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  • Sea Doo engine longevity

    Hi All

    I’m new to this site and to this sport.
    I have a question, that for some reason will not post. I only get about the first three lines. Any Ideas?

    Dino Doo
    Last edited by Dino Doo; 09-21-2004, 03:30 PM. Reason: missing most of body

  • #2
    Re: Sea Doo engine longevity

    Write the question in three lines or less.
    Bill O'Neal <br>
    WCM
    <a href="http://www.watercraftmagic.com"

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Sea Doo engine longevity

      Stop trying to use formating and just type. I don't know what you're doing wrong, but all you need to do is type and hit submit.
      SBT Tech Support is here to help with your problems.
      We try to answer each question quickly and accurately.
      Please do not use Private Messaging for Tech Support, use the forums.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Sea Doo engine longevity

        Originally posted by Bill O'Neal2
        Write the question in three lines or less.
        LMAO!!!!!:p
        1997.5 Seadoo GSX(the one nobody likes)

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Sea Doo engine longevity

          Thanks Bill for your wisdom.
          I’m new to this site and to this sport.

          I recently purchased some project SeaDoo’s , a 92 XP, 94 SP and a 95SP. All with broken 580’s.

          I have 5 years and over 100 hours of ultralight (UL) flying experience. In ultralights, the Rotax engine is common and reliable power. Probably 80% of the UL’s have Rotax’s. That is one reason why I chose a SeaDoo.
          I have been doing research and looking for parts over the last month. One of the surprising things that I have noticed is the difference in the reliability of the Rotax. The UL version of the 587 is a 582. This engine in an UL will last +300 hours if maintained well.

          I spoke to my guru friend in UL’s and asked him how to avoid the rotary valve surface gaulding and the brass gear failure. He did not have a solution because he had rarely seen one fail in an UL. I also asked him about the oil pumps and would it be better for me to premix the oil. His reply was the oil injectors are very reliable.

          In another thread a SeaDoo is compared to a Yamaha. Many on the post commented of SeaDoos are not reliable and sited the engine problems.

          I understand that oil is very important to engine longevity. I expect to use the same oil as in my UL. It meets the standards, I forget the initials, for Rotax PWC engines. It’s Pennzoil 2 cycle for air cooled engines.

          I expect another thing to throw into this equation is the mentality of, If the engine starts lets go, full throttle till we get back to the dock, then it sits for a few days with water or moisture in the hull. That can’t do any good for it.

          What can I do while rebuilding or using them to make the engine last 200 hours?
          Last edited by Dino Doo; 09-21-2004, 05:34 PM.

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          • #6
            Re: Sea Doo engine longevity

            I have customers with 10-15 year old 580's with HUNDREDS of hours on them and still run great. But, typically, they are people who take care of their watercraft, do not run them in salty waters and have no young people trying to do spins and subs. They keep the bilge dry and the oil tank full, and avoid riding over shallow rock beds and sand bars. They get them serviced each year too.

            The 580 line of Rotax motor is used in everything from PWC's to generators and avaition, and more
            .
            I have rebuilt them for most uses.

            Airplanes do not normally injest water, which when squeezed between the rotary valve and the RV cover, removes material from the cover. Believe it or not, I occasionally get an old yellow 580 in here that the RV surfaces look great.
            Rotary valve gears almost never wear out. They get stripped when some foriegn object stops the rotary valve or they are allowed to run without oil.
            Probably 99% of the 580's that need to be rebuilt, the cause is some form of water injestion, either through the intake when riding, or from the exhaust and muffler condensation when parked. Less than 5% of the pwc owners know what fogging oil is or where and when to use it. But, the street rap on the Rotax motors is "weak crankshaft bearings", "seal problems" and the like.
            In reality, it is maintence, or lack of it that causes these problems.

            The old 580's are as reliable as any watercraft engine that was ever built if maintained properly.

            BTW, I found an almost fatal flaw in a brand new Rotax 582 that a customer sent here from Texas for me to inspect before he put it into his helicopter. The wiring loom that goes from the magneto to the coil runs externally on the side of the motor. There is a spot where it passes a very sharp piece of metal. I can easily see this wearing a hole in the wire loom, grounding out the coil. Should that happen, his helicopter would possibly become his coffin. I put a durable hard rubber sheath over this part of the wiring harness, and took some of the sharp edges off the metal bracket holding the harness.
            Bill O'Neal <br>
            WCM
            <a href="http://www.watercraftmagic.com"

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Sea Doo engine longevity

              Oh, And choose carefully who you listen to at any internet site that deals with pwc's. For a sport where great mechanics/shops are so few and far between, there sure seems to be an overabundant amount of experts on the internet willing to comment on just about everything.

              I agree with your friend about the 580 series Rotax motor. It is one stubborn and strong little motor. Most keep on running despite what the people who own them do to them.
              Bill O'Neal <br>
              WCM
              <a href="http://www.watercraftmagic.com"

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Sea Doo engine longevity

                [QUOTE=Bill O'Neal2]Oh, And choose carefully who you listen to at any internet site that deals with pwc's. For a sport where great mechanics/shops are so few and far between, there sure seems to be an overabundant amount of experts on the internet willing to comment on just about everything.
                /QUOTE]

                But If you read it on the internet is HAS to be true, right... right...
                When in doubt throttle it out...

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Sea Doo engine longevity

                  Thanks Bill for your time punching that out for us.

                  You confirmed two of ideas for the cause of early failure, Care and water ingestion. I'll do what I can to learn care and feeding of the Seadoo.
                  As I said earlier, I'm a newbie.

                  Are there any good books that would help me learn some dos and don'ts?

                  Dino Doo

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                  • #10
                    Re: Sea Doo engine longevity

                    No books - but start by watching all the videos and reading all the tech articles on this forum.
                    SBT Tech Support is here to help with your problems.
                    We try to answer each question quickly and accurately.
                    Please do not use Private Messaging for Tech Support, use the forums.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Sea Doo engine longevity

                      What Bill says is very true. In Michigan we have a long storage season and if not properly winterized engines seem to go at 2 or 3 years. No matter what you do on cylinder is open in the exhaust. The moisture from the exhaust is constant and corodes bearings cylinders etc. UL engines and snowmobile engines don't have the moisture problem. Good stuff when fogging coats everything. Also snowmobile engines don't wear the rv surface as bad as watercraft engines and they have a lot of snow dust going thru them.
                      BTW you forgot they use that engine and the 500 on portable sawmiles in the bush.
                      Dick Bell
                      http://www.hansenskidoo.com

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                      • #12
                        Re: Sea Doo engine longevity

                        You would definetly be miles ahead of the game if you bought an OEM service manual for an early 90's Sea Doo that comes with the 580 motor in it.
                        It really doesn't matter much which manual you buy, as the motor, electrics, exhaust, cooling and propulsion systems are similiar if not the same on many models from 1991-1993 and even most things similar up to 1995 models.
                        Bill O'Neal <br>
                        WCM
                        <a href="http://www.watercraftmagic.com"

                        Comment

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