97 SeaDoo Explorer Runs great for about 20 Minutes...then it cuts out and won't get up to speed

[MAL]

Hi everybody,

I will do my best to describe the symptoms. As the title suggests the Explorer ran great for about 20 minutes or so...then all it would do is cut out as it was starting to plane out. It does not usually die, but it would idle rough. The first thing I did was change plugs and it ran fine for about 20 minutes again. It started to cut out again so we parked for about an hour. It ran fine for about 20 minutes again...I put another set of new plugs in and it ran good for about 5 minutes. I checked the water separator filter. I found two things...it had some water in it, and I heard a sucking sound for a couple of seconds after I removed the separator. I then took it for a ride with the gas cap loose, but the issue was still there after a short ride. The check valve inlet vent was plugged, I cleaned it and got it working again. I took it for another 20 minute ride and it started cutting out again. I had a long slow ride home up stream and against the wind...It would not go much over idle speed. I tried to choke it while it was running bad, and it would die right away. Two things that I noticed on my ride home. The front cylinder is not as strong as the rear cylinder when I pull the plug wires, and there is a significant water leak between the exhaust manifold and the pipe(there is a stripped bolt that needs a helicoil) I am not sure if those two problems are related. I suspect it will run fine for about 20 minutes tomorrow.

I hope someone can point me in the right direction, thanks

 

[MAL]

was it something I said?

 

[benjilafouine]

I think your question should be posted in the Sea-Doo Boats forum. That being said, have you tried cranking the engine with the spark plugs off when this issue occurs? If there is water in engine you will know right away. And a water leak in the exhaust can lead to water in the engine. This has to be taken very seriously or you could destroy your engine. Unfortunately I know nothing of your boat. Didn't even know they existed!

 

[MAL]

I think your question should be posted in the Sea-Doo Boats forum. That being said, have you tried cranking the engine with the spark plugs off when this issue occurs? If there is water in engine you will know right away. And a water leak in the exhaust can lead to water in the engine. This has to be taken very seriously or you could destroy your engine. Unfortunately I know nothing of your boat. Didn't even know they existed!

I have pulled the plugs and checked for water. I have not seen any water in the cylinders. The boat will not die when it starts to act up...and I can shut it off and restart it...it just won't rev up and plane out. I think if I was getting water in the engine it would die and start hard, but I don't know.

Unfortunately the starter quit and I can't work on it until the new one gets here. I have decided to put a different engine in it, but I still need to trouble shoot this engine so I don't just transfer a problem. When the starter gets here I can fix the exhaust leak and try again.

Thanks for the reply, hopefully this thread doesn't die just yet.

 

[benjilafouine]

Changing the engine is a little premature I believe. Why are you saying the starter gave up?

 

[MAL]

I bench tested the starter...it is bad. This motor is probably fixable, But is has JB Weld on the cracked water jackets on the cylinders, it has some broken and stripped bolts...it looks like it was a saltwater engine.

I found a used engine on Ebay for $450. If the seller is an honest man, It was a fresh rebuild last year. It comes with carbs, starter, etc...every thing is still attached to it so I rolled the dice.

 

[mikidymac]

I would suggest checking with Nick or Jess at Westside powersports before eBay. Super honest and they are here all the time. They are so good they typically have warranties on their used parts. @Minnetonka4me.

 

[MAL]

I would suggest checking with Nick or Jess at Westside powersports before eBay. Super honest and they are here all the time. They are so good they typically have warranties on their used parts. @Minnetonka4me.

That is good to know. I guess I am a gambler...I don't go to the casino, but I do gamble on cheap parts. I win some, and I loose some.

What are your thoughts about the problem with my SeaDoo?

 

[benjilafouine]

I think your engine is doomed in the short term... But don't gamble on parts. really not worth it. You'll put in a lot of efforts on it and some cheap part will fail on you shortly after.

I've learned the hard way this summer not to order jobber parts on my old car. It bounced right back in my face (my wallet I meant). Going forward, never ever again jobber parts for me.

Benji.

 

[MAL]

I think your engine is doomed in the short term... But don't gamble on parts. really not worth it. You'll put in a lot of efforts on it and some cheap part will fail on you shortly after.

I've learned the hard way this summer not to order jobber parts on my old car. It bounced right back in my face (my wallet I meant). Going forward, never ever again jobber parts for me.

Benji.

I look at it this way. I have been ripped of by cheap parts, and I have been ripped of by expensive parts...I would rather get ripped of by cheap parts.

If my engine is doomed, I still have my old engine, and I could part out the new one on Ebay and double my money.

For $450 it is not much of a gamble. It's like getting a free engine with a set of carbs, starter, manifold, brain box...etc......AND I DID NOT HAVE TO GIVE UP MY CORE!! If it is a fresh rebuild with good compression. I could strip it down to a short block and sell it for $700 easy

 

[MAL]

Update:
My new/used engine is here. I finally had some time to start working on it. The old engine only had about 120 lbs of compression in each cylinder, It had been hot, it was getting water into the mag housing somehow and I suspect that it needed the carbs rebuilt

First off the new engine wasn't perfect. The compression is good, but apparently they had a cold winter in southern Alabama, one cylinder had a small crack in the water jacket. It was disappointing, but I welded it and it's good now. I am in the process of replacing all the fuel and oil lines

I wasn't expecting it to be a single carb engine. From what I have read so far a single carb sounds like there is going to be a minimal difference in performance, better fuel mileage and less maintenance cost.

I may have to replace the cables, I am not sure yet. Is there anything else that I am going to run into with a double to single carb swap? Should I just put my double carb set up back on it?