you suggesting i pop the seat off and spray the internals all around with fluid film before AND after I ride? Are you suggesting i spray the back end bits (jet, bolts, connectors, etc.) with all of it before and after the ride? Or all of the above. Please forgive my ignorance.

All the washing seems time consuming, but i have absolutely NO problems showing my watercraft a little more TLC!! :hurray:

Max run time on the hose really does not need to exceed 1 minute or so. Are you familiar with the Carbon Seal (CS) and how it works?

You want to spray the Fluid Film on when the engine and parts are DRY,,, no wet.
So after it sits in the garage (or wherever you let it sit) and it is nice and dry, spray anything metal with a coating.

After the ride, I remove the seat and soak EVERYTHING down, including the engine. Then I soap EVERYTHING down, then I rinse EVERYTHING very well.

I simply leave the hull drain plugs out to let the water drain as I go.

If you don't want to use expensive Fluid Film on the outer metal stuff, such as the rear connections at the jet, the trailer winch, winch hooks, ect ect, buy WD-40 for those parts. It will dissipate the water very well.

 

[kawiguy827]

Max run time on the hose really does not need to exceed 1 minute or so. Are you familiar with the Carbon Seal (CS) and how it works?

You want to spray the Fluid Film on when the engine and parts are DRY,,, no wet.
So after it sits in the garage (or wherever you let it sit) and it is nice and dry, spray anything metal with a coating.

After the ride, I remove the seat and soak EVERYTHING down, including the engine. Then I soap EVERYTHING down, then I rinse EVERYTHING very well.

I simply leave the hull drain plugs out to let the water drain as I go.

If you don't want to use expensive Fluid Film on the outer metal stuff, such as the rear connections at the jet, the trailer winch, winch hooks, ect ect, buy WD-40 for those parts. It will dissipate the water very well.

Thanks for the clarification, I appreciate it. And the CS sounds familiar, but i can't say i'm educated on how it works. I'd love for you to enlighten me, if you have the time.

Thanks!

-J

 

[Hawk388]

One of the best investments you can make for your Ski is Salt Away.

I use it after every trip to the water since ALL of my riding is salt or brackish water. I only do a complete wash after every 5th trip. But I use my Salt Away after EVERY trip. I do the flush and then, rinse the whole ski and trailer down with it.

Last time I went out, I came back during heavy storms that lasted for three days. I couldn't rinse off the Ski due to lightening and such. It sat in my garage for three days without being rinsed down. But because I use Salt Away every time and, a fluid film on all the metal, there was ZERO salt corrosion or accumulation when I did get the chance to rinse it down.

So the washing doesn't have to be so intense after every trip if you're using the right products.

 

[Coastiejoe]

Thanks for the clarification, I appreciate it. And the CS sounds familiar, but i can't say i'm educated on how it works. I'd love for you to enlighten me, if you have the time.

Thanks!

-J

The CS is basically the seal from the hull to the water you are riding on. It is a non-greased item. It gets its cooling and lubrication from the water you are sitting on. So, when out riding, water is up against the CS. It is designed to leak at part of its cooling and lubrication. That said, the leak is to be a DRIP, not a stream.

So, when you run on the hose, the CS gets no cooling or lubrication and will wear at a much faster rate as compared to being in the water. The CS gets hot quickly out of the water anytime the engine is running. Thus,,,1 minute-ish is all you really need to run on a hose as beyond that it does not serve much purpose and in fact can harm the CS.

 

[kawiguy827]

The CS is basically the seal from the hull to the water you are riding on. It is a non-greased item. It gets its cooling and lubrication from the water you are sitting on. So, when out riding, water is up against the CS. It is designed to leak at part of its cooling and lubrication. That said, the leak is to be a DRIP, not a stream.

So, when you run on the hose, the CS gets no cooling or lubrication and will wear at a much faster rate as compared to being in the water. The CS gets hot quickly out of the water anytime the engine is running. Thus,,,1 minute-ish is all you really need to run on a hose as beyond that it does not serve much purpose and in fact can harm the CS.

Wow, I did not know that, thanks very much!

 

[Spimothy Leary]

for flushing, and rinsing the ski if you like.

for rear of ski, pump, connections
aerosal can, takes 15 seconds.

for engine bay.
aerosal can, takes 20 seconds.


I use all 3, inside looks mint and its a 2008.


ps... you got mini raped on the steering cable.... I had an 04 gtx with the exact same issue, and cables are a pain in the azz, so I had a local guy I know do it,,, under $250 for both the steering and reverse cable installed, I rounded it up with a tip.

might be time to find a good shop or qualified shade tree guy if you don't want to tackle projects yourself.
< bribe them with weed if you have to !


In my experience, (I am NOT anal about my stuff) my post ride routine is all of about 10 minutes max, I hit the car wash on the way home, and after 30 seconds of soap, and 2 minutes of rinse, I hit the trailer, tires, winch, the rear of the car, and drive away.. $2... It air dry's on the way home.

I flush for a very short period maybe 1 minute, while I wipe down some of it with a chamois, sponge out the footwells, and when i'm done wiping, I shut the water off and brap it twice to clear the box, park it in the garage for the next ride.

 

[kawiguy827]

for flushing, and rinsing the ski.

for rear of ski, pump, connections

for engine bay.


I use all 3, inside looks mint.


ps... you got mini raped on the steering cable.... I had an 04 gtx with the exact same issue, and cables are a pain in the azz, so I had a local guy I know do it,,, under $250 for both the steering and reverse cable installed, I rounded it up with a tip.

might be time to find a good shop or qualified shade tree guy if you don't want to tackle projects yourself.
< bribe them with weed if you have to !

I think you may be right. We have a long standing relationship with this shop though, we'd be sad to see it go. But that's no reason to double our costs.

So am I safe in assuming that the steering cable hiccup was not expressly caused by salt water, and that with proper care, it's safe to do it again?

Thanks, all!

-J

 

[Spimothy Leary]

yes, I was going to add that little nugget...

the steering cable was likely the original... so it took 10 years to get to that stage,, you should feel comfortable thinking that you won't have to deal with that for years, especially if you spend $17 on a can of fluid film, its good stuff. ps.. my 08 RXT just had the reverse cable snap while riding, $65 and and 1 hour labor I was back in business, no big deal.

I do not use Fluid film on my engine, it leaves a thick film behind, CRC literally disappears after a few hours. But I won't hesitate to use FF on the connections in the rear, battery terminals etc... just not on the engine itself. < personal preference.

I rode my 2004 honda in salt weekly for maybe 100 hours over 1.5 years, (P.O. ran it for another 100) and when the buyer came to look at it he asked me "when did you install the new engine?" it was THAT clean, thanks to CRC.

 

[kawiguy827]

That makes sense. Especially since it only saw salt water 4 times.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

ya, there is no way in hell 4 rides will cause another problem unless you just get unlucky with a faulty cable.

This assumes he used WSM or OEM cable... if he used SBT cable, you might be back in august.. (I won't ever buy SBT steering cables again)

 

[Coastiejoe]

Again, I agree with Spim. All his info and advice is good.

 

[kawiguy827]

Great, guys! Thanks very much for the info. I'm going to enjoy my summer!

 

[Coastiejoe]

Ok,, LONG flights and having wifi is costly for me,, I just bought the following..

A refillable can for the 6-56

Salt Away Concentrate.. I'll just add it to the tank on my pressure sprayer.

And two of these. I will make permanent mounts in my skis. These will make it easier to charge and work on the skis without removing the terminals from the batteries.

 

[I-Sea-U]

I also noticed a saltwater corrosion on the bed of my truck. Are these suggested products enough? or are there other truck accessories you guys use to protect it aside from bed liners?

 

[Chester]

Max run time on the hose really does not need to exceed 1 minute or so...

30 seconds to 1 minute is the max without water at idle. 5 minutes is the max on the hose. It takes a while for the carbon ring to overheat.

Chester

 

[Coastiejoe]

I also noticed a saltwater corrosion on the bed of my truck. Are these suggested products enough? or are there other truck accessories you guys use to protect it aside from bed liners?

I'm sure they would work fine on the truck metal parts. They have not harmed my skis at all.