2000 GTX DI ME Seized

[vccthrasher]

I just got my hands on a 2000 GTX DI Millennium Edition that had seized on the previous owner. The last time it ran was in 08 and it had about 150 hrs on it. Everything inside the ski looks great. Since I got it for a great price I decided to just put a new engine in it.

My question, what may have caused it to seize?
I checked the oil pump with a drill and it comes out (slowly) at the idle setting. I need to fix the problem before i put the new engine in. The last thing i want is to cook another engine for the same problem.

The previous owner said he was going full throttle across the lake and it bogged and died (all happening in about 2 sec.). Then it wouldn't turn over. it sat ever since.

Help me out fellas.

Thanks,
Thrasher

 

[vccthrasher]

Bump! Anything? I just want some ideas.

 

[Sky King]

I have just blown my second motor on my 2000 Millenium GTX, the first at 100 hours (6 years running), then had a long block rebuild put in that just seized this week at a total of 140 hours (40 hours on rebuild over 3 years). I bought the machine brand new, ran about 15 hours per year, was always careful about oil, but on the first seize, I was told it ran out of oil, even though reservoir was full always. So I too am interested to know why, because I am staring at putting in a third engine on this beastie

 

[Dr Honda]

Could have been anything.

Without pics, we can't say why.

It could have been a lean run from dirty carbs, leaking fuel system, or bad crank seals. It could have been a loss of oil from the filter being clogged, a hose breaking, the check valves leaking back, or the injector nipples being blocked.

It could have over heated from cooling line obstructions.

It could have been timing that was too high, or fuel that was poor quality..... and so on....


I would say to check everything as you re assemble it, and verify that every single part is doing it's job.

 

[Sky King]

Thanks. I did not see any temp or warning lights either time, so I am thinking there is an oiling issue, in the accessories somewhere. Do you know if the newer 4 stroke Rotax engines have better reliability than the 2 strokes of 10 years ago?

 

[vccthrasher]

Thanks for all of the replies. How does one keep the injectors clean? I heard of a good way to check the oil pump. If you start the engine and manually pull cable to the oil pump. Within a few min. it should start smoking (too much oil). Is that a good idea?

Thanks again everyone,
Thrasher

 

[Dr Honda]

Thanks. I did not see any temp or warning lights either time, so I am thinking there is an oiling issue, in the accessories somewhere. Do you know if the newer 4 stroke Rotax engines have better reliability than the 2 strokes of 10 years ago?

For oil... see below.

The new 4-stroke engines are reliable, but they aren't going to live as long as a 2-stroke. The problem is... the valves. The valves are being hammered, and the stems will stretch and break eventually. Unless you are always checking the valve clearance (I recommend) it will fail without warning. AND... when you drop a valve, it will completely destroy that combustion chamber. At that point, it's very expensive to fix. Figure on $3k for a rebuild.

I personally will not own a 4-stroke watercraft, unless I buy it new. I have no problems buying a 15 year old 2-stroke ski... but I would not touch a 5 year old 4-stroke.

Thanks for all of the replies. How does one keep the injectors clean? I heard of a good way to check the oil pump. If you start the engine and manually pull cable to the oil pump. Within a few min. it should start smoking (too much oil). Is that a good idea?

Thanks again everyone,
Thrasher

Since they are DI injectors... I'm not sure, short of a full dissasembly, and manual cleaning.


Oil... Yes, opening the arm to full at an idle is a good way for a quick check. After 10 or 15 seconds... it will smoke like an old steam locomotive. BUT, this is not a perfect check. You could be sill partly plugged up.

The oil system should be part of your winterizing. EVERY YEAR... you should change the little filter in the system, replace the 2 small hoses, clear out the injector nipples, and verify that the check valves are clear.

If you do that, you will be forced to bleed the system. You will know the system is working, because you will visually see the oil pump up the hoses.

Most "Oil injection failures" can be traced back to poor (or no) maintenance. In turn, the hoses crack/split, OR, the filter, nipples, or check valves plug up. Then after 10 years of neglect... people post up on how bad the oil injection system is.

 

[vccthrasher]

That is very sound advice. So you are saying that the LINES are plugged and not the pump going bad, right? I plan to do all of this PM every year. I like to tinker so this will give me something to do at the end of the season. Since it is already all the way apart I will replace all of the hoses. I'm not sure where the check valve is you refer to. Also, the filter is between the oil reservoir and the pump, correct?

Thanks again for all of the help,
Thrasher

 

[olds72]

oil pumps very rarely go bad.

 

[Dr Honda]

Yup... what he said.



The pumps rarely go bad. I have a 20 year old ski, and the pump is working just fine on it.


The 2 biggest plug points are the filter, and the injection nipples in the manifold. The reason for that is... the filter is supposed to catch the junk... and eventually plugs... and the nipples are where it's hot... or can see the occasionally back fire... and the oil cooks at the tip..

Then... the other issue is the hoses just get old and brittle. I've even seen where the hoses don't get hard... they get mushy. From the outside, they look good, and still feel soft... but give them just a little twist, and they rip. This is normal problem. The hoses fail because they are 15 years old... and then people say how bad the system is. But this comes back to poor maintenance.

A little cleaning, and checking could have saved a $1000 engine most of the time.