1996 GTX project.....

[cocacolaxyz]

Bringing another ski back to life.
All signs so far look good...simple stuff to fix.
Great spark and compression.
New battery but starter seemed to have an issue....turned out to be loose and dirty connections.

Need assistance with oiling system.
Looks like 2 hoses from oil tank.
Smaller one to oil pump on front of engine (had a kink in the hose, so I cut out the kink), then 2 tiny hoses that connect just behind carbs to the intake.
The looks like a much larger hose going to engine under the carbs somewhere.

When I tried to start it, the plugs fouled quickly.
I think that larger hose goes to something that allowed excessive oil in crankcase.

Jump in here anytime and educate me.

Also looking for some sort of diagram for the oiling system.
Maybe this thing has sat so long....oil in crankcase happened over time.

[Myself]

Very common on older 'Doos. The 1/2" lines go to an oil bath in the center of the crankcase. It's for the rotary valve gears. The side seals shrink up over time and allow the thin 2 stroke oil to seep into the case under the cylinders and burn out or even hydro lock the engine up. You can get them off the 2 stroke tank, loop them to each other, and fill the RV cavity with heavy gear lube. My son's '96 XP has been 'bandaided' like this for 5 years now with no issues.

[cocacolaxyz]

thank you....

not sure I understand

You can get them off the 2 stroke tank (side seals? off the tank?)
loop them to each other (Hmm.....got any pics or video?)
fill the RV cavity with heavy gear lube (I can do this)

[cocacolaxyz]

side seals in orange?

[cocacolaxyz]

can you just remove the hose, pump it full of grease and reattach the hose without any other disassembly?

[Myself]

Yep those are the seals to the RV (rotary valve) gear cavity. They are there to keep the oil IN that little area.
Here is my 'bandaid fix' method.
-remove the 1/2 return hose from the top of the oil tank
-loosen the oil cap
-blow through the hose so all the 2 stroke oil spits back into the tank from the lower/supply hose.....under the carbs
-pinch off that lower hose
-pull the lower hose off from under the carbs and stick it up onto the top tank fitting. Now the 1/2" hose part of the tank can't leak anywhere.
-take the return hose you were blowing in and 'LOOP' it down under the carbs and attach it.....the RV cavity is now looped.
-cut that hose in the high spot somewhere right up in front of the engine.
-now use something like 95w/140 gear lube into the LOWER (right) hose. As you (slowly) fill the air bubbles can escape from the high (left) side. Fill until you see it sitting up in the hoses.
-stick the 2 hose halves together with a 1/2" pex 90 or splice connector.
-your RV cavity is now looped and 'bandaided' without replacing the crank and should NOT seep into the cylinders.

Somebody really should sticky that. I've repeated it MANY times to members.

[cocacolaxyz]

awesome...thanks

[cocacolaxyz]

this procedure works so well and easy to do. thanks a lot.

I recently bought this Seadoo and it's everything the guy said it was: rebuilt RAVE valves/Starter/Carbs/Excellent compression/Excellent spark.

The only issue seems to be that you sometimes crank engine and hear a "clank" with no rotation. Retry and it turns over just fine. With plugs removed you can rotate crankshaft by hand but it seems there is a tight part of the rotation. Crankcase pressure?

Starter turns over well outside of engine, but could be weak. Maybe I should try another battery. He said the one he had in it was new but I think the capacity is too low (18Ah). Wrong battery?

Maybe this engine sat for a long time and might have some internal rust....either on cylinders or bearings. I put some CorrossionX in the intake (carbs off right now) and lots in the cylinders. Seems to have freed things up. I have a borescope and plan to look at cylinders. Compression is 148 & 155.

[Myself]

There will be no crankcase pressure with the plugs out. With the carbs and intake removed you can see the lower rod bearings. IF....the oil leaking into the cases from the RV cavity was enough to foul plugs, it's very likely that it was ALSO trying to hydrolock the engine sometimes. Repeated starting attempts in that scenario will weaken or burn up the starter.

[cocacolaxyz]

Great. I think it might have weaken the starter. Previous owner claims the starter was recently rebuilt. Would rebuilding a starter bring it back to spec?

[Myself]

NO, when they've been seriously overworked it ruins the windings on the armature.

[cocacolaxyz]

thanks for that information. Also noted it is probably an aftermarket starter (black in color). Seems to me I read where aftermarket starters are junk.

[cocacolaxyz]

Until now, I did not have a PWC with RAVE valves. Previous owner said they were rebuilt. Hopefully they function correctly. It looks like there is a 3rd one on the exhaust can (muffler?) that injects water. Is there a maintenance for that? Before I get too far....I will address starter first.

[Myself]

The water regulating RAVE has a metal spring clamp under it. Thay commonly rub a hole through the diaphragm. If it has not already happened replace the metal clamp with a thin zip tie.

[cocacolaxyz]

The water regulating RAVE has a metal spring clamp under it. Thay commonly rub a hole through the diaphragm. If it has not already happened replace the metal clamp with a thin zip tie.

thanks for the tip