Only the 96 has the DESS key. I'm torn on how best to do the keys. Minnetonka has a great price for new keys programmed, but for some reason I'm hesitant to remove the MPEM. I've got a guy near enough to me that if I bring a key to him he'll charge me a very reasonable rate to program them, but I have to buy the key. That's why I wanted to know about Atlantis keys, they're $20 cheaper than the OEM from what I've seen.
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1996 GTI and 1995 GTX
- Thread starter ochem
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Luv2Camp
Active Member
My GTX would throw up a bunch of oil out the exhaust the first time I would start after winter storage. A good ride on the lake and I would not have oil coming out again until the next season. When they go bad, it can get to the point where it fills the engine with oil. Take it out and see if it pukes oil the next time. If it does, install a shut off valve on the oil line that feeds the rotary valve bath and shut it off between rides to stop oil from leaking into the block. Need to remember to turn the valve on before riding though as you can smoke the engine if it runs dry. I keep my lanyard in the engine compartment as a reminder to turn the valve back on before I ride. I had my engine rebuilt a few years ago and still use my shut off valve as I never know when that seal is going to start leaking again!
Yes some oil and smoke at start up is normal. After winter storage you should pull the plugs and crank it over to clear the cases of any oil built up. Different motors will seep different amounts of oil over time. I have two 94 GTXs and they both smoke like mad after storage. After that one does more than the other if it has sat a while. A little smoke isn't a bad thing at least you know it's getting oil. Also after storage the water coming out the exhaust will be pretty nasty. It will clear up. 150 psi compression and it sounds good. BUT if you haven't I would rebuild the carbs with Oem parts and go thru the fuel system in detail regardless. Get rid of any Grey fuel lines. Clean everything out don't forget the selector valve. It will save you a bunch of headache and money later. Be sure to read on here the proper oil to use as well. Don't think it's a boat and you can just throw some outboard oil in it. These are wound up tight tolerance high output Rotax's and need to be treated as such. Absolutely NO ethanol gas and run premium gas 91 or higher octane to avoid detonation. Treat it like what it is and it will be rock solid reliable and perform at its peak. Love my two they both run like striped monkeys.
soccerdad
Well-Known Member
Honestly, ethanol gas is not evil in these things once you change your fuel lines. Use stabil if you store it or if it sits for long periods. You just don't want water to accumulate and separate out. And 87 octane is fine for stock compression motors. High octane does nothing for you. Proper oil is key, and don't switch back and forth between kinds and brands. Your 720 motors are really bullet proof as long as you keep feeding them fuel and oil. Have FUN!
Sorry soccerdad I beg to differ with ya. At 140-160 psi these are high compression engines. Add on to that two stroke meaning they don't have an extra couple strokes in there to cool down the combustion chamber combustion temps can spike real easy and you will get detonation. You won't hear it either. Ethanol fuel is bad on more than just fuel lines. Carb parts, plastic etc all will fail quicker with ethanol. I've seen numerous melted pistons and junked out carbs all due to the use of ethanol fuel. Your car or truck is different they are designed to work with ethanol and they have a higher turnover of fuel thru their system. Two stroke toys not so much. For the little bit of peace of mind I only run non ethanol 91 or higher octane in my skis and sleds. Heck in my gas trimmers and blowers ( my son and I have a lawn care business we have four trimmers and two blowers) and chain saws I go so far as to buy a jug of VP racing fuel for my pre mix. I got tired of throwing away carbs every year and fighting rotted rubber parts. If you buy Stihl Motomix your basically getting non ethanol racing fuel with Stihl synthetic oil in it so I make my own. I stored my sleds one year with ethanol fuel in them by mistake. Never again. What a mess in the carbs.
soccerdad
Well-Known Member
Feel free to use what you want. The new carb parts in a genuine Mikuni kit are fine with ethanol. And besides that, there are no plastic parts in the system besides the fuel tank, and it is polyethylene and impervious to most anything. That said, at the end of the season, you are safest running out the ethanol fuel and running ethanol free for the last tank. The reason is so water will not saturate the fuel during storage. The water in the gas could cause issues the following season. Stabil deals with this, but again, safer for the last tank to be non-ethanol. The rest of the season you are good to go with pump 87 octane. You should read up on what octane really is. It only retards combustion to prevent pre-ignition and once you have "enough" it does nothing for you. In fact, there is a small reduction in performance using race gas if you do not need it. You do need your carbs clean and set correctly. You do not want to run them lean. A 720 or 787 with stock compression and pipes are designed to run on 87 octane. That is exactly what the Seadoo manual for 97 Seadoo says. Full disclosure, the manual advises against ethanol, but at that time, they did not have good polymers for the fuel lines and carb parts. Once you change those, you are fine. Again, use what you want, but understand the science and know why you are doing what. But it won't hurt anything but your wallet.
The gtx is live!!! Spent 5 hours on the water today and had a freaking blast. It started right up, smooth throttle, tops out at ~45 if the Speedo is accurate, no problems at all. The gti is at the dealer getting the fuel tank replaced on the recall, I'll order the carb kit, and fuel lines while I wait. Big success, happy kids, happy wife.
More questions.
1. I found I didn't need to choke the carbs to start the engine much, if at all. Even when cold. Is this ok or is it a sign of wrong settings on the carbs?
2. the (I think) return oil line from the engine isn't full of oil. The last 5 or so inches leading back to the oil tank is empty. Is this something to worry about?
3. If the engine isn't getting enough oil, what signs should I look or listen for to catch it before it does serious damage?
1. I found I didn't need to choke the carbs to start the engine much, if at all. Even when cold. Is this ok or is it a sign of wrong settings on the carbs?
2. the (I think) return oil line from the engine isn't full of oil. The last 5 or so inches leading back to the oil tank is empty. Is this something to worry about?
3. If the engine isn't getting enough oil, what signs should I look or listen for to catch it before it does serious damage?
Usually when cold, you pull the choke, crank it over and release the choke when it fires. If you hold the choke out very long it will kill the motor. I usually just slowly release the choke right when it fires and its good. You don't need choke if starting the engine warm or within an hour or so of it being ran. Do you have the factory settings for the hight and low speed screws on the carbs? They're here on the forum or on a table at seadoosource.com. Follow those and you can't go wrong, if your ski won't run right at the factory settings somethings wrong (unless you have a mod motor of course). These Mikuni BN carbs are very precise and when working correctly and set right the motor runs very clean and crisp. They are easy to flood however and don't require much choke. As far as oil return I would assume you are referring to the return line coming from the exhaust side of the crankcase? That line and it's associated feed line under the RV cover is for lubricating the RV and oil pump drive on the crank. There is a sealed cavity in the center of the case the gear runs in and is in an oil bath. This oil is allowed to circulate thru the oil tank via these lines, it is not the main lubricating oil for the motor however (injection oil). The oil injection pump is fed by a separate line from the oil tank. This will be the line with the filter in it running to the oil pump mounted on the front of the RV cover. Get a mirror out and look under your carbs and you'll see. As far as knowing if the motor isn't getting oil well you won't know until it's too late. However here's a tip. Number one by the looks of your vid, there's plenty of oil getting to the motor, if you have smoke you have oil. Next, put a sharpie mark on your oil tank where the oil level is. Run it for a few hours and note if the level drops. Now you might say that few hours was enough to damage the engine. Maybe, they will run for some time without oil feed before damage occurs BUT if you have doubts, run pre-mix while you're checking it out. This is routine measure for a new motor being broken in. While on break in pre-mix, mark the tank make sure it drops. Now if you want to go a step further which is highly recommended, tear into the machine. Remove the carbs and RV cover and bench test the oil pump. This will also get you a good look at the injection lines which need replacing from time to time if they get brittle. I would recommend this route given the unknown history of your skis.
Good info, thanks, I set the carbs to factory settings when they were off the engine for the rebuild. The way you describe how the choke should work with the a well funtioning carb is pretty much exactly the way it worked for me. I'll try the sharpie trick, but I'm pretty sure it consumed oil while I was riding it. I should have replaced the small injection lines before I put the carbs back on, but didn't see that suggestion until it was too late. I'll keep a close eye on them. Your assumption on the oil line I was describing is correct. I'll be sure to get a pic tonight.
On the battery if it's an AGM or gel cell you can probably bring it back with the right charger. You'll need something like this https://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-SC-10030A-SpeedCharge-Automatic-Maintainer/dp/B001MYWBF0
That's what I have. It goes thru cycles to bring the battery back and it will show how much charge the battery taking. It's pretty slick.
If you have a regular battery with caps toss it and get a good AGM or gel cell.
That's what I have. It goes thru cycles to bring the battery back and it will show how much charge the battery taking. It's pretty slick.
If you have a regular battery with caps toss it and get a good AGM or gel cell.
The standard flooded batteries work fine. I get about 5 years on them with a Battery Tender Plus.
The ski will keep the battery charged when running but it typically won't bring a dead one up. They are a very simple system and pretty low power. They are nothing like a car's alternator.
Get a good trickle charger like a Battery Tender, the lower amp and slower you charge a battery the better.
The ski will keep the battery charged when running but it typically won't bring a dead one up. They are a very simple system and pretty low power. They are nothing like a car's alternator.
Get a good trickle charger like a Battery Tender, the lower amp and slower you charge a battery the better.
+1 on the battery tender /maintainer. I have many seasonal batteries to maintain so I bought 12 units from Harbor Freight. They were under $10 each. They have worked great and really help at keeping batteries healthy. I've more than paid for them in reduced battery replacement. Those combined with the charger mentioned above have all but eliminated my battery headaches. For anything from a car battery and smaller I highly recommend this route.
What I was talking about from HF is not a charger. It's a maintainer. Unfortunately HF calls them a charger which they are not. They will not charge up a dead battery, well I suppose it might over time....maybe but that's not it's real purpose. It's purpose is to maintain charge on a charged battery while it is dormant. This helps to significantly increase the lifespan of a battery.
https://www.harborfreight.com/automatic-battery-float-charger-42292.html
https://www.harborfreight.com/automatic-battery-float-charger-42292.html
Day 2 on the gtx was another huge success. Living 5 min from a seldom used public boat ramp on lake Erie makes jetski ownership very fun and convenient. This time we used a towable, the kids loved it. Knocked the top speed down to around 30mph but did a good job. Can't wait to get the gti back and see if I can get that one running.
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