SPI fuel woes...

[JUSS10]

So a few weeks back I bought a pair of skis from my neighbor as he was fed up with them. A 95 XP with a bad starter (and turns out more than that, but thats another story though) and a 95 SPI that needed a carb rebuild. These are number 3 and 4 now in the barn.

I went ahead and pulled the carb off the SPI and rebuilt it following the manual and got it all back together. Tossed a battery on it and it fired right up. proceeded to hook it to the garden hose the next day and ran it for a minute or so and everything seemed fine.

Drove up to the river that weekend and fired them up on the launch to make sure all was good before dipping them in the water. Well the SPI wouldn't start. Wouldn't even hiccup. Sat there for an hour looking it over and checking everything I could with the tools i brought up. Had good spark, had the same compression it had at home so I knew it was a fuel issue. Pulled the filter/water separator and though there was some debris in there it looked fine. Ended up just calling it a day.

Drove home later that night and decided to try and fire it up one more time before covering them up for the night. Sure enough, the dang thing fires right up and runs great.

So best it seems something bounced around on the drive up to the water, clogged a fuel line of sorts and bounced its self clear on the ride back home.

Anyone have an idea where to even start looking? Last thing I need is to have it die on the water and be stuck. Can I pull the input line on the carb off and blow it out with compressed air? Can I blow all the lines out? I really dont want to replace all the lines but they do appear to be original and i know ethanol can do serious damage on older fuel lines. Can I add an inline fuel filter right before the carb or will that affect fuel flow?

I should note that it didn't matter where the fuel valve was when it wouldn't start. so I'm thinking the issue is after the fuel valve.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Justin

 

[mwat65]

What was the compression on it?

 

[mwat65]

There’s a big difference in the compression needed to start in water and on land.

 

[JUSS10]

its not great, around 100-110 on both, but I don't see how that can be an issue. it ran great at home, ran great when I came back just wouldn't run there. Definitely seemed to be a fuel issue like something clogged while the fuel was bouncing around in the tank while going down the road.

 

[JUSS10]

It wasn't in the water when it wouldn't start. Still on the trailer. Literally the same scenario as at home.

 

[mwat65]

It will not run in the water under load with those numbers. 150 is good and anything under 120 it needs rebuilt. It’s under load in the water while it has zero load out of the water. You may also have a fuel issue but it definitely needs a topend. Try another compression tester to verify your numbers are right.

 

[JUSS10]

Regardless of the compression, I never even got it in the water, I was trying to start it on the trailer to make sure it ran before I floated it. Same conditions as I had at home, on the trailer, and it wouldn't run there. My point is, of the 3 things needed to make an engine run, I can say for certain it wasn't compression or spark (as that all checked out the same as at home) so it had to be a fuel issue. Can I blow out my lines to clean them or add an inline fuel filter?

All that said, mwat65, I'll look in to the compression a bit better and I may just do a top end it anyway as i don't have a lot in to it and its super clean for its age.

 

[mwat65]

Usually when gray fuel lines are involved a full fuel system rebuild is necessary. New fuel lines. Oem carb kit. Oem fuel selector valve. If you use an inline filter make sure it’s a high quality automotive one.

 

[mwat65]

If u rebuilt the carb with oem kits including needle and seats I would look at the fuel selector. They normally can’t be cleaned and have to be replaced. Run straight to reserve on the tank from your carb and see if it improves.

 

[JUSS10]

Thank you for the reply on the fuel system.