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Need some serious help with this 97 XP that I been having serious issues with.
From the very start when I bought it used from someone it had some problem coming of the line. It would feel like the engine is spinning but the pump is not pushing the water. It felt like it was pushing air instead of water. The same thing you would feel if you picked up sea weed in your intake grate (however in this case you would never get it to move unless you cleaned the intake grate). I don't have a tach so I can't tell you the RPMs but they did sound rather high. In either case the speed would eventually (few seconds) pick up but never reach the top 97XP speed. (I have two stock units). Below I will list the things I have done and after that what is my current very bad situation.
1. I started off with cleaning the RAVE valves. I did that and ended up replacing one of the rave valves because it looked bad.
2. I took off the head, checked the inside of the cylinders for scores and etc. Pretty much everything looked not bad at all. The MAG piston had tiny scores but I'm not even 100% sure about that. Since some "Joe" assembled this ski none of the gaskets were dressed properly so I changed the gaskets and applied proper treatments to them (as per manual).
3. Snipped the spark plug wires.
The above three were done in one shot and the next time I went out I noticed some minor top end gain but still it had some serious issue with coming of the line. While riding, the ski blew the rubber connection between the exhaust manifold and exhaust tube heading to the water box. (Yes it changed to some purple color). I read around and it said it is probably the problem with the water regulator. So I inspected and cleaned the water regulator and found nothing irregular. Replaced the rubber connection with a new piece and on the next trip I blew it again. I thought and hoped it is the problem with water delivery to the engine and possible clearance with the wear ring. To my surprise I found something even more interesting (the 5th repair)
4. Replaced the wear ring.
5. While looking around I found that the water line running out of the cylinders (under the exhaust manifold) to the pump was completely clogged with sand (from the T split all the way to the pump). I removed the exhaust; completely replaced the water line with new one. Re-sealed the exhaust (new gasket) and went out again.
6. Replaced the impeller with a new one. Stock part #. (This was done after the above two steps were tested first, however it didn't change anything)
I prayed that the above problem was my main issue with coming of the line/pushing air and not reaching full top end speed. Little did I know when I got back on the water I still had the same problem. However it became even more problematic. My ski was running defiantly no more then 30MPH. I was going crazy, while on the water I replaced the spark plugs with 2 brand new ones and was able to gain at least 15MPH. It was still running rather slow but at least moving. That day came back from the river (Hudson) I started to notice more and more that the motor would run away while on land. If you just give it little gas the RPMs would rise dramatically and it would not shut off unless you pull the landyard (or stop it) AND pull the choke or press the gas. Typical run-away condition. The RPMs would also never drop back to normal if the gas was ever applied to the ski while it was running on the trailer which eventually (5-10 seconds) would cause the ran-away condition. The next step was done two days ago (never tested) and the steps after that are telling me to pull the engine (in progress).
7. I read online somewhere that out of alignment rear seal (where the 2 drive shafts meet) could possibly cause this weird condition with coming of the line and reach top end. Luckily for me I already bought the alignment shaft before so I had it handy. I did the alignment and prayed even more that this would solve the problem. (But my chance is slim to none and will not get tested for a X amount of time)
I decided that all of the above steps were a huge BS and my problem was in THE carburetors. I said to myself the run-away condition has to be because of the air/fuel mixture is to lean and they must be also causing all of the above conditions.
Upon inspections of the carburetors I found that the fuel filters were completely clogged (like I don't even understand how anything went through them). They were grease black and filled to the top of some crap. (Yes I said here is my problem). Also the fuel filter on the main line was also clogged!! (Yes I said again, here is my problem).
8. I rebuild the carburetors, adjusted the pop off pressure to around 35. Manual says 22-48 is ok.
9. Replaced the fuel filter and assembled the annoying thing back again. Dressed all the gaskets properly (as per manual) and was sure I fixed the problem. I was sure it wasn't going to run-away.
Guess what? The **** thing was running away even better now. Ha it was getting even more air (or gas?) from somewhere. I played for two hours with adjusting the carburetors with no success. I decided to pull the rotary valve cover and inspect that oring for cracks.
HERE IS THE NEW IDEA!!!!
Upon pulling that I found something so interesting that none of you will probably believe. The cover that covers the balance shaft (catalog name: cover bearing) from the PTO side and the broken snap ring, they were both sitting on the bottom of the hull. If you look at microfiche for 97XP under rotary valve diagram it is number 21 and 23. I rushed to the dealer to get a new snap ring in hopes of putting the cover back in and sealing it. When I got to the dealer I came to find out that whole assembly superseded to a one piece system that has to be put in when the case is split apart. NOOOOOOOO!! Ok I said to myself fine, I'll take apart the **** thing and replace it.
At this point I thought that whole had been opened for quite some time, cause serious air leak and serious lose of power.
WRONG! After reading how the balance shaft is assembled I realized that that piece is a sealed part of the crankcase, because it gets filled up with SAE 30 oil and it is supposed to stay there forever. So how can it leak air if it is not supposed to leak oil?
Right now I'm pulling the engine for further inspection in hopes of finding a fix to this before I sink this **** ski!!! I also came to conclusion that this was a previously sank recovery craft. That I have purchased from a fellow sea-doo.net member.
Please help me, tell me what to do! I'm tired of this crap and I hoped that I will be able to go out at least one more time this season but this **** ski is not running correctly (or at all in this case).
Sorry for this extremely long message but I felt the whole history was needed to identify the problem.
From the very start when I bought it used from someone it had some problem coming of the line. It would feel like the engine is spinning but the pump is not pushing the water. It felt like it was pushing air instead of water. The same thing you would feel if you picked up sea weed in your intake grate (however in this case you would never get it to move unless you cleaned the intake grate). I don't have a tach so I can't tell you the RPMs but they did sound rather high. In either case the speed would eventually (few seconds) pick up but never reach the top 97XP speed. (I have two stock units). Below I will list the things I have done and after that what is my current very bad situation.
1. I started off with cleaning the RAVE valves. I did that and ended up replacing one of the rave valves because it looked bad.
2. I took off the head, checked the inside of the cylinders for scores and etc. Pretty much everything looked not bad at all. The MAG piston had tiny scores but I'm not even 100% sure about that. Since some "Joe" assembled this ski none of the gaskets were dressed properly so I changed the gaskets and applied proper treatments to them (as per manual).
3. Snipped the spark plug wires.
The above three were done in one shot and the next time I went out I noticed some minor top end gain but still it had some serious issue with coming of the line. While riding, the ski blew the rubber connection between the exhaust manifold and exhaust tube heading to the water box. (Yes it changed to some purple color). I read around and it said it is probably the problem with the water regulator. So I inspected and cleaned the water regulator and found nothing irregular. Replaced the rubber connection with a new piece and on the next trip I blew it again. I thought and hoped it is the problem with water delivery to the engine and possible clearance with the wear ring. To my surprise I found something even more interesting (the 5th repair)
4. Replaced the wear ring.
5. While looking around I found that the water line running out of the cylinders (under the exhaust manifold) to the pump was completely clogged with sand (from the T split all the way to the pump). I removed the exhaust; completely replaced the water line with new one. Re-sealed the exhaust (new gasket) and went out again.
6. Replaced the impeller with a new one. Stock part #. (This was done after the above two steps were tested first, however it didn't change anything)
I prayed that the above problem was my main issue with coming of the line/pushing air and not reaching full top end speed. Little did I know when I got back on the water I still had the same problem. However it became even more problematic. My ski was running defiantly no more then 30MPH. I was going crazy, while on the water I replaced the spark plugs with 2 brand new ones and was able to gain at least 15MPH. It was still running rather slow but at least moving. That day came back from the river (Hudson) I started to notice more and more that the motor would run away while on land. If you just give it little gas the RPMs would rise dramatically and it would not shut off unless you pull the landyard (or stop it) AND pull the choke or press the gas. Typical run-away condition. The RPMs would also never drop back to normal if the gas was ever applied to the ski while it was running on the trailer which eventually (5-10 seconds) would cause the ran-away condition. The next step was done two days ago (never tested) and the steps after that are telling me to pull the engine (in progress).
7. I read online somewhere that out of alignment rear seal (where the 2 drive shafts meet) could possibly cause this weird condition with coming of the line and reach top end. Luckily for me I already bought the alignment shaft before so I had it handy. I did the alignment and prayed even more that this would solve the problem. (But my chance is slim to none and will not get tested for a X amount of time)
I decided that all of the above steps were a huge BS and my problem was in THE carburetors. I said to myself the run-away condition has to be because of the air/fuel mixture is to lean and they must be also causing all of the above conditions.
Upon inspections of the carburetors I found that the fuel filters were completely clogged (like I don't even understand how anything went through them). They were grease black and filled to the top of some crap. (Yes I said here is my problem). Also the fuel filter on the main line was also clogged!! (Yes I said again, here is my problem).
8. I rebuild the carburetors, adjusted the pop off pressure to around 35. Manual says 22-48 is ok.
9. Replaced the fuel filter and assembled the annoying thing back again. Dressed all the gaskets properly (as per manual) and was sure I fixed the problem. I was sure it wasn't going to run-away.
Guess what? The **** thing was running away even better now. Ha it was getting even more air (or gas?) from somewhere. I played for two hours with adjusting the carburetors with no success. I decided to pull the rotary valve cover and inspect that oring for cracks.
HERE IS THE NEW IDEA!!!!
Upon pulling that I found something so interesting that none of you will probably believe. The cover that covers the balance shaft (catalog name: cover bearing) from the PTO side and the broken snap ring, they were both sitting on the bottom of the hull. If you look at microfiche for 97XP under rotary valve diagram it is number 21 and 23. I rushed to the dealer to get a new snap ring in hopes of putting the cover back in and sealing it. When I got to the dealer I came to find out that whole assembly superseded to a one piece system that has to be put in when the case is split apart. NOOOOOOOO!! Ok I said to myself fine, I'll take apart the **** thing and replace it.
At this point I thought that whole had been opened for quite some time, cause serious air leak and serious lose of power.
WRONG! After reading how the balance shaft is assembled I realized that that piece is a sealed part of the crankcase, because it gets filled up with SAE 30 oil and it is supposed to stay there forever. So how can it leak air if it is not supposed to leak oil?
Right now I'm pulling the engine for further inspection in hopes of finding a fix to this before I sink this **** ski!!! I also came to conclusion that this was a previously sank recovery craft. That I have purchased from a fellow sea-doo.net member.
Please help me, tell me what to do! I'm tired of this crap and I hoped that I will be able to go out at least one more time this season but this **** ski is not running correctly (or at all in this case).
Sorry for this extremely long message but I felt the whole history was needed to identify the problem.
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