2001 gtx di not starting after completely rebuilt engine installed...help!!!

[LakeSki1225]

Hey guys, so I bought this machine back in May with the top end already out of it. Brief history on the ski is that it sat from 2010 until 2014 when the PO that I purchased it from bought it, the PO then said he had it out running on the water last fall and he lost a cylinder. The PO said that he believed it just needed a top end rebuild, seeing as one of the rings was smashed and piston was grooved up pretty good. So being the optimistic person I am I purchased the ski and got right to work. After removing the engine and splitting the cases( because I also am paranoid and want everything done right and super clean) and doing a bit of research I found that the pistons were already bored over to the max( last rebuild in 2010 by SBT) and had to be re-sleeved and put back to std bore. I also decided that for as long as it was sitting and seeing as how I had the cases split to just go ahead and do a complete rebuild on it.

Next I sent everything out to have it re-sleeved and completely rebuilt with a new crank and the whole nine yards. A few weeks ago I got all the parts back and began cleaning everything left in the machine and getting ready for the reassembly. I drained and cleaned the gas and oil tank. New oil lines and filter (primed). All new gaskets everywhere. New pistons, re-sleeved cylinders, and a new crank. New o-rings on RAVE valves. Cleaned and tested all injectors and they all worked fine.

So I spent all of Thursday this last week and both Saturday and Sunday putting every single thing on the motor back together, making sure to follow the shop manual to the last detail because as I have read about these machines they are a huge headache unless things are exactly as they should be. Late last night at around 1030 after a very, very long day and a long time waiting, it was finally time to put gas in it and give her hell, the first attempt to start it since buying it in May. Well seeing as I am writing this you can probably guess how it went. Upon pushing the start button, it didn't start. When I put the key in, it beeped twice, as all machines do, then the display was displaying low fuel because there was only about 2 gallons in there and the red light was flashing, it also sounded like maybe the fuel pump or something was running briefly, then I pushed the start button and nothing at all happened. There was a few quiet short clicks coming from back by the battery area and then nothing. So now I sit here wondering what the next step is, and ANY and ALL HELP is very accepted at this point in the project.

So now I have no idea what to do or where to begin. I know I bought a project and I understand that comes with some unknowns but if the previous owner wasn't lying and did actually have it running then I don't know what could have changed to make it so now it wont even turn over. I will say that I have NOT bought a new battery for it yet, however I had the old one trickle charging and on my charger it was reading close to fully charged. I suppose it could be that and just not enough voltage is getting to turn the motor over, but right now beyond the battery I don't even know where to start. We leave for a week at the lake this upcoming Saturday and any all HELP would be greatly appreciated as I am really trying to get it running by then. Please HELP guys, I know there are some pros to these skis out there and I know there are tons of people that know way more about these machines than I do. Ill take any HELP I can get. :facepalm:

Thanks

 

[XP 787]

Get a battery, it would not last sitting for that long. Motor turns over by hand?

 

[Dr Honda]

Yep... on the Di skis... the battery needs to be very strong to power up the system.


Also... as above... can you turn it over by hand? (spark plugs out) If you are out of alignment... the drive will bind.


If both of those check... try jumping the solenoid. If it's spins over... then replace the solenoid. (and check over the power cables) If it does nothing... then pull the starter, and rebuild it.

 

[LakeSki1225]

Hey guys, thanks for the quick reply, that's awesome!

And yeah, I read on here at some point that it takes everything the battery has in just to turn this motor over. But yes, to answer your other question, the motor does spin free. When I was tightening the PTO bolts the motor would spin over rather than tighten, I had to hold the drive shaft so it didn't spin just to tighten the PTO bolts, so I think that its spinning free enough based off that assessment. I mean I haven't felt any binding of any sort or anything like that so I believe I'm in good shape in those regards.

I guess next step is to probably to test the voltage on the battery and then based off that go get a new battery or keep trying to problem solve. Thanks for all the help!

 

[96spxpos]

ground wires? loose wires? Bad starter button? that'll make you not get anything. I had to replace one. bad post? bad lanyard? a car wouldn't even try to turn over if the key didn't fit in the ignition or turn the ignition. these are all quick, easy process of elimination things.

 

[68ragtop]

I would back up a bit to what doc mentioned. Locate the back electrical box & open it up. Inside there should be the start relay. If you put the key back on & hit the start button, you should here a solid click coming from the solenoid. With the key off, jump the two large lugs on the solenoid & see if the engine spins over. Its going to spark, so be ready for that. Let us know what happens, that test will send you in the right direction.

 

[Coastiejoe]

One thing to do to check the battery, starter, connections and cables is, jump the solenoid.

If it cranks over well, you know the items listed are good. If not, then these are the first things to check/test.

 

[LakeSki1225]

Well guys, I replaced the battery today in the ski and after replacing it, the ski fired right up with zero hesitation. Now I have a whole NEW PROBLEM on my hands.

When I started the ski, as I said before, there was no hesistation, but as soon as I turned the water on there was water coming out of the head right by the gasket under the knock sensor area, right in between the two cylinders. After trying to loosen and retorque the head bolts to 32lbs, 2 lbs more than spec, the water is still coming out of the head. I then decided that I had no choice but to removed the head and inspect it to see what was going on inside, as I guessed, the inside of the PTO piston was completely covered in water/steam.

The head gasket looks decent like there isn't any huge problem with it, but there obviously is something very wrong going on. Honestly idk what else to do at this point. I mean I could order another gasket but it still might leak. I checked the head and jugs with a flat edge and both seem to be fine so they don't seem warped. What do I do from here? I don't know what else to do, any advice guys? Once again, PLEASE HELP!!!

 

[68ragtop]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. The problem with these heads is that the clamping power is around the cylinder only. The rest of the of the sealing (outer water jacket) relies only on trueness of the surfaces. If there are nicks, corrosion, etc in the head, or the outer water jacket of the cylinder, a leak is very likely. However, when you turned off the water, it should have all drain out by gravity & its concerning that your getting water in the cylinder as well as out of the engine into the hull. That means you have two separate leaks. I recommend using copper spray on the steel heading gaskets, but from the sounds of it you have something much more serious going on.

Hopefully you didn't get much water into the crankcase or things are going to rust on you & give you more trouble down the road. Maybe you can post some good clear pictures of what you are looking at to see if we can help.

This is a good example of why a pressure test on a fresh engine is sooooo important.