Oil injector failure, 240 EFI engine rebuild questions

[JoelF]

My sister and her husband have a 2001 2-stroke 240 EFI Seadoo Speedster that won’t stay running. They are not mechanically minded people at all so are completely in the dark about this stuff. The boat was launched for the season about 2 weeks ago when her 2 teenage sons drove the boat for about 45 minutes and did not report problems. The boat then sat for a couple of weeks and was re-started this past weekend when it would not run. She took it to the local marina and they are saying 4 of the 6 cylinders are bad and the engine needs to be replaced. I am going to call the marina for more details but I assume the oil injection pump went out or the boat was launched this summer without any 2-stroke oil in it at all. Is checking the 2 stroke oil levels something the marina should have done prior to de-winterizing the boat? Given their non-mechanically mindedness, I would not be surprised if they (the boat owners) did not realize it needs 2 stroke oil at all.

Assuming the engine needs replacement, what should they expect to pay? Do marinas typically rebuild these engines or seek remanufactured engines from Crowley or some other outfit?

How difficult a job is it to remove this engine for replacement and can it be done on a trailer? I am a car guy and have rebuild auto engines before, so if the estimate is too high I might consider either buying a power head or attempting to rebuild theirs, but I’m 350 miles away so I’d need to drive up, pull it out, bring it home for the work and then back again so if it is not possible to do “in the field” I won’t even suggest it.

 

[Dr Honda]

The Marina would not have checked the oil levels in a 2-stroke. Unlike a 4-stroke... oil is a consumable, and it needs topped off every once in a while. If the owners ran it out of oil... then that's just.... well.... silly. (no offence)

With that said... there should be an alarm that will trip before it actually runs out. But, by the time you hear the buzzer... you may only have a couple minutes of oil left. BUT... it's common for the buzzers to go bad over time. (from vibration, and humidity) The buzzer should be checked at least once a year... but here again... it's not the marina's responsibility, and if they don't work on Seadoo all the time... it's not something they may even think about.

As far as the rebuild.... it's generally not cost effective for the average marina to do a rebuild. They will simply replace it with an OEM rebuild. Depending on what they charge for labor... I would imagine it will cost $5,000 to $8,000. But, you can find rebuilds for $3k or less, if you are doing the labor. OR... depending on how bad things are... you may be able to do it yourself for under $1k.


Before I would take the marina's word for it... simply check the compression. Most of the Merc's are around 125 PSI.

 

[JoelF]

Thanks Doc, I take no offense at this. My sister and her husband are very bright people but not at all mechanically minded. I did talk to her yesterday and she said they were aware of the 2 stroke oil and do fill it regularly. The fact that the boys were using it last makes me concerned at an rate, what's done is done.

I called the marina yesterday, sounds like 3 cylinders are at 60 PSI or less, one is at 120 and 2 at 135. The mechanic said he did not tear into the engine, the compression test told him enough to know it needed to be replaced or rebuilt. We discussed options and he said it was $5k for a reman from Mercury and that they could rebuild in house but could not give an estimate until he had her apart and of course it would not have the warrantee. I mentioned to him that Crowley and others had reman engines for a better price and he seemed willing to install anything we might be able find. He also said it would be possible to find a used outboard power head and install that to save some money.

They want to take the boat to another marina for a second opinion but to me that sounds pretty pointless. Part of me wants to take the boat and pull the engine and do the rebuild myself, but it is really far away and I don't have a truck so it would be a huge pain in the butt to get it home and back up there after the repair.

 

[Dr Honda]

If you trust the tech... then yes... those compression numbers are telling me, you had a melt down. Either a lean run or out of oil.

The best option is a rebuilt OEM engine. It will last 10 years or so. Crowley marine is good, but I'm not sure what their warranty is right now. But, you can save ~$2k. So the question is... how long are you keeping it? if you plan to keep it for a while, spend the $$$ and go OEM.

As a final FYI... most outboard engines wont actually work. The splines in the crank shaft are different, so it wont mate to your gearbox. But, if your crank is ok, it's not that hard to swap it to a good outboard engine.

 

[JoelF]

Dr Honda,

What did you use to pull your engine out? A standard cherry picker or a gantry crane or? Wondering if I'd need anything special to get this thing out

 

[Dr Honda]

It depends on the boat... but some can use a regular shop crane.... others are a little deeper. If you need a little extra length... you can get some square tube, and extend the boom, and legs an extra foot.

Removing the deck lid helps too.

 

[JoelF]

Thanks, I assume the weight of the engine is pretty minor compared to the capacity of a crane and extending the boom does not compromise it, any idea what it is?

 

[Dr Honda]

Fully dressed... as I recall... it's under 400 Lbs. The basic block with the "Stuff" bolted to it is probably 150 lbs. (I could still move it by hand)