97 XP Idles OK, Gets to top speed and slowly dies over 5-10 seconds

[Mikes88Stang]

Hi Everyone,
I have a 97XP with a strange issue. I think I found some explanation, but I need to do some troubleshooting. I took the ski into the ocean today. After a long no-wake zone on the way in I decided to go for a few blasts to get any water out. The ski came out of the hole great, but then started slowing down rapidly. I worked the throttle a bit on the ski, but it did not matter. The ski just slowly dies. It will start up and do the same again. Now, here is what I found so far:

-- Air in the oil lines. Not sure how this got there, but all my reading says this is a bad thing. Could flipping it cause this? I will try checking oil pump operation on the ski. If I cant tell, I will pull it off and use the drill test.
-- I replaced the oil filter and fuel filter two seasons ago. No more than 50 hours on each. I heard this can happen from the fuel filter sucking air. Anyone have this issue on a 97 XP?
-- I will get compression numbers later tomorrow. I can't swing a top end rebuild right now so this may put her away for a while.

The oil injection lines are original and I should replace them. Anyone know how hard this is on a 97XP? Any other suggestions for things to check? What are good compression numbers for this motor?

 

[Dr Honda]

Sounds like you have carbs that are plugged up. Do you still have gray tempo fuel lines? If you do... change them, and clean the system.

 

[Mikes88Stang]

Sounds like you have carbs that are plugged up. Do you still have gray tempo fuel lines? If you do... change them, and clean the system.

I really tried to do things right on this ski. New marine rated Goodyear lines, new fuel selector switch, drilled and welded new plugs into the exhaust, jet pump serviced, new starter, new voltage rectifier, new cooling system regulator, cleaned RAVE valves, tried a carb rebuild kit but still had a dead spot mid throttle so the ski has a new rack of carbs in it (ya, that was expensive). They were supposedly the last ones available for this motor. Just did a compression check, 145/160.

The oil lines have air in them and I was able to easily pull both off the pump. I have some "Fuel and Lubricant Yellow Tygon PVC Tubing 3/32" ID" in my shopping cart now. I pulled the oil pump cable off the pump (this puts the pump in full on, correct?) but still did not see any oil movement in the lines. Is that normal? How long should an oil filter last? I maybe have 50-60 hours on this one.

 

[Mikes88Stang]

Back TTT. I just changed the oil pump lines. I still need to prime them and test. Any feedback on the questions above would be great!

 

[Dr Honda]

Sorry I missed it before.

I recommend changing the oil filter every other year. They are cheap, and there is no reason to loose an engine over a plugged filter.

If the pump arm is held to full... it will prime the small hoses in about 10 to 15 seconds with the engine at idle. BUT... if there is air in the pump... it will not build enough pressure to push the check valves open. So... make sure there is oil in the pump. There is a bleed screw on the face of the pump. Open it, to let the air out. It's a small screw, so don't break it tightening it once the pump is bled.

If you still don't get any oil... the plastic driveshaft could be stripped, or the check vlaves/injection nipples could be plugged.

 

[Mikes88Stang]

No need to apologize! I appreciate the knowledge!
No problem bleeding the pump (I hope). Where are these check valves located? I don't see anything resembling an automotive style check valve except on top of the oil tank.
Regarding clogged injector nipples, should I be able to blow into the lines connected to the pump, regardless of the crank position in the engine?
I thought I had a bad stator, so the dealer just had this front cover off. I should have borrowed an engine hoist and supported the engine on a strap, but I figured this time I'll let the experts handle it. It does not look like they took the pump off, just the front cover. Does this make sense? How likely is it to have a stripped driveshaft?

 

[riding high]

At the risk of speaking for Doc. I think the check valves he is talking about are located in the oil injection nozzles.

 

[Mikes88Stang]

That makes sense. How do these come off? I managed to install the line without taking the carbs off, but it took me over an hour and a half to get that back lone on. I really hope they are not clogged.

 

[riding high]

I have never taken them out. I just take a very small diameter wire and make sure that they are not clogged. Maybe someone else that has removed them will chime in on this.

 

[Mikes88Stang]

Good to know they dont need to come off to be cleaned. That was why I asked how to take them off.

UPDATE:
I just pulled the bleeder off the pump and nothing came out! If I squeeze the line between the pump and filter, it does come out. Oil tank is 3/4 full. If I squeeze the line directly off the reservoir, I also see oil from the bleeder. I tried bumping the starter a bit, but I didn't see any oil. I am assuming with the bleeder all the way out I would have a very visible flow of oil. How visible should this flow of oil be?

I saw this post, and seems like they had the same issue. I asked what st0k3d, end result was.

http://www.seadooforum.com/showthre...-ower-oil-filter-question&p=267193#post267193

 

[Mikes88Stang]

Ordered pump, o-ring and hardware. What should I expect regarding the amount of flow coming out of the pump with the bleeder out?

 

[Mikes88Stang]

Mystery solved. Either the lines were cracked letting air in or the pump was not able to keep up the volume required. I changed the pump and the lines. I also changed the oil filter for good measure. All is good now. Just not sure how much damage the top end took during all this. Compression between cylinders is within 10%.

 

[El Toro 33809]

Glad that everything is up to speed now. Thanks for reporting back.