2018 RXT-X 2 hours almost sunk

[azeus17]

Well, not a great Father's Day. My wife took the kids out for a ride. I saw them headed in and it was porpoising badly. I thought they were messing around with the VTS. She started yelling and I instantly noticed the rear end was under water. I immediately told her to beach it. I pulled the seat off and found it FULL of water. Not knowing where the water was coming from, I quickly pulled it over to the lift and put it up enough to pull the plugs and let it drain completely (took about 10 minutes). My main concern was water in the oil, so I pulled the dipstick and sure enough, it is milky. I have two questions:
1. What would cause this? I've read about some clamps...maybe that?
2. What should I expect when I call the dealer tomorrow?

Thanks

[polaris on fire]

Man that sucks. Probably another clamp wasn't tight. I took the advice on here and checked al mine. You should be able to see a hose that's off.

Need to get that oil system drained and refilled quick!!!!

[K447]

I cannot comment on how the water is getting in, but I will suggest that installing an electric bilge pump is worth considering.

A bilge pump may not prevent a sinking but it can buy some time to get back to shore before the engine becomes water flooded and stops.

I have installed bilge pumps rated for 1000+ gallons per hour in each of my own PWC. This is larger gph capacity than the typical 'minimal' bilge pump but if there is water in my hull, I want it going out as fast as possible.

If the bilge pump exit fitting is located somewhere easily seen then the water suddenly streaming out can be an early warning that something is not right and water is coming in. Which buys you more time.

[DinoMite]

Well, not a great Father's Day. My wife took the kids out for a ride. I saw them headed in and it was porpoising badly. I thought they were messing around with the VTS. She started yelling and I instantly noticed the rear end was under water. I immediately told her to beach it. I pulled the seat off and found it FULL of water. Not knowing where the water was coming from, I quickly pulled it over to the lift and put it up enough to pull the plugs and let it drain completely (took about 10 minutes). My main concern was water in the oil, so I pulled the dipstick and sure enough, it is milky. I have two questions:
1. What would cause this? I've read about some clamps...maybe that?
2. What should I expect when I call the dealer tomorrow?

Thanks

Clamp issue or broke carbon seal most likely. Was it running as it was sinking? I'd pump the oil out immediately and put fresh in and put some spray oil or oil into the cylinders without the plugs and crank the motor with the throttle held in for 5 sec or so. Check the oil again for water and maybe drain and fill again and see if it starts.

Could be other things as well. Prop could've spun off and pushed the shaft into the engine, but that is less likely. Take the access cover off and look around.

[pro10is]

I have an '18 GTX LTD. I took the advice given here to check all clamps. Not one was tightened anywhere near the factory torque rating. Most, in fact, were quite loose, basically hand tightened.

I tightened them all to the specified torque rating and installed double clamps on any fitting where an additional clamp would fit.

Everyone should check their clamps before putting a new ski in the water.

Also, I would never think of putting any boat in the water without a bilge pump. I added two to the GTX, a Johnson 1260 Cartridge Bilge Pump and the BRP factory accessory pump. Give yourself every chance to make it to shore.

[jeel]

Mine sunk because of damage to prop and jet pump causing driveshaft to move ..change the oil several times immediately if you havent done so already ..i brought it to a dealer for the rest and they did a boil down process on engine and the oil looks like new and ski runs great...

["Technically"]

FYI for the 2018 owners - depending when you took delivery of your 2018, my dealer has notified me recently of the following two bulletins active for the ST3 skis:

1. Check top storage lid required opening force and adjust if necessary due to customer complaints of handles being hard to pull, and:
2. Check torque of hose clamps on all open loop cooling hoses.

I'm guessing the latter might be of interest to you...

[azeus17]

I had read about the clamps prior to taking delivery of the ski, so I specifically asked the dealer if they had gone through it and checked them all which they said they did, so I took their word for it. I will reserve judgement until I hear back what the problem was, but starting to have a pretty bad feeling. I guess lesson learned, can't trust anyone but yourself!When I dropped it off this morning, the service guy acted completely stumped. He asked if I flipped it, which I didn't (had a 5 and 7 year old out with me) and then asked where the water was coming from. I kind of looked at him funny and told him that's what I was here to find out. I'll update as I find out more.

[pro10is]

Unless you have great trust in your dealer from past experience, don't trust them for anything if you don't have to. It's been my experience they will tell you what you want to hear but in many cases do not do what you ask and take shortcuts whenever they can. I'm not talking about only Sea-Doo dealers, I'm talking virtually all dealers (the only exception I've found to date is my current Subaru dealer).

I also checked the torque of the lug nuts on my new Triton trailer when I got home from the dealer. They were supposed to be 90 ft lbs. I was able to remove most by hand.

You are the only person you can trust to check these things. Putting your faith in a dealer is a total crapshoot.

[18gtxltd300]

Just picked up a new gtx 300, what clamps do I need to check? I haven't taken the service panel off yet, are most under this area? Sorry new with Sea-doo and pwc in general.

[WakePirate]

Go threw all water lines and move the clamps in more. Then make sure they are tight.

Yes you will need to take of the access panel/deck off. All are under there. Good luck!

[azeus17]

I realized I never closed the loop on this issue. Long story short is that the dealer could not find anything wrong with the ski. They said no hoses were loose or blown off. They checked all the clamps and tightened (I did verify this, all are tight). It left me feeling less than confident in our new ski, but we have put over 4 hours on it since getting it back and not a drop of water. I told the dealer it didn't make me feel very good and he agreed, but said he was just being honest and didn't know what to tell me. We still have 2.5 years of warranty, so I guess we just ride it and hope for the best.

I did decide to install a bilge pump and float switch as well as an audible alarm for when the pump is running. At least if it happens again, we might have a little more time and some warning.

[JJ119]

Keep an eye on the nut that the IBR actuator arm pass through. It will be screwed onto the hull right in front of the bellows. I'm a watercraft technician and have heard a few stories of that nut backing off on some new Sea-Doo's, causing them to sink really quick. Just a heads up