02 GTI LE leaking base gasket

[Dante]

hello everyone! hoping someone can help. (side note, i DID search heavily)


02 GTI LE - runs great however the base gasket was/ is leaking water both on the hose and on the water... its leaking on the carb side of the block. hard to tell but looks like the outter corners on both cylinders maybe.

i bought a top end gasket kit from WSM, pulled everything apart myself, cleaned it all as best as i could. the block and the cylinder heads looked to be in good shape. i put it all back together, torqued it per the manual in the right sequence and all and its still leaking. maybe even a little worse now.

we just bought the ski over the winter and have only ridden it twice, noticed the water right away.

maybe should we try two gaskets? i know this would lose compression but my dad hasnt had a jet ski in 10 years and low on funds so even if it gets us by for the season..


also when i first took it apart i noticed there was water in the pockets were the cylinder head bolts are. is this normal?

I'm not new to mechanics, mostly cars and motorcycles but this is my first jet ski motor im working on and first time taking any motor apart this far. i've had more of a "remove and replace" type of luck over the years thankfully!!

 

[mikidymac]

Nope, if it is still leaking with new gaskets they are either cracked or the gasket surface is damaged.

A base gasket should never leak and should never be run if it is leaking.

 

[Dante]

Nope, if it is still leaking with new gaskets they are either cracked or the gasket surface is damaged.

A base gasket should never leak and should never be run if it is leaking.

is the nope to having water where the cylinder bolt pockets are? i'm wondering if i should take it all apart and use motoseal.

 

[mikidymac]

There are a few small places that hold water when the cylinder is removed.

No, you should never need sealant on a base gasket, you have something else wrong.

 

[Dante]

There are a few small places that hold water when the cylinder is removed.

No, you should never need sealant on a base gasket, you have something else wrong.

any ideas where i should start? i put some gasket seal stuff on there when i put it on initially. maybe thats the problem.

 

[mikidymac]

A leak down pressure test will tell you exactly where it is leaking.

 

[Dante]

A leak down pressure test will tell you exactly where it is leaking.

i'm just going to order a new base gasket and start over again then if it shouldn't have sealant.

is there a way to tell which cylinder goes on which side? i'm wondering if someone took it apart previous and mixed those up?

 

[mikidymac]

It doesn’t matter but you need to matched to the piston. You also need to align the cylinders with the exhaust manifold finger tight.