mkov608
Active Member
Greetings fellow enthusiasts! After spending some time reading various posts concerning engine operating time out of the water and damage to carbon seals, I was curious; how hot does the seal get when running the ski out of the water? Sea-Doo says in their manuals to not run the engine out of the water for more than 5 minutes since “Drive line seal has not cooling when the watercraft is out of the water.” However, others have indicated that run time out of the water should not exceed 1 minute, So how concerned do we need to be? Keep in mind the recommended flush time is 20 seconds at 4000-5000 rpm, and the recommend run time for an oil change is 10 seconds at 4000 rpm (shutting the engine off while at 4000 rpm to scavenge the oil from the PTO housing). I don’t see any reason to run the ski out of the water for more than 1 minute, but some may need a longer run time when they are troubleshooting a problem.
Here are the conditions for the test:
1. Ambient Air temp 65 degrees F.
2. Equipment:
a. 2002 GTX 4-tec (155), carbon seal, floating ring, and bellows were replaced last year. There are 10 hours on these parts now.
b. Fluke Ti25 thermal imager.
3. Ski on a trailer and a water source was connected to the flush port.
4. Max run time was 4 minutes (didn’t want to push the limit).
The most noticeable rise was right after engine start; the temperature increase was almost immediate. However, between the 2 and 4 minute marks, there was only a 20 degree F rise in temperature. Your results may vary as ambient air temperature will have an effect. Pictures follow. Images (in order) were taken at 30 seconds into the run, and every minute starting with the 1st minute. Max seal temperature was 170 degrees F at the 4 minute mark.
Cheers!
Mark
Here are the conditions for the test:
1. Ambient Air temp 65 degrees F.
2. Equipment:
a. 2002 GTX 4-tec (155), carbon seal, floating ring, and bellows were replaced last year. There are 10 hours on these parts now.
b. Fluke Ti25 thermal imager.
3. Ski on a trailer and a water source was connected to the flush port.
4. Max run time was 4 minutes (didn’t want to push the limit).
The most noticeable rise was right after engine start; the temperature increase was almost immediate. However, between the 2 and 4 minute marks, there was only a 20 degree F rise in temperature. Your results may vary as ambient air temperature will have an effect. Pictures follow. Images (in order) were taken at 30 seconds into the run, and every minute starting with the 1st minute. Max seal temperature was 170 degrees F at the 4 minute mark.
Cheers!
Mark
