4-tec Preventative valve replacment

[flyer5]

I just purchased a 04 RXP. I plan on replacing the valves before they break so I ordered Torx valves both intake and exhaust. I would like to document it as well on video. If it comes out well I will share my experience. I am hoping to get as much advice as I can before starting to help things along. I was surprised to find very little documentation aside from the manual. SC was supposedly upgraded a few hrs ago before the ceramic washers failed, but will remove and inspect it for myself. I was a very good wrench in the automotive field for a number of years before a career change. So this does not scare me. But there are some differences. I love how the intermediate section of the Hull is removable. Sea Doo gets an atta boy for that one.


So a few of my questions are.

1: can the intake remain in the ski or should it be disconnected and removed?

2:Exhaust looks like it can be removed with the head. Or is it better to remove separately?

3: Is it just best to remove the engine and do it on a stand?

Thanks in advance. Dave

I edited the post because I somehow deleted the word exhaust on 2

 

[Dennis]

Cylinder head removal is alot easier if you remove the intake plenum first. Plenum removal is easier than it looks.

I would leave the engine in the ski. :cheers:

 

[KK40384]

I would definitely remove the plenum from the head and leave the engine in. After all the head is the part you really need out. Everything is fairly straight forward from what I can tell (I haven't had to do it yet myself), anyone with some mechanical knowledge and understanding how a 4stroke works should have no issues doing this.

 

[flyer5]

Cylinder head removal is alot easier if you remove the intake plenum first. Plenum removal is easier than it looks.

I would leave the engine in the ski. :cheers:

Thanks, that's what I was looking for.

 

[ski-d00]

1. you don't have to actually remove the intake. it is only held in place by the 7 bolts attached to the head and snaps in rubber posts on the bottom. remove the 7 bolts, pull straitght up, then push it out of the way. no need to disconnect all the elec conn or the ic hoses.

2. exhaust manifold should be removed with the head, just remove clamp and hoses(there's a large one on bottom). the pipe/muff assy will slide back enough to remove the head.

3. leave engine in place, this is a very simple head to remove and should only take about an hour. make sure to attach a wire to the timing chain so it doesn't drop into the pto housing and get lost and be careful removing the cam timing gear not to drop the 3 bolts.

Actually, the failure rate on those valves really isn't that high but people will remember the 1 bad one and forget about the 99 good ones that are still running. If they are winterized properly, this will help extend their life. I see tons that haven't dropped valves(yet...lol), but if it makes you feel better then it's probably worth it and there is no doubt the newer valves are better, especially with that 629 cam.

 

[flyer5]

I did leave the intake manifold in place and removed the exhaust manifold with the head. The biggest PITA was the front hose going to the exhaust manifold on the bottom mostly because of the clamp. The other one that caught me was the other hose going from the manifold to the pipe, I didn't realize there was a T on the bottom of the hose and had it disconnected at the pipe only expecting it to come out with the manifold. All in all with air tools it took me about 20-25 min to have the head on the bench. It definitely has the old # valves but they look in real good shape. But for about $700 in parts it will give me piece of mind. At 70mph you can end up far away from the launch on the river in a hurry. The supercharger was supposedly updated but I am going to pull and check that as well. I got the ski for a decent price so if I get a fun summer out of it I will be happy with what I have in it. I bought this because I have 2 other skis a 97 GTI and a 99XP. This seems to be a good compromise between the other 2 that I will sell in the spring and just have 1 ski.

Edit Thanks for all the replies. I will update when I get all the parts and get it back together.

 

[flyer5]

Well here is my update. I rebuilt the SC with the Seadoo rebuild kit. I lapped and installed then new valves Intake and Exhaust. New Seadoo head gasket and head bolts. While the head was off I removed the oil jet from the block and replaced the rocker shaft with a new 06 and later type. But after seeing the difference between the 2 shafts I believe flush pipe plugs can just be installed into the head for the middle 2 shaft cradle areas. I will look into this more when I pull a spare 05 engine apart that I acquired. New rocker shaft bolts were also installed. The cam bolts I replaced the class 8.8 socket head bolts with class 10.9 hex head bolts with the washers built in the head. I torqued them to 110lb/in. Started it up today ran it for only a few mins because it is below freezing here and didn't want to mess with the hose outside. It sounded great.
I will comment the worst part of the assembly was messing with the dipstick tube and intake placement. I have to look better at how the dipstick comes out next time. That would make things much easier. Everything else was easy.

After doing this. I would recommend anyone with decent mechanical skills do not wait till the valves fail, it is pretty straight forward.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

I wonder if you did your own bend test on the original valve stems near the valve head to see if they were flimsy?

 

[flyer5]

I wonder if you did your own bend test on the original valve stems near the valve head to see if they were flimsy?

I may try it. I saw no signs of corrosion on any of the ones I removed.

 

[flyer5]

So for an update. I finally was able to get a little over 1.5hrs on the ski after all the work done. Ran great but was limited to 7600RPM I assume it needs the knock sensor harness update. I have one ordered so I will update once the weather cooperates. It was a water temp of 48* last time out. A slow start to summer for sure.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

7600 sounds pretty high, where's the redline limit on those things?

 

[KK40384]

7600 sounds pretty high, where's the redline limit on those things?

Limiter on the SC motor is 8300. Should see around 8050-8100 at WOT under normal conditions.