94 XP died while idling up the creek

[Thomas Reynolds]

Hi I have a 94 XP I bought new which has never been modded and that has never had any engine work done on it. (I rebuilt the jet pump in '01.)

I usually only ride it about 3-5 times a year.

Warmed her up and went to WOT a few times before slowing for a vary narrow creek entrance. I idled along a creek for about 2 hours and after turning around coming back up the creek I throttled it up to a very slow 2250rpms or so (trying to keep up with wife in 94 Kawasaki SS Xi). I ran this rpm for a good solid 20 minutes.

All of a sudden it started to die and after giving it a little throttle it shut off. Attempted to restart it seemed to be out of fuel as it would fire off but as soon as I let go of the start button it would die. I changed the fuel selector to RES but it made no difference. A quick inspection under the seat revealed a strong smell of raw fuel.

Wife towed me in.

Tonight in the garage it is no different. Compression tested it and got 150 on both cylinders. Plugs were both equally sooty and looked very rich(could be from the long time idling though.) Saw a few backfires up the MAG carb tonight. I removed the intake box assembly and cowling. I found wet fuel underneath the MAG carb on the throttle/oil bracket near where the cables are. This seems very odd to me. I searched the forums and turned up nothing about a carb fuel leak.

Tomorrow night I will remove the carbs. Keep in mind these carbs have never been touched since installed at the factory.

Does anyone have any advice/theories?

Thanks.

[Johnnylaw]

Re: 94 XP died while idling up the creek

You need to solve the fuel leak 1st and formost. Starting with rebuilding the carbs. You should pressure test the fuel system looking for leaks if you are not sure where the fuel was coming from. I would put in new plugs and also check the battery voltage.

[Bill O'Neal2]

Re: 94 XP died while idling up the creek

You have a cracked intake manifold.

[Thomas Reynolds]

Re: 94 XP died while idling up the creek

You have a cracked intake manifold.

Interesting theory. I can't wait to run home and look. Is this common for this year boat and engine? Wow Bill O'Neal too...I bought gator grips for this boat from you way back when I used to read your posts on newsgroups back in 98-99!

[Bill O'Neal2]

Re: 94 XP died while idling up the creek

Yes real common, especially if you run the same rpm for long periods of time. Two strokes hate that.

[Thomas Reynolds]

Re: 94 XP died while idling up the creek

Well it turns out the intake manifold appears to be fine. The carbs look very wierd though. Take a look here:

[Johnnylaw]

Re: 94 XP died while idling up the creek

No attachment or photo?

[Johnnylaw]

Re: 94 XP died while idling up the creek

Send them to Bill at Watercraft Magic to rebuild. Possible fuel leak is getting under the paint and lifting it.

[Bill O'Neal2]

Re: 94 XP died while idling up the creek

Those carbs actully look pretty much like about all the carbs that come through here with the paint peeling off. What I noticed is that they do not appear to have ever been taken apart and rebuilt or even cleaned inside. They are going on thier 12th birthday. It is way past time to have them rebuilt.

Right below the top left bolt on the intake manifold, looks like a hairline crack. Do a through examination after cleaning the intake manifold for any type of fracture in the casting. They can be difficult to see, especially if dirty.