needle rod bearings

[fandog]

I own a 1998 seadoo speedster, The other day my engine was not starting properly, it would only turn over for a few seconds thought it was the starter, got it checked out was told needle bearings are wearing out falling into engine and that I need a new engine block, is that my best option or is there a cheaper fix

 

[GatorGreg]

I think you should get a second opinion. Not sure what needle bearings could be falling out. The only ones I can think of are at the piston wrist pins. Not sure how they could just fall out. Or even how that could be diagnosed without full disassembly. Again, I'm not as learned about Rotax engines as many others are around here. I would at least ask for clarification from the mechanic and possibly have him point out in the parts book what he is referencing. Good luck.

 

[fandog]

The spark plugs were removed and the engine turned over by hand and you could hear something tinging around as it was being turned over

 

[GatorGreg]

If it was me I would tear down at least a head/jug to confirm before I condemn the entire engine. Again my background is with airplanes/diesel/automotive. If it is the wrist pins why would a top end rebuild not suffice? As long as all trash is removed from lower end and no rod/main bearing damage is detected. (just pondering). Would like to see what one of the more Rotax expierenced posters think.

 

[IDoSeaDoo]

I had a wrist pin bearing explode on me during operation. It showered needles all over the engine. I found them on top of the piston (some still nailed into it), in the crank case, and even in the RV cover (caused total destruction of the brass gear). The engine would still turn over, but you could hear the death rattle/clack as it did so. The only needle bearings in the engine are in the wrist pin, and in the lower part of the connecting rod where it attaches to the crank.

Checking the wrist pin bearings shouldn't be too hard, simply unbolt the head from the cylinder jugs and remove. It's sealed with rubber O-rings which you might actually be able to reuse. Once the head is off, grab the PTO flywheel and rotate it back-forth. If the pistons have a lot of play, you're probably looking at wrist pin bearing failure (and you're lucky as hell the whole thing didn't blow up like mine). To check the bottom bearings ,you have to pull off the cylinders, which is also easy and requires the removal of 4 more bolts (per cylinder, 8 total). The cylinders just come off the crankcase. The cylinders will have water lines attached to the back. Not sure if you can see that in a Speedster, but it's hard to get to on a jet ski. Once you pull the cylinders off, the piston and connecting rods will be exposed for inspection. Top-end gasket kits are pretty cheap, and if you're already this far into it, I'd go ahead and order a set of wrist pin bearings even if they do look good.

 

[fandog]

the boat ran fine once started, I ran it full throttle over and over again before I realized the problem might not be a bad starter. I will take ur advice and check it out before i have worse problems, thanks.