Starter locked??

[cncsignman]

Have a 96 speedster with twin 717's. wife and I were out riding and we decided to stop and switch drivers. Boat was running great when she throttled down and left in forward. When I took over I throttled up and noticed the right engine was dead. Tried to start and all it would do was clunk. Got home, pulled the pump (turned freely) and plugs and engine still would not turn by hand. Is it possible that the starter bendix is stuck? Next step is to remove the starter. Seems strange that it was running great one minute then locked the next. I had also recently serviced the pump with new shaft and bearings, cone and pressure tested.
Any other possible explanation?

 

[XP 787]

My boat and XP both had a stuck bendix at one point and did the same thing.Actually on the xp one of the bolts that holds the stator wiring in place fell out and jammed behind the bendix. With the plugs out can you turn the pto in either direction even a little bit?

 

[cncsignman]

My boat and XP both had a stuck bendix at one point and did the same thing.Actually on the xp one of the bolts that holds the stator wiring in place fell out and jammed behind the bendix. With the plugs out can you turn the pto in either direction even a little bit?

Won't budge with the plugs out and with the pump off.

 

[Coastiejoe]

Next step is the starter,,, After that, you'll be opening up the motor..

 

[cncsignman]

What do I look for if I have to open the motor?

 

[snikwad003]

Any kind of metal on metal gouging, seized bearings, lack of oil, chunks of metal or injested bolts. If it is bad and not the starter and you do dig into the motor you should remove the pto off the rear of the engine before you take the jugs off/ pull the motor. Hope its your starter:cheers:

 

[ORION '95 Speedster]

I bought a Speedster once that had a "seized" motor. It would not turn either direction even with the plugs out. I took a large pipe wrench and put it on the output shaft, and tried to turn it one direction and then the other. At first I could only get a slight movement, but I kept working it back and fourth. After a bit, I got it to turn all the way over easily and got the engine running. The problem was the bearing that sits between the engine and the hull with the zirk fitting on it. That bearing was failing and had just gotten stuck. Hope this helps.

 

[cncsignman]

So where did you put the wrench? On the drive shaft or outside of the flywheel cover.

 

[ORION '95 Speedster]

I put the pipe wrench on the output shaft from the motor. As close to the motor as possible.

 

[ORION '95 Speedster]

It doesn't really matter where you put the wrench.

 

[cncsignman]

K thanks. just replaced a stripped drive shaft on the same engine and didn't want to strip it again by putting too much torque on it. Will try the starter first then go from there.

 

[ORION '95 Speedster]

If the pump is seized, then putting the wrench on that side of the shaft may save the splines. You may want to test each side to see which end is seized before you go to the cheater bar.

 

[snikwad003]

If you still have the pump out and you happen to have the impeller tool you can stick it in the pto and put a wrench on it

 

[cncsignman]

Well I took the starter off today and was still not able to turn by hand. It will turn some but not all the way around. What should I look for next? Take the top off?

 

[snikwad003]

You alreadybgot the pump off? If so then remove the pto before any thing else

 

[cncsignman]

Pump is still on but was removed and checked out good.

 

[snikwad003]

You could pull the rotary cover before you pull the top end but deff remove pto before top end incase you need to get into the bottom end

 

[cncsignman]

So the rotary cover is toward the bow?

 

[cncsignman]

I don't want to tear into it too far. If it needs a rebuild I will just replace with new. What will be a sure sign that it needs a rebuild?

 

[ORION '95 Speedster]

If the motor is locked up, it needs a rebuild. Assuming it still does not turn over, put a 10 foot long pipe wrench on the drive shaft and give her hell. You will either break something or it will turn over. You will have your answer real quick and in a hurry.

 

[XP 787]

The rotary cover is what the carbs are bolted up to. If you swap motors you have to pull the PTO anyway. Then pull the headay and have a peak.

 

[ORION '95 Speedster]

>>> Update? <<<

 

[cncsignman]

Ok I dug into the motor today and one of the pistons is shot. Should I rebuild the top end or just get a rebuilt from SBT? I'd hate to see what's in the bottom of this engine. I found this chunk wedged on the crank keeping the engine from turning.

 

[ORION '95 Speedster]

I would recommend finding a used motor that has good compression, or try fixing yours. You can get a cheap top end on eBay. SBT motors are manufactured with the cheapest parts they can find. They offer a fairly good warranty, but it doesn't included shipping ($$$) or labor to uninstall and re-install the motor.

 

[cncsignman]

With all that metal gone off the piston, do you think the bottom end is damaged?