1996 Seadoo XP running rough....

[android7777]

I am having a new problem with my 1996 Seadoo XP...

I was out joy riding around yesterday morning in about 2 1/2 foot waves, when i noticed a funny noise coming from my jet drive. It kind of sounded like a chainsaw chopping through wood. It would only do it when i got a little air, and the throttle was held half-way. I wrote it off thinking maybe it was me just being too much of a worry wart. I hardly ever get that kind of air on my ski's, so the sound may have always been there and i just did not know it. I was taking some friends tubing on my jet skis later that day, and I did not have time for that problem.... Thinking that may have been a mistake.

Later that day... I was pulling the tube from my other jet ski (1996 Seadoo GSX), and letting my neighbor give our younger kids rides on my XP. He is an experienced rider, so I was not worried about what he would do to the ski. We took a break from giving the tube rides, so me and my neighbor headed out for some fun. He had the GSX, and I had the XP. The water was so flat we could just about get top speed. After about 5 minutes of riding at 3/4 throttle, my XP started to lose power. I slowed to an idle, and it was running really rough. Finally, it stalled out. I tried to restart it a couple of times thinking that maybe I fouled a plug, but it ran the same. I had my neighbor tow me in, and I swapped out the spark plugs. No change.... Fun time was officially over. Me and my neighbor thought the worst... We figured I blew a cylinder or had some major engine damage:willy_nilly:. I got my ski's back home, and checked the compression on both cylenders. Both were reading 150psi which is actually pretty good...

After work today, I have to fix my XP. Any suggestions from the pros on what to look at or check?

Sorry for the drawn out story, but I wanted to give as many clues as possible as to what is going on.

Thanks

 

[brock1]

it sounds like your pump is froze up....does the engine turn over slow while you crank it......pull of the shaft cover and turn the shaft by hand and see if it turns hard

 

[android7777]

The ski will start, and it does go forward. When I was testing to see if it was the spark plugs, I went 20 feet away from the dock and then back. It sputted the whole time, and I had to restart it twice.

 

[brock1]

pull the plugs out and try to turn the shaft it should roll over very easy..if it dosent then its probubly the pump bearings.... try it and let me know

 

[android7777]

Ok, I will give it a shot. Thanks for the info.

 

[android7777]

Pulled the plugs, and tried to turn the shaft. It turns pretty easy, so I dont think thats it. Anything else.

 

[brock1]

ok if i turns over easy with the plugs out and you have 150 compression then we need to start looking at a fuel delivery issue...Do you still have the grey fuel lines in you ski? If so they need to be replced and the fuel selector and carbs need to be cleaned as well....

 

[android7777]

I replaced every grey fuel line in the ski when I bought it last year, and cleaned all filters as well as the fuel selector. I also took the carb apart, and cleaned it. I took the carbs apart last night to see if anything was gunked up in there, but everything looked pretty good. Many of the gaskets look like they should be replaced, but nothing looked to be obstructing fuel delivery. I wanted to do a carb rebuild last year, but held off because I could not find the time. Could the gaskets and diaphrams being worn cause such an abrupt change in perfomance?

 

[brock1]

YEP....they are a necessity....if they arent functioning 100% then neither will your ski... if comp. is good then i would go through the carbs....

 

[android7777]

OK, so I bought a carb rebuild kit, and rebuilt the carbs... Tried to fire it up in my garage, and it started right up. Runs a little rough though. I did not make any changes to the LS or HS adjustment screws. I did take the LS screws out to clean them, but I was unable to clean the HS ones due to there being a part of the screw that made it impossle to take them out without breaking that piece off. I just left it alone.

I took it out on the lake, and it seems to run, but it still seems to be missing a bit. It misses a bit at idle, full speed, and on the way up to full speed. Guess its time to learn to tune the carbs..... Thanks for the help. It seems I am almost out of the woods on this one. Any suggestions on tuning the carb without blowing up the engine lol.