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  • Horrible SBT Experience!!

    I just want to share what a horrible experience I had with the SBT engine I bought. I have a 2001 Kawasaki STX 1100 Di. It ran great until the oil pump broke loose. I took into a dealership and they ordered the SBT engine for me and installed it. They also installed a brand new oil pump and installed that. New plugs @ $20 each were installed. The bill was around $2,500 ... this was one of SBT's most expensive engines. I took the ski through the recommended break in procedure. Everything got worse from there. The thing never ran right after the first full fuel tank. It sputters, dies, runs rough, smokes, fouls plugs, you name it. I took the ski back to 3 different dealers and no one was able to fix it. They pointed to the engine as being the bad apple. I paid over $500 additional dollars to get it fixed and nothing worked.

    There is nothing wrong with any of the peripheral parts...everything was checked out and runs good. They said that the SBT engines have not performed well at all for this kind of ski. They have seen consitent issues with the one block 3 cylinder engines coming from SBT and that they don't recomemnd them at all from SBT. I have spend thousands of dollars trying to fix my ski and have not gotten any enjoyment out of it. SBT has sold me a lemon. I don't have any more money left to pay to switch the defective engine out with a new one and I don't know what to do at this point. It is definitly not the TPS that is malfunctioning. They replaced the computer and it didn't take care of the problem. I would appreciate any help or assistance. Thanks !

  • #2
    Re: Horrible SBT Experience!!

    I would first question how reputible the shop is that did the motor exchange.You didnt mention anything about the carbs being dealt with,which would cause most of the symtoms that you explained.Were the reeds checked ? And all new gaskets put on the intake side ? Was the new oil pump and lines bled ? Did they run a compression check ? Assuming that you ran premix in the tank as well as the oil pump also ?

    I am not all too familiar with Kawi's.

    And also...thats why you have a waranty.

    Worse comes to worse....pull it and send it back to have them check it.I am sure TS will reply when he gets a chance also.
    Visit www.pwctoday.com for techical help

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    • #3
      Re: Horrible SBT Experience!!

      Have you even contacted SBT about this yet? You bought the premium engine with the 2 year warranty. You should be covered. . . if it is in fact the engine. Frankly i would bet that the people who did the install fudged up.

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      • #4
        Re: Horrible SBT Experience!!

        SBT don't want their customers to receive bad products. Occasionally one may slip through, but from what i have seen, SBT take care of their customers. You need to assess your situation.....you have an SBT product, but it was installed by a 3rd party.

        Not to undermine dealers because there a lot of good dealers out there, but a lot of them are also very poor and often do things wrong. You have a product with a good warranty, you can rectify the situation by starting there. Maybe look carefully for someone that you know you can trust.

        Like the others said, your symptoms look to be carb related. Do you have any friends that know someone that can help you. My local mechanic is excellent, but i am in Australia. I'm sure there will be someone that can help you out, just sit down and have a think about it. DON'T continue to pay dealers to give you crap service. If you can find the problem, take it back to the dealer and tell them what they have done wrong and get them to fix it......Others on this site are happy to help you sort out your problems as well.

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        • #5
          Re: Horrible SBT Experience!!

          Heh, you paid almost $1k over the price of the engine to have it installed, and yet this "dealer" can't get the ski to run right? There's very few things to go wrong with the engine itself.. if compression checks out, leakdown checks out, and the crank is in index, you really can't blame the engine (your dealer checked this, correct?)...

          And on top of that, they wanted $500 to "try" to get it to run right... and they still didn't get it right?

          I think you're firing the blame in the wrong direction to be honest. Quite honestly installing these engines isn't all that difficult.. you could have saved tons o bucks.

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          • #6
            Re: Horrible SBT Experience!!

            yeah....you've gotta wonder why the dealer originally chose to install a SBT rebuld (which they obviously felt at the time to best the best option) and now bag SBT and shift the blame onto SBT. If the dealer didn't think that SBT were any good, then why would they use an SBT engine for your rebuld? Sounds silly to me. In short, i think they are taking you for a ride. Demand that they fix the problems. If they don't sort it out for you then i'd be onto the consumer watch dog and report this dealer. In Australia, we call it consumer affairs (they help out the customer in circumstances such as this). Definately don't give the dealer any more money! They would have supplied you with a quote to the the job initially. They must deliver on that quote (you have paid good money) so don't let them shift any blame, etc.

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            • #7
              Re: Horrible SBT Experience!!

              "if compression checks out, leakdown checks out, and the crank is in index, you really can't blame the engine"

              I agree, I doubt the engine is the probelm

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              • #8
                Re: Horrible SBT Experience!!

                For starters, DI engines do not have carburetors. So it is not a carburetor issue. But, it may be a fuel injection issue.

                Like others have said, a two stroke engine is a very simple mechanical device. If it has no air leaks, the crankshaft is not twisted and it has good compression in all clyinders, I doubt your problem is in anyway SBT's fault.

                The 1100 STX DI motor is a very good motor that uauslly will not fail without something else causing the failure.

                What did the dealership mechanic pin point as the reason for the original engine failure? If he cannot tell you exactly what caused your engines failure, how can he expect the new engine to work correctly?

                Did he test the fuel injectors? Or just bolt them back onto the new motor? How much fuel pressure does the system have? Is the fuel pump in good shape?

                Why did the dealership return to you a STX that does not run correctly and say it is ready to go?
                Last edited by Bill O'Neal2; 12-30-2005, 02:42 PM.
                Bill O'Neal <br>
                WCM
                <a href="http://www.watercraftmagic.com"

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