96 gsx. Cavitation issues and or fuel problems.

[air9]

Hey what's up. Having an issue with my 96 gsx with the 787. Took it out a few times this season and it ran ok. Since I've bought it a few summers ago, I have this on going stumble issue. Up until about 5k it doesn't seem to have much power. Now I am moving at around 20-25 mph at this point. But as soon as I go over 5k it's like a switch and the ski starts to scream to red line at full speed.

This season I seem to being having an issue bogging in the higher rpm's. The revs drop and rise when on the throttle.

So am I looking at a cavitation issue? Or an issue with the carbs. Previous owner had the carbs cleaned by the local dealer. They also replaced the fuel lines and fuel filter. Wear ring looks good. Tight fit to the impeller with very little scoring and no damage on the property.

Should I pull the carbs and clean them? Rebuild them? Fuel selector switch? I idle at a consistent 1280 rpm in the water. I read that I should be closer to 1500? While cleaning the ski this season I did find a crack in my ride plate near the intake grate. Not sure if this would contribute to my rpm drops though.

http://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/5786998230768/20160713_141425.jpg

You can see it on the left side there just under the intake. Should I be concerned about this?


I might pull the carbs this weekend and look.at them. Do I need any special tools for setting and tuning them?


Thanks. Also here is a pic of the ski. Everyone likes pictures [emoji3]

http://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/57869a36ec1db/20160713_140943.jpg

 

[Coastiejoe]

I believe you have two issues.

The early one was cavitation. Basically like flooring a car, the engine RPMs go up, you spin tires and don't really go anywhere even though the engine is at high RPMs.

Your newer complaint is likely the carbs needing rebuilt. Common issue. Order only an OEM kit AND the Needle and Seat kit.

 

[air9]

I believe you have two issues.

The early one was cavitation. Basically like flooring a car, the engine RPMs go up, you spin tires and don't really go anywhere even though the engine is at high RPMs.

Your newer complaint is likely the carbs needing rebuilt. Common issue. Order only an OEM kit AND the Needle and Seat kit.

Would the crack in my ride plate as shown in the first picture be causing my cavitation issue? The wear ring and impeller looked good. Is there somewhere else the pump would be pulling in air? Maybe the carbon seal?

For the carb rebuild, where is the best place to order an o.e.m. replacement kit?

Thanks for the quick reply.

 

[Coastiejoe]

The pic looks like your intake grate, not the ride plate. Am I wrong?

 

[air9]

The pic looks like your intake grate, not the ride plate. Am I wrong?

The small tab that's cracked just under the metal intake grate? I figured that was part of my ride plate. If that's part of the intake grate then that should be easier to fix. Would that even cause cavitation? How would I go about repairing that? Would an expoy hold up?

Sorry for all the questions. Thanks for your help.

 

[Coastiejoe]

Some ride plates that are not sealed will suck air. So if the cracked area is not still sealed, then yes, that could be the cavitation issue...

Removing ride plates is NO FUN.. But it is a must to stop the issue. The manual explains how to remove it. It requires a jack to pop it off in many cases..

 

[air9]

Ugh. I was afraid of that. Taking the plate off doesn't look like fun. I'll dig into this over the weekend and report back. Thanks.

 

[Coastiejoe]

You will want to look at a manual. It shows how to put in a block of wood and use a jack and what not,,