97 Seadoo GTI New Motor

[noslofivoh]

Trying to make a long story short. Purchased a 97 GTI with bad motor- had a destroyed cylinder. I never heard the ski run due to it being partially disassembled. Prior owner stated it was running but lost power and he parked it 2 years ago. I replaced the motor with a rebuilt motor from SBT, installed new rotary valve, replaced fuel lines, installed inline filter in addition to factory water separator/filter, installed primer bulb, and rebuilt the carb with Mikuni kit. Went to start the engine and of course could not get it started. I primed the fuel line and could see plenty of fuel in the filter. It would not start. I can spray premix into the carbs and the engine will run. It seems to stay running as long as I keep feathering the throttle but once I let off it dies. Any ideas? I am very close to just bypassing everything and running a line direct form the reserve on the tank baffle to the carb with an inline filter to see if it will run on its own. If that works, I am going to replace the selector valve and bypass the water separator and just use an inline filter after the separator. Any issues with this? What are yalls thoughts? I am over budget on this ski and in too deep to just give up at this point. Also really do not want to take it to a shop either however, I am running out of patience with it also.

Also, has anyone had any issues with the aftermarket fuel selector valves? I can get a new one locally for $20 however, will have to wait on an OEM to be shipped which runs about $35.

Thanks in advance

 

[Triorieel]

What is it trying to idle at where it dies? Maybe your idle is set to low?

Also, if you have the original grey fuel lines, you should replace them before they gum up your new carb.

It goes tank, fuel selector, filter, carbs. If you have fuel in your fuel filter, it should be reaching the carbs.

Are you sure you did the proper turns when adjusting the carb?
Are you sure you re-assembled the carb properly?
Are there any leaks in the lines? (It's easier to suck air then liquid)


Edit: There is nothing wrong with your bypass idea to test things out.

 

[jjsinaz]

1) Make sure the rotary valve replacement is steel and not one of those carbon fiber deals. They will wear out the RV housing

2) Primer bulbs are not recommended (I assume you mean the one like you would find on an outboard motor) I asked the question myself once and the consensus was no. This can place an unnecessary restriction in the fuel system.

3)Bypassing the fuel selector by running the line direst from the RES nipple is a good troubleshooting method. If this clears up your problem, you know where to start looking. Air leaks on the fuel system on these things can really wreak havoc

4) I had a defective AM fuel selector earlier this year. I'd recommend going with the OEM.

Hope this helps

 

[Tatesteinborn]

I had the same issue with my 97 gti. Put new engine in, new carbs and replaces the lines. Primed the lines like you did and put fuel into the engine. In the end had the in and out lines switched. Runs good now

 

[joaquin12345]

I had similar issues on 2 previous skis. Took out the old grey fuel lines replaced with new ones. Then I bypassed the fuel selector knob. Also make sure your water separator is full underneath the steering wheel toward the front of where your seat sits. If that's not full then your obviously not getting fuel to pump through.

 

[noslofivoh]

There are no grey lines on this ski. All were replaced when motor was put in. I will check the fuel routing this evening.

 

[mikidymac]

First of all there is no need for an additional inline fuel filter as they can cause restriction and plug completely with any water. You need to replace the fuel selector and I only recommend OEM ones.
If you still have the stock choke get rid of any primer as they can leak air.

Now to the main issue, if you are getting fuel to the carb but it won't run then you have something wrong with your carb rebuild. Are you sure the fuel pump is working and correct? Did you check popoff? Did you use the correct needle, seat and spring? Did you reconnect the pulse line from the cases to the fuel pump?

 

[noslofivoh]

Ok... now an update. I removed the primer and the inline filter. Replaced the fuel selector. Now the ski runs but only if I keep the choke slightly pulled out.

The carb was rebuilt by a buddy of mine just because I did not have time. Now I am wondering if maybe he did not do it right. Just wondering if I should pull ot off and go through it again?

 

[mikidymac]

I would pull the carb and make sure..
1. He used the correct OEM Mikuni carb kit.
2. Used the correct needle and seat.
3. Used the correct spring.
4. Verify popoff and leak down.

 

[noslofivoh]

I am going to pull the carb tonight and go back through it. I know that he did use the Mikuni kit that I provided. I am going to make sure all orifices are clean and check popoff while I have it off. Hopefully this will fix the problem.

 

[noslofivoh]

Good news to report. After pulling the carb off and apart, I found that the plastic check valve- the flat pear shaped oval plastic piece, was kicked out 90 degrees. I thought surely that can not be the problem. I went ahead and pulled the carb all the way down and performed a cleaning just to be sure. Once I put the carb back together and reinstalled it, the GTI started right up and attempted to idle. The idle was low so I bumped it up and now she idles like she is supposed to. Lake test this weekend and I will reset the idle on the water and calibrate the oil pump. I now know why I hate paying people to work on stuff for me. It seems that they always screw something minor up that causes me to chase gremlins.

 

[jjsinaz]

Yeah, ain't it great. You pay someone else to do it because you don't have time, then you end up doing it yourself anyway. Moral of that story is, just do it yourself in the first place LOL

 

[noslofivoh]

You arent kidding. I have wasted 3 nights working on this thing. A couple hours a night for something simple that someone else screwed up. I could have already been on the water if I just would have went ahead and done it the first timea

 

[Mickirig1]

That little check valve is one of the most important ones. You would get low speed load up. It would stumble and stall.

 

[noslofivoh]

I figured it would cause big issues. I am just glad to have gotten this thing fixed.

 

[Mickirig1]

She running better?

 

[noslofivoh]

Very much so... took the GTI and the GTX out to the lake and both ran great. Now just have to find enough time to run them through the break in time.