Exhaust leaking water into Bilge

[mzootie]

2011 GTX Took my ski out for the first time after purchase and noticed a good amount of water in the bilge. When I used my hand pump it was about 3.5 gallons. The PO had an issue 1 year ago and replaced the carbon ring, impeller and ride plate and in the service record he provided it mentioned excessive water. I ruled out these items. I tested it by flushing the exhaust system and looking for leaks and found a pinhole leak in the muffler. It looks to be aluminum. I can have tig welded but I used Belzona to seal up the hole and now there is only a little water in the bilge so I think problem solved. I will likely have this welded after season but Belzona has proven to me over the years to be super reliable and sufficient - we used it in the machine shop to coat bearing surfaces and machine down. My concern is why would this hole through? Must be sea water in there that didn't get flushed out completely? If so than the integrity of the muffler is suspect and may have thin walls where water sits. Should the muffler be blown out with air or removed periodically? Also does anyone know where i can find a good video or description on how this engine works. I looked all over internet and youtube and could only find 2 stroke vids

 

[ski-d00]

 

[mzootie]

Thanks for the vids. The 2nd one has no sound?

 

[ski-d00]

When using a seadoo in saltwater, it has to be flushed after every use. It also needs the engine and exhaust to be sprayed down with anti-corrosive spray. This is the best I have found...
Amazon spray

 

[mzootie]

Thanks!

 

[MacSeaDoo]

First off, your waterbox is in terrible shape for a 2011 machine as there appears to be alot of corrosion there.

What does the rest of the engine look like?

You could patch it but I would be concerned it will just fail again.

As others mentioned, you should flush out as much as you can. I run in brackish water and I flush on the hose for 30 seconds after each run. Also spray XPS on all metal as often as you can. I do this every few times I rinse the machine down.

One more thought.. If your waterbox looks like that but the engine itself is not that bad. I would lean towards the fact that the waterbox in there is not the original waterbox. Another scenario would be that the waterbox is being contacted by another metal part or a chaffed wire and is becoming a sacrificial annode.

 

[mzootie]

Thanks for you reply.

First off, your waterbox is in terrible shape for a 2011 machine as there appears to be alot of corrosion there.

What does the rest of the engine look like?

You could patch it but I would be concerned it will just fail again.

As others mentioned, you should flush out as much as you can. I run in brackish water and I flush on the hose for 30 seconds after each run. Also spray XPS on all metal as often as you can. I do this every few times I rinse the machine down.

One more thought.. If your waterbox looks like that but the engine itself is not that bad. I would lean towards the fact that the waterbox in there is not the original waterbox. Another scenario would be that the waterbox is being contacted by another metal part or a chaffed wire and is becoming a sacrificial annode.

Water box or muffler is just dirty on outside its really not as bad as it looks. It also is not in contact with anything else. I bet this wasn't flushed properly and sea water ate through it. The engine looks and drives great. Thanks for your reply