Rough idle. Cut-out on throttle.

[arradee]

Long story short, a friend is letting us borrow his Sea-doo for a while, so long as we can fix it. My dad and I are pretty good with engines and troubleshooting. I'm looking for a second opinion on whether we should take this thing to a shop and have them work on it, or try to fix it ourselves.

The PWC in question is a lightly abused 2001 Seadoo GTS with a 2-stroke, carbureted engine.

Problems we are having:

• Starting the engine takes a while to catch.

• Once running, it takes forever to warm up.

• While warming, the idle is very rough. Much rougher than any two stroke I have ever dealt with.

• If left alone, it will run for about 30 seconds before it quits.

• After that, it's extremely difficult to crank back up.

• If it does crank, it will only run for 5-10 seconds before turning back off.

• Any addition in throttle only quickens the engine's death.

• It smokes pretty bad (Even for a 2 stroke).

What we know:

• Plugs are fine. They are sparking well.

• Battery is new.

• Gas is old. I doubt the owner put in any stabilizer before winter storing.

I'm putting blame on the carburetor jets for getting gummed up. That would explain the rough idle, and why it cuts out even faster when throttle is applied. My guess is the lack of stabilizer has caused the ethanol in the gasoline to degrade (this happens all the time in airplane engines that I work on; be careful with mo-gas).

I'm thinking about taking apart the carburetor and soaking it in carb cleaner. How difficult is this, and would it be worth it just to take it to the shop to have it done? How much should a job like this cost?

Thanks!

 

[Dr Honda]

Do you see gray fuel lines? If you do... that's the problem. All of them need changed, and the carbs need cleaned.

the gray "Tempo" fuel lines decay, and send green goo into the fuel system, and plug it up.

 

[arradee]

Thanks Dr Honda! I did notice that the fuel lines were discolored.

We're ordering a rebuild kit for the carb and will also replace the fuel lines. Does anyone know the ID, OD and what specification fuel lines we need to use? Is it something that Home Depot/Lowes would carry, or do I need to go to a Seadoo reseller?

 

[Dr Honda]

Unless the carbs are EXTRA crusty... most of the time you don't need a rebuild kit. Just take them apart carefully, and clean them. I bet you will find the internal filters completely plugged up.

BUT...........


You have to change the fuel lines or it will happen again in only a tank or two.