Do I need a new impeller? Pic attached for diagnosis. 97' Sea Doo GSi

[Barky_Dog]

I hate to admit it, but I am a noob Sea Doo owner. I bought this 97 GSi a couple weeks ago knowing it would need some work. Poor thing was abused by a couple Rednecks who never covered it, and did not maintain it well.

It did not run well at all, so the first thing I did was replace all the Tempo fuel lines and rebuilt the carb. I tried it out last Saturday and it is running great! Fast start with plenty of power. After about 15 minutes or so, the temp warning alarm would start buzzing. I would let it sit for 30 minutes or so with the seat off to let it cool down. Then I could ride it again for another 15 minutes or so.

Here's where I need some expert advice. Near the end of the day, I was riding my 11 year-old daughter around when the Sea Doo started to cavitate badly. Sometimes it would "hook up" and let us take off, but it would always begin to cavitate again. So, I put it on the trailer and took it home.

I read a bunch of the threads here and decided to crawl underneath and see if the intake area was clogged. There were no obstructions there. However, i was able to get a nice view of the impeller, so I snapped a picture of it.

Please take a look at the attached picture. Do I need to replace this impeller?

Do you think the impeller was causing the cavitation? Is the overheating a separate issue?

Thanks in advance!

-Barky

 

[Dr Honda]

That impeller isn't bad at all. If you are going to take the pump out... I would just file the leading edge clean.

If it was neglected... I would say someone was riding up on the beach, and filled the cooling system with sand. I would back flush it, and try to blow it out with air. You may have to take a few of the hoses off, and make sure things are clear.

I would say your cavitation is a bad carbon seal.

 

[Barky_Dog]

Good advice, Tony.

I think you're right. The bottom of the hull does look fairly scuffed. I'll bet they did beach it quite a bit.

I'm glad you think the impeller still looks usable. I'll check into the carbon seal next.

Thanks!

-Barky

 

[RFoster130]

Yeah Doc is right on. that impeller looks good.

 

[Barky_Dog]

The cooling system is clear.

Hmm. This is strange. Regarding the overheating alarm issue- I took off all the cooling hoses and blew them out. They were all completely clear. I also flushed the system out with a garden hose several times. The water coming out was clear.

So, I think the issue has to be one of the following:

A) The water pump is bad, and not circulating water properly. (How can I test this?)

B) The temperature sensor is bad and causing the alarm at a lower temperature than it should. (How can I test this?)

Really appreciate your help and advice!

Barky

 

[Dr Honda]

A) Your ski doesn't have a water pump. The cooling system is fed with a small take-off from the jet pump. If the intake isn't blocked... you have cooling water. (do you have water at the pee-hole?)

B) The temp sensor can be bad. We just had a thread on this a couple weeks ago. The switch is normally open, and will go closed between 195 and 210 Deg. Put it in a pot of water hooked to a meter, and a thermometer. Turn on the heat, and see where is goes closed. (don't let it touch the bottom, as it can give you a false reading)

 

[manolocross]

Very easy to test the temp sensor...mine went bad its a 717 engine and was goin off to early..take the sensor off engine...get a cookin thermometerand a multimeter and set it for continuity(when you touch the two leads on meter and it beeps).then get a shallow plate of water and heat in the microwave(just water and plate) until about 150 degress.Then let the sensor tip sit in the water without touchin bottom of plate.Take sensor out and ckeck with meter...one lead to body of sensor and one lead to the connector and see if meter beeps.It should make continuity at 200 degrees.Any earlier its goin off to soon...mine was goin off at 140 degrees.Let me know how it turns out, I got a new sensor for 35 bucks from seadoo dealer!

 

[manolocross]

Got this tip From DR Honda....He is Awesome...Thanks Doc for all your Help!!!!

 

[Barky_Dog]

Temp sensor tests out as working.

Thanks for the help, guys. This community is awesome!

Well, I was really hoping the temp sensor was bad ($35 dollar fix). I pulled it off and tested it in water on the stove as suggested. The switch didn't pop (close circuit) until the water was just about boiling (200+ degrees).

Tony- there is water coming out of the pee-hole during flush with a garden hose. I don't know if water comes out of there when it is actually on the lake.

So, now I am stumped. I have tried everything I can think of:

• Took off all cooling hoses. They were clear.
• Blew out the cooling system with air.
• Flushed the system with garden hose for a good 15 minutes. The water coming out was totally clear.
• Tested the temp sensor. It closes at 200+ degrees

I may take it out on the lake today to see if I can figure it out there. So you guys have any suggestions of things I can try on the lake. Should I pull any hoses to see if water shoots out from the pumps pressure?

Thanks again!

-Barky

 

[Dr Honda]

The pee hole is right under the tow eye on the rear of the ski. Somtimes on the hose... there isn't enough pressure to push water out of the pee hole. Also... don't run the ski that long out of the water. Your carbon ring (driveshaft seal) is cooled by the water in the lake... when you run it dry... it can overheat and crack. (This will cause bad cavitation)

If you checked everything... then you shouldn't be getting an over-temp.

Only thing you can do now is to put it in the lake, and see what happens. at idle... the engine should fill with water, and you should see water at the pee-hole in 10 - 20 seconds.

Last thought... since there is only one cooling feed in the pump... your flush may have cleared a blockage that you didn't see come out. If the hole get's covered by some grass, or a hunk of plastic bag... your engine will overheat... but you may not see it fall out. Heck... it could have fell out when you shut off the engine to put it on the trailer.

 

[Barky_Dog]

OK. Thanks, Tony.

I'll put it on the lake later today or this weekend. I'll come back and update the thread whether it is fixed or not.

Thanks again!

-Barky

 

[Barky_Dog]

Hi all,

OK. I promised to come back and update this thread. So...

The good news- The overheating issue is solved. I ran it on the lake for a good two hours (in 98 degree weather) and there were no overheating issues at all. I guess blowing out the hoses and multiple flushings solved the problem.

The bad news- The Sea Doo began stalling out towards the end of the day. It seemed like it was gasping for fuel. I know this because as it was dying I tried pulling the choke a couple times, and that caused it to rev back up for a few seconds then die out again. This is frustrating because I replaced all the Tempo lines and cleaned the carburetor a few weeks back.

Any new suggestions regarding the fuel delivery issue? It seems like I'll never get to enjoy a full day on the lake with this jet ski. :banghead:

Thanks again,

-Barky

 

[wabbit1211]

Did you check the fuel pickup screen in the fuel tank, some times the insides out the gray factory fuel line winds up in the bottom of the tanh and gets suckedup against the screen. The problem can come and go, and will give you problems till you remove the tank and clean it out.

 

[Barky_Dog]

Thanks for the suggestion, Wabbit. I hope you are not right, though. Removing the tank does not sound like an easy job.

 

[Barky_Dog]

Hey, guys. Before I remove the tank, are there any other troubleshooting steps I can take?

Should I run any type of cleaner through the carb? Sea Foam?

Thanks!

-Barky

 

[KyleB]

Since the carbs are newly rebuilt just check the easy stuff first. Do what wabbit said and check the pick-up screen on the bottom of the fuel pick-up but also check the fuel water separator. I would probably check that first since it is easier to get to. Back flush the screens with clean water and if you need to, a bit of mild soap. Make sure they are dry, fill up the tank with good fuel and try her out. If this does not solve the problem your issue may be the fuel selector valve since you recently replaced the tempo hoses my guess would be that the valve is clogged up. All three are pretty easy fixes. Hope this helps.

Kyle

 

[Barky_Dog]

Thanks, Kyle. That does help. I will give your suggestions a try.

-Barky