Carb cleaning question

[nerdlinger]

99 XP Limited, 951.

Sorry for the long post, but some background info is necessary for my question.

I do most of the maintenance for my XP, but when it comes to carbs I know very little. I'm currently in the middle of fixing a broken starter mount bolt, and since I had to take the carbs off to do it I figured that it would be a good time to clean them. However, after reading other posts and the service manual I'm not sure I want to do it with all of the details of speed screws, pop off pressure, needle valves, etc.

I changed the gray fuel lines leading to and from the carburetor, and although it is 10 years old and has probably 150+ hours on it there was only a small amount of green gunk on the ends of the lines where they connect on the plastic fittings. No gunk in the actual lines (I split them lengthwise to check), and the fuel filter had no gunk and had only some little brown bits of material in it.

I've read other posts where people clean carbs or rebuild them and then can't start their ski again. Mine runs great except for the starter issue. Top speed 60 mph.

That said, my questions are:

1) Can I change the carb filter without having to do anything else?
2) If I'm mechanically-inclined, but carb dumb, is there a good chance I might do something that turns out poorly if I take them apart to clean them.

Any help or advice is appreciated.

 

[custompartsguy]

50/50 on this one, you can either clean them now since they are already off, or wait untill down the road we cannot make that decision for you. However there is nothing to be scared about just do not loose any of the parts and make sure everything goes back exactly where it came from, the high speed and low speed screws are taken out easy and installed back into it, just need to be set to oem specs no biggie, If you have owned it for awhile and never cleaned the carbs I would reccomend it to you to be done. The needle and seat besure not to loose or damage the needle/set and spring, everything can be cleaned with carb cleaner if they are not caked up with gunk. Replace the internal fuel filters if they are dirty don't waste time cleaning them. Become a premium member and check out a shop manual for step by step instructions on how to clean the carbs. Use an air hose with out blowing your parts/springs around, and make sure you are in a clean area to keep dirt/dust/sand out of them as well.

 

[JJinSC]

You sound like you are in the same situation as me. I have a 97 xp and found about the same in mine when I replaced the fuel lines. I have been torn on attempting to clean the carbs myself as I classify myself about the same as you, mechanically inclined, but carburetor dumb. I am on my way right now to get my doo off the lift and on the trailer to take a look for a final decision on whether I am going to dive in or not. Pray for me. I'm off.

 

[timmyboy76]

answers...

1) you can, but defeat'n the purpose. wash a car, but not dry it, or not clean the windows..:rofl:

2)No...before removing the high/low adjusters, turn the "clockwise" and count at same time, how many turns, so then you know, when its time for assy.
Dont do anything to it,...replace the n/s spring, bend the "tang"..etc, just take apart, clean everything, and if the o-rings around the low/high adjusters are hard/brittle, go to Ace/etc, and replace them there, along with o-ring around n/s (needle/seat assy)
:cheers:

 

[drywater]

fuel lines carb cleaning filter

doing a 96 seadoo gsx with 787, minkuni carbs. The carb filters completely plugged with green and black gunk..took one pic at 200 magnification..I looked for chemical to clean them...most chems had no effect. Tried "GOOF OFF"..Soaked them less than a minute. They now look brand new...and it did not hurt the plastic..its mean stuff and will eat some plastics, but not the filter case...I can effectively and correctly repair anything on the planet. 30 years experience,mechanics,hydraulics,electronics,and alot of time on oil rigs.I have no problem rebuilding carbs but will try this first. I put carbs with filter holes face up and filled them with goof off just for good measure...not lazy but I've read success stories by just cleaning the internal carb filters..We dont really want the jet ski..already have a 2002....I dont want to do a halfass job just cuz we are going to sell it...but dont see need to rebuild carbs if this does works.....so......main message...put filters in goof off...they will look like new..

 

[timmyboy76]

DAMN.....never seen a filter, in that bad of shape.

But just cleaning the filter,..you think is enuf? Would you take the chance, that that crap didnt break down, inside the filter, and seep past the screen, and travel around the carb?

With remove'nn the plate, that the filters on, you already, half way there, of tear'n it down, and just cleaning it...:cheers:

 

[custompartsguy]

answers...

1) you can, but defeat'n the purpose. Lets wash a car, but not dry it, or clean te windows..:rofl:

2)No...before removing the high/low adjusters, turn the "clockwise" and count at same time, how many turns, so then you know, when its time for assy.
Dont do anything to it,...replace the n/s spring, bend the "tang"..etc, just take apart, clean everything, and if the o-rings around the low/high adjusters are hard/brittle, go to Ace/etc, and replace them there, along with o-ring around n/s (needle/seat assy)
:cheers:

This feels redundent? lol I feel I sort of heard this some where Timmy....:cheers:

 

[custompartsguy]

With the filters that bad I can bet there is crap in your carbs built up as well, that stuff does not just always get caught in the filter it usually builds up over time, and the carbs most likeily will need to be rebuilt/cleaned as well.....one thing I never understood with as cheap as those internal filters are why people just clean them and not replace them, there is no fuel filter on my ski or a customers that I would just clean, I replace them so the job is done right the first time!:hurray:

 

[drywater]

cleaned them cuz after i did..they look like new ..the screen itself and the plastic part looks great....dont need to order and wait for new ones....could be trouble further inside carb butt!!!!I dont see any yet..looks good...gonna put it together and go for it...also will put in easy to see filter and new lines..from the picture, the filter I have chosen looks to be as big as the jetski itself, so I may have to set the filter on poontoons in a sidecar fashion..If not rebuilding the carb dont work you all can say i told you so....The diaphrams,gaskets,rubber seals,orfices..are lookin good...

 

[timmyboy76]

most of time, thats all it takes, just a "clean" and not rebuild, of carbs..

 

[custompartsguy]

yeah I didn't mean you would have to completly rebuild the carbs, just was commenting on a complete tear down to clean, only thing I commented to actually replace was the filters...let us know how well the goof off works...goof off is known to melt plastic so be carefull if you decide to clean the carbs with it, and I would like to know if the filters fit right back in the carbs now and didn't swell up I am wondering if it is not noticable but since goof off eats plastic if it made the filters less efficiant now but making the filters allow more though them.

 

[nerdlinger]

thanks for all of the responses . . . I think I'll give it a try

 

[JJinSC]

I got one of my two carbs done today. Some of the screws can be tough to break free. I went to Sears tonight and bought one of those impact tools you tap with the hammer to break loose. Going to give a try in the morning as the reason I didn't get the second one finished was due to not being able to break loose about 4 screws. I didn't want to mess the heads up, so I decided to wait until I could get this tool.

Go for it dude. It really isn't that hard.

 

[JJinSC]

I'm getting ready to start taking apart the PTO carb this morning. Had some screws not wanting to break loose. I found the impact tool at Sears last night. Any tips on these stubborn screws and breaking them loose??

 

[custompartsguy]

I'm getting ready to start taking apart the PTO carb this morning. Had some screws not wanting to break loose. I found the impact tool at Sears last night. Any tips on these stubborn screws and breaking them loose??

Yes, do what ever you can not to break them off flush.....lol....

The impact screwdriver should take them out for you, other then that you can try some PB blaster, I have even seen an entire carb have to be soaked before in pb to break them free. Just my 2 cents

 

[JJinSC]

The impact screwdriver worked like a dream. I got them all cleaned reassembled. I am interconnecting them now and getting ready to reinstall. I have one question. I did not change the main pulse line when I changed all my other lines because it was not a grey line. It is black and is preformed to a certain shape. upon inspection, I noticed a small crack running lengthwise on top of the curve. I was wondering if I needed to order a new replacement or just replace it with regular fuel injector line.

One more thing. The manual says LSA should be at 1 turn for my model. Before I removed them I checked to see how many turns to bottom and they were both at 2 turns. Should I put them back at 2 turns or should I set it to 1 turn??

 

[nerdlinger]

JJinSC:

I just finished putting my XP back together after the starter problem and the carb cleaning. I hit the start button and I had nothing but clicks from the solenoid. I noticed that the fuel filter wasn't filling, so I switched the tank to the reserve tank and it filled right away and started right up. After it ran a few seconds I shut it off and switched back to the main tank and it ran fine. I hooked up the hose and cleaned it out and then restarted several more times to test it. If it doesn't start right away after you put the carbs back on try switching the fuel selector to reserve. It helpled me go from &%#^&* frustration to elation. Good luck.

 

[JJinSC]

Thanks. I got it all back together and it fired up with the first crank. That is after about 6 seconds of cranking to get the fuel back through. Runs good now. Have you cleaned your fuel selector? With that symptom, I would check since you just cleaned the carbs. Don't want them to clog again due to a dirty selector. It is common for them to get clogged before the grey fuel lines are replaced from what I hear. Glad you got 'er going!! Ride like the wind brother.:cheers:

 

[miamigroove]

noob carb cleaning

hello-

sorry for the noob question but,

where are those black carb screen filters located that you have in the pics?

I dont know where to find them in my jet ski

96 seadoo XP :ack:

 

[custompartsguy]

hello-

sorry for the noob question but,

where are those black carb screen filters located that you have in the pics?

I dont know where to find them in my jet ski

96 seadoo XP :ack:

Remove the carbs and completely tear down, 4 screws on each side and filter is behind the cover once screws are removed, the black gasket usually needs to be replaced.

Guys if any of you have the grey fuel lines that's part of the clogging, you need to remove every factory grey fuel hose and vent hose for the tank and replace with 1/4 and 5/16 hose and most times new all stainless clamps, the normal black fuel hose replaces all grey, the grey break down inside and clog the system including the vent tubes and check valves.

 

[boiler50]

95 xp 80 hp. cleaning carb interial filter.

A friend has given me his 95 XP's for the summer, he said one runs good, the other
after running for a while 30 - 40 mins it starts cutting out and then kills,
wait awhile and it will restart and run again, and so on. I was told this
is probably dirty carbs, also probably interial filter is clogged since there
not mine, I dont want to go crazy rebuilding carbs, if i can change out
filter. and give them a once over with carb cleaner, any thoughts on this
problem, HELP, HELP PLEASE.