2001 Seadoo GTX Dual Carb (not RFI) will not run when placed in lake

[sradach]

There is some history to this problem if you search for (2001 GTX from Borger still will not run)

This machine would not pull fuel into the carb. If I sprayed fuel mixture into the carb it would run. I tried all the things that this site advised me to do up to a point where I got too frustrated with my ability to repair my 2001 Seadoo GTX, so I found a repair shop in Oklahoma. I delivered the Seadoo on May 11 and they thought they fixed the machine on August 26, but when I arrived there was another problem.

While in the shop, they removed the carbs and put them in some electronic cleaner to remove all dirt and junk. They found a hairline-crack in the intake nozzle on the PTO carb. That nozzle was replaced. All new carb kit parts. It fired right up. They called and said they wanted to do a on-lake test, so I started driving to Oklahoma (2 hour cruise). When the mechanic returned from the lake he said that as soon as the Seadoo touched the water it died. The Seadoo would run by hose but not with the full load of the lake.

I also had my Yamaha 800R looked at. They lake-tested it as well. The mechanic said it would start right up but would not power up much more than an idle. The mechanic said that the Yamaha has a "guardian" which I understood to be a computer code that protects the engine from further damage but will allow you to limp back to the boat dock. The mechanic did not know if the Seadoo had a guardian.

I mentioned to them that there was a "jet" in one of the small carb fuel lines and they never heard of it. When they reassembled the carbs they could have put the fuel line on backwards with the jet in the wrong direction. The jet could have fell out of the fuel line. The jet could be in the fuel line but may have turned sideways. I don't know because it was after working hours and I haven't heard back from them.

The Seadoo starts right up and will accelerate like I remember it did. I do not know if this jet plays a part in the engine dying when put under the full load of water of the lake.

It has been 3 and a half months since I took the Seadoo and Yamaha into their shop and not sure what to do at this point so I am turning to my good friends on this forum. Anyone ever heard of a guardian? Anyone have any advice on what to try. By the way the Seadoo has 25 hours of run time and the Yamaha has 21 hours of run time.

Please help... I would sincerely appreciate your advice.... Scott from Borger TX

 

[96spxpos]

There is some history to this problem if you search for (2001 GTX from Borger still will not run)

This machine would not pull fuel into the carb. If I sprayed fuel mixture into the carb it would run. I tried all the things that this site advised me to do up to a point where I got too frustrated with my ability to repair my 2001 Seadoo GTX, so I found a repair shop in Oklahoma. I delivered the Seadoo on May 11 and they thought they fixed the machine on August 26, but when I arrived there was another problem.

While in the shop, they removed the carbs and put them in some electronic cleaner to remove all dirt and junk. They found a hairline-crack in the intake nozzle on the PTO carb. That nozzle was replaced. All new carb kit parts. It fired right up. They called and said they wanted to do a on-lake test, so I started driving to Oklahoma (2 hour cruise). When the mechanic returned from the lake he said that as soon as the Seadoo touched the water it died. The Seadoo would run by hose but not with the full load of the lake.

I also had my Yamaha 800R looked at. They lake-tested it as well. The mechanic said it would start right up but would not power up much more than an idle. The mechanic said that the Yamaha has a "guardian" which I understood to be a computer code that protects the engine from further damage but will allow you to limp back to the boat dock. The mechanic did not know if the Seadoo had a guardian.

I mentioned to them that there was a "jet" in one of the small carb fuel lines and they never heard of it. When they reassembled the carbs they could have put the fuel line on backwards with the jet in the wrong direction. The jet could have fell out of the fuel line. The jet could be in the fuel line but may have turned sideways. I don't know because it was after working hours and I haven't heard back from them.

The Seadoo starts right up and will accelerate like I remember it did. I do not know if this jet plays a part in the engine dying when put under the full load of water of the lake.

It has been 3 and a half months since I took the Seadoo and Yamaha into their shop and not sure what to do at this point so I am turning to my good friends on this forum. Anyone ever heard of a guardian? Anyone have any advice on what to try. By the way the Seadoo has 25 hours of run time and the Yamaha has 21 hours of run time.

Please help... I would sincerely appreciate your advice.... Scott from Borger TX

Umm. All I gotta say is that is SICK. Any mechanic who needs to keep a ski 3 1/2 months at all, fixed or not, has some major "issues".. With the exception of it being a 2017 new model and a broken part (broken by the user error, not mechanical failure) that is on back order...
At this point, I'd cut your losses, NOT pay them a dime, and bite the bullet and buy a BRAND NEW SET of carbs and put them on yourself or have a NORMAL marine/pwc mechanic put them in

 

[jcleary93]

First thing you should do is check you're compression. If it is low then that will explain why it dies when put under the load of the water

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

First thing you should do is check you're compression. If it is low then that will explain why it dies when put under the load of the water

Hopefully this has been done already, given the amount of time and effort that's been invested. Granted, the process of elimination does include this step and the shop should've done their own test before jumping in and tearing things apart.

A compression check is always the 1st step in resolving 2-stroke running issues.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

There is some history to this problem if you search for (2001 GTX from Borger still will not run)

Yeah, what took them so long to deliver a FAIL? At least they water tested, maybe you demanded it....

Honestly, I'm not one bit surprised those Mikuni's kicked the mechanics butt, I'm not sure if I was that shop I'd feel right charging the shop rate, we wouldn't do that.

Hate to say it but this has become a kind of cruel SICK joke.

 

[96spxpos]

Yeah, what took them so long to deliver a FAIL? At least they water tested, maybe you demanded it....

Honestly, I'm not one bit surprised those Mikuni's kicked the mechanics butt, I'm not sure if I was that shop I'd feel right charging the shop rate, we wouldn't do that.

Hate to say it but this has become a kind of cruel SICK joke.

That's why I said, SICK

 

[sradach]

I will try to respond to your responses about the 3 and a half month shop time with a little history of the shop experience to date without taking too long. I dropped the 2001 GTX off on May 11 and it is still not fixed.

There was a 2-week wait to get into the shop in Oklahoma (2 hours from Borger, TX).
They never called during this whole ordeal until Aug 26.
When I called every 7 - 10 days, the shop foreman said they were "working on the carbs", every time.
After I got a little testy with the foreman, he told me there was a hairline-crack in the PTO Carb Cover intake nozzle. (Sea-Doo part # 270-500-409). This is about two months after they got into the shop. The foreman said he could not find the part and Sea-Doo had quit making the part. I started calling parts stores and repair shops and I could not find it either. However I did notice on e-bay that there were MAG carb covers that had hard plastic nozzles for sale. I called the shop and asked if they would check into the plastic nozzles and also asked in the nozzle could be welded and replaced.
Another 2 or three weeks passed and I called the shop. The foreman said he had just "JB welded" the new nozzle onto the carb. The next day (Aug 26), I got a call that they had got it running and were putting everything back together and were taking it to be lake-tested. If I wanted the machine for the weekend I could start driving to their shop as it was 3:00 PM. When I got there was when they told me it would not run when put in the lake.

TODAY - I called. They said they found an air-leak in the fuel system, tightened the connection and then took the GTX out to the lake two days ago. The Sea-Doo will run in the lake, but will not accelerate. Before it would just die. The foreman said they were making progress. I told them to call a repair shop that works on PWC specifically Sea-Doos for advice. I also asked about the compression test and they it was the first thing they do before breaking down any engine. He said he would call back with the figures.

Am I pissed? Yes, but that only does so much good. My options at this point are:

1.) Go pick them up from the shop and hope that they don't charge full rate for a machine they didn't get fixed.
2.) Take it somewhere else (8 week wait in Amarillo), to have someone else fix it.
3.) Buy new carbs, Hell that's probably more than machine is worth. What does a set of new carbs costs now days? A nice suggestion but not financially practical for me.
4.) Hope that someone on this forum has the miracle answer, which I have full faith in this forum's knowledge and experience.

I am looking for help and advice. Scott from Borger Texas.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Air leaks in the fuel line is a definite show stopper, must be leak tight else it's no-go, period-blank. But that's not all folks, that ails these fuel systems - carburetors!

The low speed circuit inside the carburetor must be whistle clean, so clean the SNOT out of those tiny passages and then clean them again. Many fail at doing this and never do finally get them flowing again. This is because the passages are aluminum, very small and just an imperceptible amount of corrosion in them closes the passages enough to throw the mixture out the window to the lean side. Lean hesitation and falling flat on it's face lean are the result.

Miracle cure for 951/SBN46i ? Well, I'll share MY story, take it for what it's worth but this worked for me.....

My 951 uses the same SBN46i carbs and was doing the same thing as your GTX (as far as I can tell). I was able to recover mine AFTER cleaning the low speed circuit 2 times using only carburetor solvent and compressed air 100psi (I wasn't forced to go with serious acid like muriatic for example), then I installed larger low speed jets by 2 sizes larger than factory calibration.

Low speed jets come in increments of 2.5, the originals were 75 and I installed 80's to add more fuel and address the lean hesitation I was experiencing.

Problem gone completely, no complaint, runs like a top ever since burning FRESH 87 octane 10% ethanol pump gas.

Will it work for you, I can't say for sure but it should add more fuel. The importance of the low speed circuit cannot be overstressed b/c unless you only mostly ride WOT or more than 70% throttle with your 951, most of the fuel burned goes through the low speed circuit. The high speed circuit doesn't even begin flowing until about 70% throttle and by then you might find it's difficult getting there past that gigantic dead spot.