help troubleshooting...

[slickchaos]

hey guys, so 2 weekends ago somehow my gas cap loosened up and i beleive water got in the tank.. the engine started to knock a bit. i measured some gas stabilizer and through it in there.. ran it to burn most of the gas and then brought the ski home.. this week, i took the head off, inspected the pistons (looked ok), took the gas tank out and emptied out the gas, put fresh gas back in, hooked it up to the water hose and started it a few times.. didnt seem like it was running right as it wouldn't stay on idle.

anyhowafter that, i tried to restart the ski yesterday.. it will start but will not to turn over..

took the plugs out and notice on one of there is some kind material in it.. see pic.. any idea what this is ? im gonna go grab some fresh plugs an see if that helps. .but wanted to check in with u guys, and make sure i dont do any further damage...

thanks !:sneaky:

 

[stanton]

ka-boom.
pull the head.

 

[slickchaos]

like a bad dream come true..

so i pulled the head, and heres what i saw, there some water in there with the small bits of pieces.. not sure what it was, but i couldn't push the piston down either to take pic of the chambers....

anyhow.. im new to the engine work..


anyone can tell me what this means and what i need to do to fix it ?

 

[stanton]

i see damage to the piston, lots of water intrustion. you need to completely tear down that motor.

 

[snowxr]

When you thought you got water in the tank you should have stopped riding, and drained the tank.
the engine started to knock a bit...
This is another sign that something was wrong, and you should have stopped riding
i measured some gas stabilizer and through it in there.. ran it to burn most of the gas and then brought the ski home..
How would stabilizer counteract the water in your tank? It's not a magic potion, and can't turn water to fuel (or wine)
this week, i took the head off, inspected the pistons (looked ok), took the gas tank out and emptied out the gas, put fresh gas back in, hooked it up to the water hose and started it a few times.. didnt seem like it was running right as it wouldn't stay on idle.
Did you leave the hose turned on while the motor wasn't running? anyhowafter that, i tried to restart the ski yesterday.. it will start but will not to turn over..

took the plugs out and notice on one of there is some kind material in it.. any idea what this is ?
Yep, that's part of your pistonim gonna go grab some fresh plugs an see if that helps.
That won't help

thanks !:sneaky:[/QUOTE]

Sorry about your breakdown. It looks like you need a top end rebuild, and maybe even a crank rebuild. An expensive lesson to learn.

 

[slickchaos]

ya lesson learned i guess.

i didnt think it was much water that got it, plus i was about a mile and 1.2 from my beach. so when i got it started i had to ride it back...


in answer to you other quesiton no i didnt leave the water running when the engine was stopped..

and the spark plug comment,s was before i took the head off..... doh !

would a top end rebuild kit from sbt work (assuming everything else is ok)

i.e. this... http://www.sbtontheweb.com/Merchant...de=60-402T&Category_Code=60-4&Product_Count=2

 

[Big Kahuna]

I would go with a ProX top end.

 

[WAB]

Take the cyl off to see if the crank turns freely w/o noise before you order anything. Crank might be rusted.
Sorry, man

 

[slickchaos]

ok so i took the coupler off and was able to move the crank side to side..
a full spin back and forth ..

though i can turn it no problem a full turn before i hit resistance. is that normal ? or should i be able to spin it freely as if it was bicyle wheel in the air.

 

[slickchaos]

oh and someone else also suggested this might be a case of the blowby's.

i had previosly took the head off to inspect a few days before and didnt realize ( newbie to engines) that i should replace the gasket and seal it.

i ended up using the same gasket.. a few questions...

1 ) heres a pic of the piston in question as well as the cyclinder for that piston ( 2 pics showing both sides). i think the cylinders look ok, unless im missing something..

2) IS the piston still ok, i notice some chips on the right and bottom of it.

3) Also there some remnants from the piston damage laying in the chamber going in to the exhaust.. does that pose a threat or should it be removed somehow.

4) what is the best way to remove the case with the b pipe attached to it..
i included a pic of my set up..

thanks !

 

[Mark44]

Do yourself a favor and pull that motor apart and inspect the crank bearings for a proper fix. No sense just replacing pistons you could have some bearings that need a cleaning and or change.

Mark44

 

[stanton]

oh and someone else also suggested this might be a case of the blowby's.

i had previosly took the head off to inspect a few days before and didnt realize ( newbie to engines) that i should replace the gasket and seal it.

i ended up using the same gasket.. a few questions...

1 ) heres a pic of the piston in question as well as the cyclinder for that piston ( 2 pics showing both sides). i think the cylinders look ok, unless im missing something..

2) IS the piston still ok, i notice some chips on the right and bottom of it.

3) Also there some remnants from the piston damage laying in the chamber going in to the exhaust.. does that pose a threat or should it be removed somehow.

4) what is the best way to remove the case with the b pipe attached to it..
i included a pic of my set up..

thanks !

1. looks ok, hard to tell in the pics though.
2. no they are trashed
3. you need to tear down your entire motor and inspect/clean the parts
4. remove the pipe, take the motor out.

 

[tipafew]

Yep, That motor needs to come out. Pull the pipe off, pull battery and tank out of the way to make life easier, unbolt electrical box from the firewall, unhook start/stop switches, unhook throttle cable off carb and pull it all out.

Like Mark44 said, you will want to pull the bottom end apart as well. If the crank is bad or you have metal shavings floating around down there, you will be rebuilding it again soon. If there is water down in the cases, you will want to get to it soon. Rust can happen quickly on those crank bearings. You might be okay with just a hone and ProX top end kit. Hard to tell at this point.
Yes, your water intrusion was very likely caused by the head gasket. In the future, watch your spitter on the side of the boat anytime you pull a head off. Air bursts in the water stream tell you that your head gasket is leaking.