1995 XP Rough Idle and Excessive Smoke? (Video Link)

[shattered00]

While I took a break from battling the 96 XP, I was prepping the 95 which had recently been "fixed" again when it was having a lack of fuel making it to the carbs.

The ski is idling pretty rough now and there is what I think might be an excessive amount of smoke coming from the exhaust.

Is this amount of smoke normal and could the amount of smoke be associated with the rough idle?

Thank you.

 

[mikidymac]

Probably leaking crank seals.
Make sure your oil pump is adjusted correctly and keep an eye on it to see if it only smokes a lot at first start or all the time.

 

[shattered00]

Should the company that rebuilt my engine have replaced the crank seals when the engine was rebuilt? Also, would there be visible signs of oil leaking or pooling up into the hull if it was the crank seals?

When I drive the ski, it smokes a lot only at the beginning and after a few minutes of driving, the smoke goes away. Then when it sits for a few weeks and I start it again, the smoke is back only at the beginning.

I will look up how to adjust the oil pump. I am hoping this is something simple. Will update with results. Thank you.

Edit: I found this courtesy of @kicker for anyone that comes across this thread and it was the oil pump just needing adjustment (crossing my fingers).

 

[mikidymac]

What you are describing sounds exactly like inner crank seals leaking.

No it won’t leak into the hull and adjusting the oil pump won’t help but you should still make sure it’s adjusted correct.

If they only did a top end then the crank seals didn’t get done. The only way to do the inner ones leaking on yours is to get a completely remanufactured crankshaft.

 

[shattered00]

It was supposed to be a full rebuild and not just the top end (I shipped the entire engine - top and bottom for $600) . I will call the company to verify.

If I run the ski monthly through the summer months and winterize it, do you think that it will hydrolock before the next summer? I do not have the money to pay someone to fix the crank seal and it is just past the one year warrant from the builder since it took me so long to get everything back together upon receipt of the engine.

 

[mikidymac]

If it’s the crank seals then yes it will flood over the winter.

 

[shattered00]

I spoke with the rebuilder this morning. It was a full rebuild including the crankshaft. He said that I didn't get the "premium" package so he used the rubber OEM seals which he said are known to leak due to variations in pressure from the oil tank combined with the age of the jet ski. He said that the premium package would have included Teflon seals or something to that effect. I did overfill the oil tank once so I wonder if this accelerated the problem?

The recommendation he gave me was to use a one way valve and put it on the oil hose that goes to the crankshaft and turn it off when the ski is not in use. Would this be a viable solution as I don't have the money to have the crankshaft fixed anytime soon? I could push to have the engine sent back to him, but the idea of taking everything apart again and shipping it out again makes me cringe inside especially if it likely to leak again after a few hours when I get it back.

 

[mikidymac]

That is a load of BS. If he installed new inner crank seals it wouldn't be leaking. Overfilling the oil tank would not cause them to leak. There is also no "pressure" in the tank. Again, he is full of BS.

BTW: The OEM "rubber" seals last over 20 years most of the time.