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I just put a 2009 Kawasaki STX15F in the water and after sitting overnight, it would not start due to water in three of the four cylinders. After drying the engine out, it ran fine. I had this problem two years ago and ended up replacing the muffler after checking the exhaust manifold and collector by physical inspection and pressure testing. I also leaked the engine down to make sure there were no problems with the engine. It had less than 5% leakage on all four cylinders. I replaced the metal sealing rings on the collector when I replaced the muffler two years ago. It ran perfectly all last year but something has happened again to this machine. It is fresh water driven and the same winterizing process has been used since it was new. Am I missing something? The muffler was ridiculously expensive and I wonder if that was not the original problem when I worked on it two years ago. Thank you in advance.
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If you haven't checked the exhaust manifold again since you replaced the muffler two years ago that would be the first thing to test. These models have a known issue where internal corrosion in the exhaust manifold can cause water to enter the cylinders. If it were the cylinder head causing the water leak I would expect you to have higher leak down and/or low compression. -
Here are a couple of pictures of the inside of the manifold and the collector. There was a little water in the exhaust when I took the manifold off but I can't seem to find where it came from. I filled the collector up with water and it has been sitting on end for several hours with no signs of leakage. I would think that the carbon would be washed away if there was a leak coming from the water jacket in the manifold or the collector. Could it start leaking when the exhaust expands after it has been run? Do you see anything abnormal from these pictures? The new muffler still looks like new inside. I would think that the water intrusion would be obvious.
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