all mechanics refuse to work on my modded '90 GT :(

[Dirtbikes4fun02]

i found out today that my seadoo has a leaky exhaust gasket. and it also has a big crack in it causing the hull to fill with water.

i am wondering if my seadoo has a "limp mode"?
cause it seems to run fine for about 5-10 minutes then it will NOT rev above 4k.
if you let it sit and cool down for a while it will run purdy good for a few minutes and then the 4k limiter comes back. while this 4k limiter is happening, if you shut it off, it is a royal pain to restart! it takes forever to start and when it does fire up, it will die with the slightest bit of throttle.
but if you let it cool down for about 30 minutes, it starts working just fine.

could this leaking exhaust be restricting the cooling ability of the motor and causing a "limp mode"?

could the exhaust leaking possibly cause the sharp jumping of the upper rpms when not in "limp mode"?

im sorry to keep asking but, i just got her home today from the shop. i gave up. i have too many aftermarket parts for the premium troubleshooting on this site to help me (that was what i was told), and the shop today told me to come pick her up because they wont work on it having so many aftermarket parts but they did tell me the exhaust was leaking pretty bad.

after following the advice of some very respectable people on this board. i replaced all of the fuel lines, cleaned the selector valve, and cleaned the carbs (which looked better than new inside). which didnt help the problems at all. all the fuel lines were already replaced prior, but i did it again anyway. so now i can say "i am pretty sure it is not fuel". lol :thumbsup:

now the guy who built the motor for this ski told me that he cannot work on it because he sold his seadoo dealership and he has a "no compete contract"... but over the phone he promised me i would be wasting my time looking at the fuel system, cause he was almost possitive it was electrical somewhere either loose or malfunctioning.

i have called every marine mechanic within 3 hours drive from me and either they dont work on seadoos, or they will not touch it because of the mods. BUT, i have been advised by 4 people that i should take it to Jet Thrust Performance in Lawrenceville GA because the guy there is the absolute BEST and works on aftermarket/performance skis.
Sooooo.... thats AWESOME!... not really... the guy they are talking about is the same guy that built and sold me my seadoo, and he sold Jet Thrust a lil while ago. He is the only guy they refer me to, and he cannot work on my ski because his shop is 3 doors down from his old shop. he now does boats ONLY, and is scared of a lawsuit if he touches my seadoo, cause he works soooo close.

somebody PLEASE help me! i am beggin :hurray::hurray::hurray:

mods:
decker stainless tuned pipe
dual 38 super bn carbs (i dont know the jet sizes, but its got 2.0 N&S)
dual ocean pro vortex flame arrestors
blue ocean pro head
solas concord impeller
worx intake grate
fuel primer instead of a choke

that is all of the mods i can see visually, but i am sure there are more supporting mods in the motor and outside that i havent noticed.
and the compression is just above 180psi on both cylinders.

 

[Dirtbikes4fun02]

http://www.seadooforum.com/showthre...-is-carb-related-before-i-tear-into-the-carbs.

there is a link to the other thread i started in the premium section.
i did start a duplicate thread here only to allow all members to see if they may be able to help me. please dont delete...

there are pics in that thread of the motor and carbs, before i tore into them. i have since done that, only to find out, the carbs are not my problem.

if regular members can help me, but cannot see the pix. just lemme know what u need pix of and i will get them ASAP!

PLEASE HELP ME!

 

[Jeffspx]

I am very unfamiliar with the gt model and have very limited knowledge of the sp/spx, x4 series models. I do not know if there is a limp mode but to me it sounds like there could be a limp mode caused maybe by overheating? You say it leaks water from the exhaust pretty bad, As I said I'm not familiar with all seadoos but I think the main cooling feed comes in the through the exhaust into the motor and then out of the ski into the running environment. This would make me think with a large enough leak, would mean insufficient cooling water to the motor, and it would cause limp mode, limiting the engine revs (if limp mode exists on this model) and cause your problem. I would think, fix your exhaust leak first.
I'm still new to this forum but I'm sure someone more knowledgeable can tell you better and say if I'm even close or not, but you sound pretty desperate for help so I figured it couldn't hurt to post my thoughts.
Good luck.

 

[Dr Honda]

First.... NO, there isn't a "Limp" mode on the old skis. Personally... it sounds like it's overheating. Does your buzzer work?

Also... knowing dealerships... here's some insight:

1) They would work on the ski with that many mods... IF... it was a newer ski. Basically, they don't want to hand you a bill for $1000 labor, when that's all the ski is worth.

2) This time of the year... they are very busy, and it's an excuse to not work on an old ski.

3) Even if the other guy signed a non-competition agreement... he could still work on an old ski like yours, since seadoo officially does not support anything older than a '96. (your ski would be exempt) SO... here again, he just doesn't want to work on a ski with "Low, book value".


OK... let's get some real symptoms. When the power drops:

1) is it stuttering like it's in the rev limiter?
2) is it just loosing power?

 

[Dirtbikes4fun02]

When it first starts up it runs great. When u try to reach max rpm (around 7k), the rpms go up to 6.5 then sharply drop to around 5 then up down up down and all over the place but stays mostly above 5k at wot. The rpm jumps directly reflect the pull of the ski.
It will do this and slowly smooth out till it works fine and starts fine. But only revs to about 6-6.5 with no jumping around. But sometimes it will jump to 7 and stay there for sometimes 1-2 seconds sometimes 30 seconds.

I kinda noticed the jumping around and hanging up at lower than max rpm will sometimes fix itself when u hit a wave hard or spin or take off from a stand still again. I cannot pinpoint this problem to any one set of circumstances.

But the last two times i have taken it out, she will run like normal (including issues above), but it will not straighten out. It gets worse till it creates a 4k throttle stop. The rpm doesnt bounce there like a rev limiter, it goes smoothly to 4k then just stops accelerating. It is also almost impossible to get it to stay running above idle, when u press the throttle, it dies till eventually u can get it to go again.
So last time it did this, i beached it and let it cool for 20-30 minutes with the seat off. Then i tried it, she fired right up and ran good (including the usual upper rpm jumps). So i took it back to the trailer.
Because the water leak, there is alot of water in the hull. Probably 2-3 inches of water in the hull. So i dunno whats going on besides the obvious leak.

 

[Dirtbikes4fun02]

And i dunno if there is a buzzer. I have never heard one, and i dont see anything that may look like one.

 

[Dirtbikes4fun02]

i just got home. it took a second to get it started yesterday (had not been started in a couple weeks), but then today i barely pushed the button and she fired right up like she always does. i didnt have to use the primer or anything. just fired right up outta the water in the driveway.
she is good about starting and gives very little trouble in the water or out. unless it is stuck in that limp mode crap, or whatever it is thats going on.

not trying to drag things out forever, but i am just trying to give explanations of everything she does. maybe one of my explanations will trigger an idea outta somebody... maybe? please?... lol

 

[Dr Honda]

Sorry, I forgot about this thread.


OK... yes... the buzzer is in the handlebar pad. TO check it out... put the lanyard on the post, and ground the wire on the sender in the head shell.

The surging could be an air leak in the incoming fuel system... or a blockade. OR... it's overheating, and the pistons are getting tight.

I would start with the buzzer.

 

[Dirtbikes4fun02]

Its kool. I will look for the buzzer.

But im not completely convinced it is overheating and the pistons gettin tight. Cause it did this 3-4 times but only for a lil bit, and after enough messing with it (leaning real fast, on and off throttle repeatedly, turn on and off over and over), it would all the sudden kinda sputter back to life. Then u could ride it for as long as u wanted.
But the passed two times i took it on the water, it would get stuck in this mode within 10 minutes and would not come back out of it no matter how much u messed with it.
I swear its gotta be electrical, just the way it suddenly works and then doesnt. And gets a lil better, or a lil worse with the bumps.

Could it be the coild pack breaking down?.
What other electronics could cause these symptoms, and how could i check em?

 

[Dirtbikes4fun02]

so i talked to the new owner of jet thrust performance. he will work on my ski for me. i told him the previous owner built it and wont work on it. the new guy understood and said he would call the old owner and between the two of them, he said they should be able to fix it.

the service center in athens that told me they wouldnt work on it a couple days ago, wouldnt even offer to weld my exhaust. they claimed they couldnt do it and since they couldnt find a comparible pipe online to replace it with, i needed to pick it up and i was on my own.

now the new guy at jet thrust is VERY helpful and said that welding the pipe is no problem and that they do it all the time. he also said that the aftermarket parts are no problem.

so i will let you guys know how it goes. i am taking it to them in the morning.

 

[Dr Honda]

Let us know what he finds.