300/440/550 550 problems

[the flying dutchman]

whats up guys ive got some problems and need some help.

I have a 1990 kaw 550sx it has westcost water box factory brand pipe and mekuni carb with a pjs head. At the end of last summer i ended up droping a cylinder and took it to my local kawasaki dealer, i ended up getting it bored over as far as it would go witch im not sure exactly what that is i know i should. but it has wiseco pistons and rings in it. i took it out the other day for the first ride and my dad and i adjusted the carb for a while getting it back in place. But the major thing im wanting to know is that that thing is running wayyy to hot i mean extremely hot that i melted a rubber hose on my exaust pipe.

is this normal because if it gets that hot how am i gona rip on it once its 95 to 100 degrese outside, and help and answers please help thanks travis.

 

[Sanoman]

First off,are you running duel cooling?

 

[the flying dutchman]

to tell you the truth duel cooling, i dont think so how could i tell and what is it?

also when tuining the carb should it be done in any order?

thanks sanoman!

 

[aboarder]

Make sure you aren't too lean before you cook another cylinder. You should also make sure that your cooling system is working properly. Even with a single cooling line, you should never be able to melt anything under the hood. The water injecting into your exhaust should keep it cool enough to touch.

 

[Sanoman]

Make sure you aren't too lean before you cook another cylinder. You should also make sure that your cooling system is working properly. Even with a single cooling line, you should never be able to melt anything under the hood. The water injecting into your exhaust should keep it cool enough to touch.

Good call man! You are right,check these first before doing anything else.l guess l was thinking more about the pipe,increase in compression from the head and the fresh bore.Which would make it run hotter.

Answering your question about duel cooling is running two cooling lines from the pump,into the exhaust manifold and out through the head.There should be a thread on here or pwctoday explaining how you do that.But listen to what aboarder said and check that out before anything else.

 

[the flying dutchman]

thank you guys.
but yea its so hot steam is on my hood melted that cooling line and when water hits that pipe it just bubbles it.. dont think i could have fried anything that day that it happend?

To run two cooling lines would that solve the problem or would the one be fine and prob just something wrong and not working properley?

 

[the flying dutchman]

also would anyone out there know how the water flow is suposed to be on the 550 sx, like a diragram or something.?

any help would be great really appreate this site!

 

[danimal365]

Water should come in from the pump/firewall to the exhaust mani on the motor then out the head to the bottom of the exhaust pipe. some water then exits the bypass and the rest continues with the exhaust. That sounds like you are running really hot. Make sure you have water coming out the bypass.

 

[aboarder]

My 550 didn't have a bypass when it was stock. All the water drained into the pipe. I only added a bypass when I upgraded to dual cooling.

Dutchman, dual cooling is good to have on a modified machine, that makes more power and heat. It's not your problem though. A single cooling line will keep it cool enough. Make sure that water is flowing properly through your cooling system. Sand and other debris could have clogged the system. You can hook up a hose to the water fitting on the head and backflush some junk out of there. If that ski has been in salt water and was not properly flushed every time, alot of corrosion could have built up in the cylinder and exhaust mani as well.

Hooking up a second cooling line is a good idea. If you have a problem with one line, the other could save your engine. Find your problem first though. Try the backflush, then run the ski on your hose. You may already know how to do this, but I'll explain anyway. Hook it up on the water input side of your engine (hook the hose up to the line that goes from the firewall to the exhaust manifold), start your engine, then turn on the water a crack. See if water comes out of your exhaust while it's running. Just make sure you turn the water off before the engine.