PJ Moran
Member
Hi,
New to the forum, and wanted to contribute.
I recently purchased a like new pair of '06 GTI SE with only 40 hrs. each on them. Owner claims they used them the first summer, and start of the second, then were parked. Haven't been used since. They've been under tarps under a carport for nearly ten years. They were occasionally (whatever that means) started and run "on the hose". They look brand new.
I got them home and spent about a day each on them and their trailers. New trailer tires (added spares), greased bearings, oiled the hitch and winch, cleaned up the wiring and fixed any electrical issues (bulbs, grounds, etc.). I cleaned the plugs and the boots. I anti-siezed the plugs and regreased the boots. I checked and charged the batteries and drained (siphoned) out the old gas. Oil looks new, so I left it alone. I ran both "on the hose", and everything seemed OK, though one was a bit smoky
I gassed them both up with ethanol-free with a little additive to address any remaining old gas.
On the water, one worked like a champ. Started easily, idled smoothly, revved quickly. Ran around for hours without the slightest incident. It's sister was a dog
It would start, but idled very roughly and shook the boat. Anything but the slightest throttle would cause the engine to die. It would restart most of the time. If I just let it idle, it would eventually die after a few seconds. Sometimes it would restart quickly, but other times it would not and I would have to let it set a coupla minutes and try again. I'm hoping it's a bad gas situation, and if could just get that flushed out of the fuel hose and rails, it would right itself. I went through this start/die cycle about 20 times before the battery started to go down. I was so over it. I trailered it. We thoroughly enjoyed the other PWC the rest of the afternoon.
My mind was racing trying to figure out what was wrong and how to go about getting it fixed. It felt like a fuel problem, but it could be a compression problem, or an ECM problem, or an injector problem, or who knows what else? Who do I take it to? How much will it cost? Is the engine toast?
I did a great deal of reading on this and other forums. One contributor suggested replacing the plugs. For some reason, they just go bad. I was incredulous because I had just pulled and cleaned the plugs. They looked fine. That couldn't be it, right? I found a guy who cleans and balances injectors. I had his order form filled out ready to send my injectors in for service. I was trying to call the local service center to arrange to have them look at it. Etc.
Well, last night, I picked up three new plugs thinking it was a cheap and easy attempt at a fix. I pulled my plugs, and only two had been dirtied by what little running they saw. Hmmm... Maybe I'm onto something. I gapped and installed the new plugs and crossed my fingers.
Bingo! The thing fires instantly, idles smoothly, revs quickly, and does not smoke! I fixed it!
Well, I'm pretty sure I did. I haven't put it in the water, yet, but I'm pretty confident. These little three cylinder engines clearly don't like it when one is dead
I hope this helps someone else finding themselves in the same situation.
New to the forum, and wanted to contribute.
I recently purchased a like new pair of '06 GTI SE with only 40 hrs. each on them. Owner claims they used them the first summer, and start of the second, then were parked. Haven't been used since. They've been under tarps under a carport for nearly ten years. They were occasionally (whatever that means) started and run "on the hose". They look brand new.
I got them home and spent about a day each on them and their trailers. New trailer tires (added spares), greased bearings, oiled the hitch and winch, cleaned up the wiring and fixed any electrical issues (bulbs, grounds, etc.). I cleaned the plugs and the boots. I anti-siezed the plugs and regreased the boots. I checked and charged the batteries and drained (siphoned) out the old gas. Oil looks new, so I left it alone. I ran both "on the hose", and everything seemed OK, though one was a bit smoky
I gassed them both up with ethanol-free with a little additive to address any remaining old gas.On the water, one worked like a champ. Started easily, idled smoothly, revved quickly. Ran around for hours without the slightest incident. It's sister was a dog
It would start, but idled very roughly and shook the boat. Anything but the slightest throttle would cause the engine to die. It would restart most of the time. If I just let it idle, it would eventually die after a few seconds. Sometimes it would restart quickly, but other times it would not and I would have to let it set a coupla minutes and try again. I'm hoping it's a bad gas situation, and if could just get that flushed out of the fuel hose and rails, it would right itself. I went through this start/die cycle about 20 times before the battery started to go down. I was so over it. I trailered it. We thoroughly enjoyed the other PWC the rest of the afternoon.
My mind was racing trying to figure out what was wrong and how to go about getting it fixed. It felt like a fuel problem, but it could be a compression problem, or an ECM problem, or an injector problem, or who knows what else? Who do I take it to? How much will it cost? Is the engine toast?
I did a great deal of reading on this and other forums. One contributor suggested replacing the plugs. For some reason, they just go bad. I was incredulous because I had just pulled and cleaned the plugs. They looked fine. That couldn't be it, right?
I found a guy who cleans and balances injectors. I had his order form filled out ready to send my injectors in for service. I was trying to call the local service center to arrange to have them look at it. Etc.Well, last night, I picked up three new plugs thinking it was a cheap and easy attempt at a fix. I pulled my plugs, and only two had been dirtied by what little running they saw. Hmmm... Maybe I'm onto something. I gapped and installed the new plugs and crossed my fingers.
Bingo! The thing fires instantly, idles smoothly, revs quickly, and does not smoke! I fixed it!
Well, I'm pretty sure I did. I haven't put it in the water, yet, but I'm pretty confident. These little three cylinder engines clearly don't like it when one is dead
I hope this helps someone else finding themselves in the same situation.
