96 gtx - slow getting out of the water....

[going up]

I am slowly but surely getting a handle on these skis. I am relatively new still. I have a 96 GTX that gets out of the water real slow.. if I go full throttle it seems to just blow the water out and wont get up on a plane. Have to easy into a little to get going. I replaced the wear ring thinking that was the problem but that really didnt seem to change things.
Maybe this is just typical for this ski. The only thing I have to compare it to is my 96 XP. It seems to jump right out of the water.
Any suggestions on if this is normal or if I need to keep looking for an issue?

 

[Seadoobuddy]

Hi & welcome. I have the same ski.
Check your carbon seal inside the hull.....try adding grease to the fitting on the PTO if you haven't already....not a lot, just enough to move the rubber boot a tiny bit outwards.

Do you get a lot of water in the hull while riding?
Any weeds wrapped around the impeller shaft?
Anything (stones,sticks, beer can, plastic) rattling around in the impeller area?

Do you still have the gray tempo fuel lines? If so, then change then ASAP. Then try again for the hole shot.

 

[going up]

Thanks for the input. 1st thing I did was change the fuel lines.. Check
No weeds or rocks on the impeller shaft, that is all clean... check
Very little water in the hull when riding... check

When you say check the carbon seal when would I be checking? Just that it is sealing off the water?
I will add some grease to the PTO fitting.

A couple questions for you:
1. Does your ski jump out of the water pretty easily?
2. Would the impeller be causing the issue? There were quick a few knicks in the impeller blades. I filed these down flat. Didn't look awful to me but I have no gauge of what is bad and what is OK.
3. Carburator issue? Doesn't seem like it would be because it seams to be pushing hard out of the hole just doesn't go anywhere.

Hi & welcome. I have the same ski.
Check your carbon seal inside the hull.....try adding grease to the fitting on the PTO if you haven't already....not a lot, just enough to move the rubber boot a tiny bit outwards.

Do you get a lot of water in the hull while riding?
Any weeds wrapped around the impeller shaft?
Anything (stones,sticks, beer can, plastic) rattling around in the impeller area?

Do you still have the gray tempo fuel lines? If so, then change then ASAP. Then try again for the hole shot.

 

[soccerdad]

my 96 gtx gets up and going pretty well. Not as fast as the GSX, but not bad at all. It will snatch a wake boarder up with no stress. We have one tube that we pull that kind of digs in on starts. That acts like you describe, but with the other tube, it just gets up and goes. It sounds like cavitation. My guess is some air is sucking into your pump.

 

[going up]

Well after more searching the forum I found another thread with lots of conversation about the same problem. Really sounds like cavitation from leaking air around the carbon seal. I am going to add some grease ike you suggested and add a zip tie behind the bellows and see how that goes.

Thanks for the help

 

[going up]

OK.. that is definatly the problem... I went out to check the bellow and noticed it is ripped.... so I am sure it is sucking air...

 

[Coastiejoe]

If your boot is torn, your are lucky you didn't sink....

 

[going up]

Well I didn't report back because it took a while to get the new boot and get a time to get back on the water.
It turned into quite an adventure. I installed the new boot this past week and took the ski out the next day.
My wife started out on this ski with my daughter on the back. 5 minutes into the ride I turn around and she is screaming... It is sinking....
She points it towards the closest shore and by the time we get to shore it is 1/2 full of water and filling up.
I opening it up and looked at the boot. Water is bubbling in thru a tear in the top of the boot. The boot it tore right down the center. I am thinking... How am I going to fix this. We are stranded on the side of the lake with no shoreline (step bank) and middle of the week so none else around.
I sent my wife to a friends house on the lake to get some zip ties (I will now always be carrying zip ties with me).



A few zip ties around the boot to pull it together really slowed down the water coming in. We got it mostly bailed out but the motor didn't want to turn over so had to tow it back to the dock.

Argg.... Now have to wait for a new one to show up to test all over again. In my mind this was obviously a defective part. When I called the parts store I got it from (Power Sport Superstore) I was told it must have been something I did and there was nothing they could do for me. I was not real happy about that. After a firmly written email to their customer service department they did refund my money but didn't offer to send me a new one. They said I could reorder one if I would like. Needless to say I will NOT be ordering any more parts from this company. That company just lost a customer for life over a $8 part and will not be getting any good press from me.

So lessons learned....
1) Always carry zip ties with you.
2) Always test drive a ski yourself after a repair
3) Always inspect after market parts closely before installing.

We will give it another try this week when the new drive boot shows up.

 

[Mickirig1]

Always - Always, YOU test drive / operate it after your repairs. In theory you know the signs something is wrong or not quit right. My Wife and Daughter would not notice till they were swimming!

 

[Seadoobuddy]

OK.. that is definatly the problem... I went out to check the bellow and noticed it is ripped.... so I am sure it is sucking air...

That's your problem
You should have a lot of water into the hull with a torn boot.


****EDIT****
OOPS, i didn't read the rest of your posts when I posted this.
IMHO a boot doesn't tear down the middle for no reason, they should have replace it....but at least they refunded your money.

 

[LouDoo]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, I hope you pinched of the water line from the pump to the motor, or towed at less than 5mph. If not there's a good chance you hydro-locked your motor. Filled the motor with water. Go out and remove the spark plugs, ground the spark plug leads. Put a towel over the spark plug holes, crank the motor over and see if any water comes out of the spark plug holes.

Lou

 

[going up]

Thanks lou... yep i did pinch off the hose. Once i got it home dried things out and it started right up.

 

[Jetskigoodies]

Yes always test everything. If you have access to a rarely used ramp just leave it on the trailer and dunk it in enough to get the pump under, pull the seat off, turn it on and watch everything for leaks.