2004 GTI LE RFI sitting 8 years covered, next steps ?

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den458

den458

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2004 Sea-Doo GTI LE RFI sitting maybe 8 years under cover outdoors. Ski was running fine back then. Would like to get it running again. Charging a battery now. Will drain out & replace old gas. Will make sure there is Sea-Doo oil in the reservoir. Not sure I want to pull plugs unless really necessary… need I spray some fogging oil in the cylinders & crank it with plug wires off first? Warnings, cautions, advice?

If there is a step-by-step outline somewhere in these forums on resurrecting an older fuel & oil-injected RFI like mine, please point me there.

I loved these RFI skis (had a 2001 GTX RFI then this 2004). So fuel & oil efficient, radical improvements from the 3 Yamahas I’d previously owned. Thanks in advance.
 
POPPS said:
I would spray some lub in the cylinders and Lub up the cylinders,,,better still some sbt to get rust off the cylinder walls,,,I’d spray them and let the sbt do it’s magic over night,,,I’d be further be inclined to pull the cylinder head since the “o” rings are reusable and wipe the cylinder walls clean of any residue,, I’d pull the rear Ebox and look for corrosion etc,,
Click to expand...

What is SBT??
 
etemplet said:
I'm looking for the magic elixer that removes rust in the cylinders. :)
Click to expand...
It is called getting it running and see what happens. If it is just very minor rust it will be fine typically. Once the rust starts to pit the cylinder walls the rings will never seal and the blow by will burn the oil film off the piston skirts and cause a seizure. Only true fix is to bore oversize.
 
Rust in the cylinders just gonna tear everything up. Gotta get that out of there. Powdered metal.
 
I would be a lot more worried about the fuel pump, pressure regulator and injectors than the engine. more than likely you will be replacing the fuel pump and the regulator and cleaning the injectors or replacing them. Chance are quite good the fuel pump is now one big ball of rust.
 
Experimentally, I connected a charged but older PWC battery, connecting each of my 3 keys, hear a beep-beep. After a moment, the digital display shows MPH & the fuel gauge is 1 bar short of full. Happy it wakes up. Bummed there's so much gas in it, no way I can properly dispose of ~ 12 gal old gas...
 
*** UPDATE *** It RUNS ! I pulled the plugs, sprayed some old OMC fogging oil into the cylinders & let sit a while. Then cranked it with plugs removed (to move the fogging oil around) but connected to plug wires - both plugs were sparking, engine cranked effortlessly, all good signs. Decided to install plugs & give it a crank with the old gas. After a half-dozen attempts where the engine fired momentarily (30 seconds between attempts), the engine caught, ran roughly for 10 seconds, then idled smooth another 10 seconds, & I pulled the lanyard. Feeling pretty dang lucky. It has 142.7 hours.
 
I am going to give you a word advice, take it or leave it, pull the fuel pump and replace it and the filters, you are going to find there is nothing left of the fuel filters and they should be replaced every few years, no one ever does this and they all wonder why their skis don't run right.
 
*** RUNS ON HOSE FINE *** I found my garden hose quick-disconnect, connected the hose, started the engine, turned on water & let it idle for 5 minutes, then water off, shut engine off. Engine had started immediately & idled smoothly for the 5 minutes. Good water stream from the forward pee hole. Water & exhaust fumes from the pump area all looking normal as I recall. The big metal exhaust pipe (header?) remained cold the whole 5 minutes. At a glance I didn't notice any water leaks or fumes in the hull while running. Agree with previous post new fuel pump & filters great idea prior to extended use, but old pump seems ok for now... while I explore why I replaced it in 2013 with a new Wake 155.

Should I start a new thread? Here is the back story on this old ski: About 10 years ago, I'd sucked up something (mud?) that clogged something else (regulator?) that apparently caused the exhaust system plastic box (resonator?) to have a melt-down, while on the river, hull began to fill with water, engine died, I swam it to shore. Maybe but not 100% sure if I recall alarms. I later understood that water is injected into the exhaust system to keep everything cool enough for plastic exhaust system parts to function, the blockage caused an overheat & meltdown. I thought I could deal with it myself: clean &/or replace the regulators, replace the resonator, rebuilt the pump myself. Took it back to the river, rode it around (5-10 minutes?), seemed to run fine, then got sluggish, as hull was filling with water again. No meltdown. Disappointed, trailered it back home. I suspect I'd not got the resonator properly reconnected & clamped to whatever it connects to, which might be below the waterline, LOL. Recalling from 10 years ago the tight spaces, hard to see, working by feel, I missed something. I was going to have a 2nd look, but dropped the ball. Will try again this week to figure out what I didn't get back together properly 10 years ago. Thanks for the advice so far !
 
Last edited:
I ran it again for 5 minutes on the garden hose. RPM is ~ 2200. I bumped the accelerator a couple times at the 5 minute point, RPM settled back to same ~ 2200. I know if it was in the water, it would be lower RPM with the water load. Does 2200 seem fast on the trailer after 5 minute warmup?
 
Not sure what the point of this Thread is. Are you bragging or complaining? : )

An RFI Seadoo that runs after 8 years of non-operation is probably a Miracle.

Your next step would be to go ride the damn thing till it breaks
 
Where's the fun in that?

When it breaks soon enough, then there'll be something we can help fix ; )

Except instead of a couple hundred bucks for a New Fuel Pump & Filters, the Repair Cost will be in the thousands...
 
OK, I get it won't be trustworthy without new fuel pump & filters, + new fuel pressure regulator. Near-term, sitting on the trailer, I'm more concerned about what I overlooked years ago when replacing a melted resonator, looks like there are 3 of them. I'll try to have another look at them, maybe today. Reliability is not an issue if it doesn't float.
 
There is a way to bypass the resonators but you have to have a rear exhaust outlet and rear hose off of a 951 equIpped XP to make the connversion I did a few of them years back.
 
I've removed & leak tested the 3-piece resonator assembly, no leaks. During disassembly, I think I noted that all the interconnecting exhaust hoses & clamps were in place, & on tight. I really hate to reinstall the resonator assembly before finding the leak...

Looking around inside the hull for any other possible leaks, I notice the OPAS seal tubes, p/n 277001123. I'm reading the seal tubes do go bad, & there are OPAS delete / block-off kits. Think I'll seal the exhaust port outlet in the hull long enough to fill the hull with enough water to see if water leaks from those seals. Update to follow...
 
Exhaust system still removed, drain plugs in & exhaust port sealed off, I filled the hull with water up to the impeller shaft, no leaks. Worked the steering left/right repeatedly looking for the OPAS seal tubes to leak, but not a drop. To isolate the leak, I plan to reassemble the exhaust & resonator system, install the drain plugs, & trailer it to the Illinois River. While strapped down to the trailer, I plan to let it idle with seat removed on the trailer, watching as long as necessary to locate the leak. I know a multi-ramp spot where I won't interfere with other boaters on a weekday. Any other suggestions?
 
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