One huge issue with rebuilding a 2003 GTI LE, single carb

[benjilafouine]

This is why I decided to change the carb for a brand new one. When I test it on water on Sunday, it will rule out several issues and I hope the problem will be gone. Main issue is that it is running lean whatever screw you try to adjust. Otherwise it will go back to the dealer until they get it right!!! No more paying.

As for running it on the trailer, I just meant that at least it started!!! I had it running on a trailer with a blown engine!

Benji.

 

[benjilafouine]

Update

Alleluia! It was the carb rebuilt that was done wrong by the dealer!!! My ski now rocks!!! No more hesitation, no more transition issues between low and high speed. For the first time since August, I am able to cruise at 25 mph!

I am now almost certain that the mechanics at the dealer put the wrong spring in the carb even if he assured me he had done a pop off pressure test. Because of that error (or any other one they made), this has cost me:

- At least six hours of time (I have to check the invoices precisely) in rebuilding the carb and water tests @ $90.00$ per hour.
- A useless jobber rebuild kit rather than an original Mikuni with the wrong spring in it and that no one checked properly I guess (I have to check the price).
- A brand new carb from OSD Marine delivered at my door for $400.00.
- At least five trips to the dealer (200 miles in burned gasoline for absolutely nothing).
- Plus stress and politics and trouble.

It is an understatement that the owner will hear from me this week now that I have proof of their wandering.

About the ski: it rocks, solid accelerations, runs smooth at all speeds and I reached 44 mph which was the speed of my old engine too. Water was still at an agreeable 68 degrees F. Hope I will have peace and pleasure with it for several years. I will take great care of it. It needs a gel coat under the keel, but that's about it. Parts replaced in this whole adventure:

- Brand new engine block from BRP.
- Rotary valve.
- Oil pump.
- Oil filter.
- Gas filter gasket.
- Carburator.
- Solenoid.
- Muffler rebuilt (like new).

Oufff. The most expensive stuff I think.

Benji.

 

[1of500]

Congratulations

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[benjilafouine]

Just tried it again at sunset with no winds. Lake like mirror. It is perfect. Rock solid. I am so happy. Ordeal is over. I will keep you posted as to how it went with the dealer with I will talk to the owner... And then we will close that thread!

Benji.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

I knew the new carb would run great. I'm surprised the dealer took your money each time and still didn't replace the carb.

 

[96spxpos]

Ahhh!!!!!!!!!!!!! Closure, alas me lad! Doth hath many a splendor with thy trusty ole' vessel while navigating thy seven seas!

(translation): = thank effin god! hope you have tons of great rides ahead of you.

 

[benjilafouine]

That was really old English. I listen to a lot of Renaissance music from England and I love this old style English (French is the same by the way, exquisite too).
[MENTION=65307]Sportster-2001-951C-Stock[/MENTION] About the carb. They never suggested to replace it. They thought they had done it OK and they said that the issue might resolve itself after more running hours... I asked for a carb price from the dealer and it was $800.00 + taxes and not even sure it was the kit. This is why I decided to buy by myself at OSD parts and after paying all the fees (duties, shipping and US exchange rate), I got a full kit at $400.00 (no taxes when you buy from the US to Canada if the shipper doesn't have a place of business in Canada).

Now I want some money back from them. Haven't made the call yet, I am just still thinking on how I will handle this issue.

Benji

 

[benjilafouine]

Just spoke to the dealer (Director or Service department) and he was completely not receptive. In short, he says:

- We are happy that you found the issue on your own.
- We spent so many hours trying to figure out the issue that we have lost 1,500.00$ with it.
- He doesn't want to acknowledge that they made a mistake rebuilding the carb. He says that often, a carb will burn an engine (my engine burned) so therefore, I cannot prove that my carb was in good order when the engine broke (despite the fact that they reinstalled my old carb on the new engine not rebuilt, but just cleaned).
- When the new engine was not working properly, they acknowledge that they made a mistake adjusting the rotary valve but they will not take any responsibility for not rebuilding the carb correctly. He says that they ordered the right jobber kit and he did not have a clue about the spring arm specifications.

Therefore, he politely told me that they had lost enough money on that and that they would not go for any compensation even if I tried to explain to him that my loss was about 1,000.00$ (600$ in time and 400$ on my new carb). In my opinion, they clearly made two mistakes: rotary valve adjustment and bad carb rebuilt and therefore, all the extra time they spent on this problem should be their responsibility.

So basically, I now have a Sea-Doo in perfect working condition but I paid 1,000.00$ more than I should have paid. I doubt that I will ever buy anything else from them anymore except maybe for 2-stroke oil because they are close by. I will also not recommend them anymore to everyone around me as they are really poor with service. And they are calling our machines "obsolete" and of ancient technology. Bizarre, they are the ones who sold them...

You may have a look at their web site there:

http://www.contant.ca/en/index.spy

Benji.

 

[benjilafouine]

I think we should close that thread before I really get angry at them and write really bad things.

I am just going to accept my loss.

Benji.

 

[WhiskeyD]

This is exactly why you should work on your own machine.

 

[benjilafouine]

I have a business to run. Maybe when I retire in 5-6 years or else, when I retire, I will get myself another new ski or boat and buy peace of mind. I wanted to save money this year. Big mistake!

By the way, wrote a real bad review on Google. Would not be surprised if I get a phone call...

Benji.

 

[96spxpos]

Well, that's the nature of being in a customer/sales based business... The customer is always right.. Even when the customer is wrong, they're right.. (Allegedly,) so don't be afraid of writing a poor review..


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[1of500]

I would rip them a new one and buy my oil elsewhere. I hate when a business won't be responsible for what they do or don't do. Also there is no possible way they lost that in actual cash on your work he's full of crap. The profit margins may not have been where they would have liked but there was no loss.

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[benjilafouine]

They just didn't made money... Happens to me too sometimes when an under warranty server/computer misbehaves...

I will buy a big batch of oil next year at Maximum Powersports Hawkesbury and forget about Contant. Seems that I am not the only one with a poor opinion of Contant. Do you know the difference between a technician and a mechanics? Technicians rely on computer diagnostics and know jack sh$t about mechanics. The dealer (Director of service) insisted on his technicians competencies but he never mentioned the word mechanics...

For a boss, he had no clue of what I was talking about and he was not even interested in learning. He didn't have the comprehension. This is when I called it quits. Me giving a lesson to a dealer? Guess I learned a lot on this forum. Will never let go of this site.

Benji.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Benji, I'm sorry this took so long to resolve for both your dealer and you. Your dealer isn't the only poor soul to have failed rebuilding an aluminum Mikuni, so I can understand both sides of this story and most importantly want to understand why this happens so often so it can be avoided.

Yes, a too lean carburetor will burn down your engine.

Enjoy riding your great running ski, my friend!

 

[benjilafouine]

Answer is: their techs are not trained anymore on this technology. Really, in this whole dealership, only one guy knew his stuff and unfortunately, he didn't work on my ski except when they screwed up with the rotary valve. He's the one who fixed it. The only 2-strokes they are taking care of is the new e-tec Ski-Doo, which is completely different from a 2-stroke Sea-Doo. And BRP doesn't supply parts after 10 years so they are at a loss when comes the time to order.

Worse is that I had this old carb on my new engine (put back there by them) and it was running slightly too lean. Every time I used the ski, I was touching the plugs right after to make sure nothing was overheating (and it wasn't). This plus the bad timing may have affected the longevity of the engine if I hadn't been so careful with it. It ran a good 25 hours in this condition. Good thing it is still under warranty until next August.

My final recommendation is: for anything older that 10 years old, do not go to a BRP dealer. Find a good local mechanics or do it yourself.

Clarification: the first 10 hours were used with premix oil at 25:1 + the oil pump so the engine could not have had overheating issues (boy was it smoking and running bad with possibly a bad carb and definitely wrong timing). Then, when they fixed the timing (and screwed the carb at the same time) for the next 10 hours, it ran a bit too lean but I was monitoring the temp of the plugs all the time. Then for about 7 hours, they had adjusted the choke cable for the engine to run less lean. Then I changed the carb and since then, I used it two hours. It must have around 30 hours on it. I will know when I winterize it.

Benji.

 

[Mickirig1]

See an old dog learned new tricks. We will have you wrenching your own stuff yet! A big roll away tool box full of tools and a garage. Your set. Don't even need a BMFH. ( Big Mother F-ing Hammer ) to work on Ski's

 

[benjilafouine]

I still have yet to build me a garage... I have the space (4 acres of land).

Benji.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Build a garage with 2 stories so you can keep stuff upstairs and set up a work shop there.

Most profitable part of our marina business is lake front boat storage, service supports sales and is the lowest margin portion of the business.

 

[benjilafouine]

I now have two houses to pay... When I retire I hope one day and sell one of my houses, I will certainly build myself a garage (like a double door one) and a heated and insulated one. I do have a cabin for my ATV but it is only 16x16 feet. Not enough for my Sea-Doo there (because of the trailer). And it is not insulated so it colld in winter!!! In fact, I have to keep a battery tender on my ATV because when it its 10 below, these small batteries do not have enough power.

I think my ski is out of the water for good this year. At least, I am happy it is completely fixed. Water temperature has gone down below 60 degrees this morning (it was 70 just four days ago). I have to winterize it in two-three weeks before the real cold starts. And I am kind of proud to say that I solved the problem over the best guys at a dealer, thanks to this forum.

Benji.

 

[96spxpos]

Benji. Simple solution.. MOVE.... TO .... FLORIDA... That'll solve 99% of your problems.. Including not being able to have one of us 'mericans ship you some parts without tariffs, inspections, a limb and your first born.. [emoji1][emoji23]


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[benjilafouine]

Me to Florida? Impossible!!! I start to sweat big time at 60 degrees!!! No, I would miss my 30 below temperature when everyone else is gone. I know the moderator will close this thread soon (not pertinent) but if it is so, I still have that R&R thread that no one answers.. So I will post a picture here to give you an idea of our fourth season...

Same spot, two seasons: tiny island on the lake. One taken getting there with my Sea-Doo a few weeks ago and one taken getting there with my ATV six months ago (four feet of ice below my wheels). Enjoy.




That is the beauty of the North. Big change of scenery every year. And one year is always different from the other.

Benji

 

[1of500]

Looks like you need a skidoo to go with the seadoo

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[benjilafouine]

I'd love to buy a ski-doo (BRP) but like a new Sea-Doo, they are worth a fortune. And an old ski-doo is not like an old Sea-Doo... If your Sea-Doo dies on you, it is not 30 below out there. On a Ski-Doo, it is a totally different story. One of my friends was riding solo one night and his ski-doo died around midnight far from anything. Luckily for him, it wasn't really cold outside, like in the 20's F.

So he digged a hole in the snow and spent the night there. When the sun came up the morning after, he was finally able to see something and he found out that an electrical wire came loose inside the hood (he had no flashlight...). He reconnected it and he was on his way again.

Moral of the story: you don't get away with it in the winter as easily as in the summertime... And Quebec province is wide and very isolated as soon as you get out of the main cities.

And a new Ski-Doo and covered trailer is once again running expensive here. Figure out 15,000.00$...

Benji.

 

[1of500]

Lol we don't but new on the 2 stroke forum (well most of us don't) being able to work on them is half of the fun. Once you figure them out they are amazingly simple. Compared to the 4 strokes that is.....

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