kawasaki 550 ???'s

[cameron da river rat]

i just bought an 85 js550 and have some questions. the person i bought it from put on a coffmans pipe, aluminum waterbox, aftermarket exhaust manifold, and intake manifold w/ocean pro flame arrestor and a larger carb that they put on the 550's later on. everything was dissasembled when i purchased it. i have the engine in the hull, ready to start. but i need some advice.

he has two lines coming through the hull for cooling. i have no idea what goes where?? the aftermarket head has two on top, the exhaust manifold has one on the side near the stator, and the exhaust pipe has two(i think).

the microfiche diagrams show the stock locations but not aftermarket??? i need to know where the flush adapter goes and what hoses run where?? there is also two exits on either side of the hull for the hoses to hook to, to leave the ski, i guess???? :D

if anyone has a similar set up or knows where the routing should be it would be much abliged.

also have more questions.

[Curt Jazwiecki]

Sounds like you have a dual cooling setup on your ski. Old school stuff. Usually they were set up with the in lines going in on each side of the exhaust manifold (one in the PTO side, and one in the MAG side) and run up and out the front and rear of the cylinder head.

Since you have your engine apart already, take a look at the water pasages in it to give yourself an idea of how the water is going to flow through the engine. (different cylinder heads and manifolds flow differently) My guess is that you will flow the water in through the exhaust, and out the cylinder head to the bypasses on the sides of the ski. You can put the flush fitting on one of the out lines, it really doesnt matter a whole lot.

I did a dual cooling setup on a 550 last spring. It was a little different setup than yours though (coffman half pipe, OEM manifold, aftermarket head). I routed it with an inlet fitting on each side of the ex man, outlets on the cylinder head, and a bypass off of the manifold to the pipe stinger. Dan Depardo knows his Kawi stuff and will probably point you further in the right direction (or change your direction if Im off).

[cameron da river rat]

thanks curt!

problem is, i already assembeled the engine after the rebuild. i paid no attention to water routings.

i guess you can run it several different ways? should the water be pre-heated by the exhaust before entering the cylinder head like sea doo's use to, or does it matter?

i guess i could squirt some low preasure water at different fittings to see where it comes out.

[cameron da river rat]

ok, i think i got it but could still use a little help.

the ski has two fittings(water lines) coming in and two going out. the head has three, one for the flush kit, and the other two to go out. the exhaust manifold has two, one on the pto side and one on the mag side. the head pipe has two and the stinger cone has one.

tell me if i'm wrong but i found (in some old papers he gave me) the routings he had.

on the two coming in through the hull he has both going to either side of the exhaust manifold first. second, he has one of the two on the head, leaveing the ski and the other connects to one side of the head pipe, and the other coming out of the head pipe, he shows to be leaving the ski. that still leaves the one one the stinger cone.

my question is, can i just plug the other line going out of the ski and connect the hose from the head pipe to the stinger cone?

[Curt Jazwiecki]

It sounds like you are on the right track. I would deffinatly try that setup. It sounds like it should work fine. About the stinger on the pipe, there should probably be a T fitting in one of the out lines. Dont plug any of the out lines, the whole point of a dual cooling system is to flow more water through the engine, when you block off an outlet, you restrict the water flow.

Take the outgoing hose from the headpipe to a bypass outlet on the thull, then put a T fitting in that hose. Off of that T fitting, run a hose to the stinger. You may need to put a restricter in the stinger hose, probably something with a 1/8" or 1/16" hole. Your going to have to do some experimenting yourself on this though. No one can dial in a ski over the net. If you need any more help, let me know. Good luck with your ski.

[cameron da river rat]

much abliged, Curt...much abliged!

what can i use for a restrictor jet? do you mean like a 1/4 fitting :D that tapers to 1/8 or 1/16? or is there some kinda restrictor i can buy?

[Dan DePardo]

Hi Cameron;
Stop by your local hardware store and look for the little aluminum bushings that are intended to be crimped onto the ends of 1/8" wire rope to keep the strands from fraying. Those bushings will fit perfectly into your cooling hoses. Drill out the bushings to make a selection of water restrictors. Be sure to position the restrictor in a place where water pressure won't push it into the middle of the hose. I also like to use a small brightly colored zip tie around the place in any hose where I have a restrictor to remind me that it's in there.

Dan

[cameron da river rat]

will i need a restrictor for every exit, including the stinger cone? or is it just expieramental?

thanks dan! [img]/graemlins/winkanim.gif[/img]

[Dan DePardo]

Hi Cameron;
From your description of your plumbing set-up, using three or four restrictors would probably be a good idea, depending upon the cooling needs of your engine, and water temperatures where you ride.

Since you have a non-stock cooling configuration, I recommend checking your head water output temps, both at around idle speed (enough RPM to push water out of both head water outlets) and full throttle.

Make sure you're seeing at least 100-110 degrees F under all conditions. Despite what you might think, your engine will often run colder at full throttle due to higher cooling system water pressure (higher pressure from the pump).

Use a restrictor at each head outlet to balance your front and rear cylinder water temps and adjust for cool spring water temperatures.

Unless your running way too much compression and ignition timing for your fuel, the typical problem with modified 'Ski cooling systems is too much cooling, especially when riding in cool water.

If you keep your head output water temps in the 100-140 degree range, your top end (pistons, rings, bore surface) will live a long and happy life. Run it too cold, and you'll scuff pistons, plus if you happen to hit even moderate detonation, there's a good chance you'll seize an overcooled engine. When it comes to PWC two strokes, "hot is safe".

Use a restrictor in your stinger water line, and at the bypass "T" fitting that Curt mentioned, as ways to adjust the amount of water to your water box, which will effect throttle response and noise output.

Remember that too little water to the stinger can result in overheated hoses, waterbox failure, excessive exhaust noise, and in some cases a noticeable loss of top end power due to lower internal pipe pressure.

Depending upon the injection point, water flow to the pipe stinger can be used to effectively vary the stinger diameter with RPM (jet pump and cooling system pressure varys considerably with RPM). Water injection at the stinger is used in most modern pipe designs, and sufficient water flow is required for such pipes to perform as designed.

If you're not running one of their pipes, there will be parts differences, but you should be able to find additional useful information about 550 exhaust water plumbing by taking a look at Factory Pipe's online installation instructions for your 550 model:

http://www.factorypipe.com/Technical...tructions.html

Dan

[Dan DePardo]

Also, although they don't have their old 550 pipe info online, Coffman's will probably be willing to FAX you the installation instructions for your pipe, which might help with your water line routing questions:

http://www.coffmansexhaust.com/dealersupport.htm

Dan

[cameron da river rat]

i could not get the picture to load on thier website so i will contact them and have them fax me a copy. thanks a bunch Dan, i really do apreciate it! :D

as for rigt now, it won't fire so i'm in the process of getting a stator for my ski.

[cameron da river rat]

i've got another problem, when i put my stator on my ski, the flywheel rubs/grinds against the magnets on the flywheel. i've put several different flywheels and stators on but still get the same thing. what could it be?