SX/SXi/SXi Pro Just Picked Up My First SXI!

[sxipro02]

Mine came apart easy, Remove impeller, push out driveshaft (hammer and block of wood), I used a long drift to knock out the bearings, also used a drift and hammer to install the new bearings. I had a press in front of me but didnt need it.

 

[Skirunner24]

Ya thanks, I finally got them out. It was a helluva time though. Took 2.5 hours. Nothing came out easy unfortunately. Something must have been misaligned, because when I put it all back together, the bearing dropped and the cone fit back on. Glad to have the pump done. Now just waiting on a bendix, flywheel, and stator to get here. Should be able to drop everything back in and get it all back together soon after that!

 

[Skirunner24]

Got the engine back in today after fixing a TON of crappy work by the previous owner. I've never seen someone use that much RTV sealant EVERYWHERE in my life. Anyway, I've got another issue unfortunately. I tried cranking the motor over and am getting some unusual problems. I charged the battery I got with the ski (unsure of its age/origin) and it seemed to charge up ok. Hooked everything up and started cranking on the motor. It was barely turning over if at all. I then noticed smoke arising from the junction of the positive battery cable at the battery. The cable was pretty old looking so I replaced it and cleaned the battery terminals. Cranked the motor over again it had a little more power, but not much (a very slow constant turn) The smoking at the battery cable was gone, however I noticed some smoke arising from the positive cable now on the starter (at the starter). I felt all the connections (battery pos and neg, and starter pos and neg) and all were very warm/hot. I decided to check the battery again on my charger which also gives an approximate charge of the battery and it read 65% already after maybe 10 total seconds of cranking. So, any advice on the likely problem? Could a bad starter cause that kind of draw and heat up connections to that point or could it just be a bad battery? Unfortunately I don't have another battery to test the starter out. Hoping for some help here before I have to either tear the pipe back out to replace the starter, or break down and buy another friggin' battery.

 

[PLD]

How easy is the motor to turn over without the plugs? Can you turn it over by hand at the coupler? Id take some jumper cables and attach them to your vehicles battery, see if that helps. If it is your starter those are pretty easy to come by since every kawi 2-stroke ski used the same one. Also you shouldnt have to remove the pipe either to get the starter out, only the the chamber if need be.

But if you have a voltmeter check the resistance between your connections first to be sure.

 

[Skirunner24]

Well, I hooked the starter straight up to some jumpers and to my car and had the same symptoms. I yanked the starter and hooked it straight up to the battery and it didn't seem to spin at all (but sparked real hard?). I had another starter laying around so I hooked that one up to the battery directly as well. This one sparked hard as well but spun some when I touched the battery terminals. I've never bench tested a starter before...Is it normal to have that kind of spark when you touch the leads to the battery? The starter I had laying around seemed to give more spin than the one I pulled so I may just slap it in and see what happens. Any other advice?


I would definitely like to have checked it with a multimeter, but I'm unfortunately working a with limited number of tools since most of my equipment is back home.

I am able to turn the motor by hand at the coupler...

 

[PLD]

Yes its pretty normal to spark that much if yiu do not get a real direct connection, starters draw a lot of power. Did you try bypassing the start solenoid at the box too? If you did/do that and theres no change, sounds like you're gonna be pulling that starter.

 

[Skirunner24]

It was a bad starter. Got another one in and problem solved. Unfortunately I can't get this thing running. Spent a lot of time on it today with nothing to show for it. I'm pretty sure the carbs need to be rebuilt and I'll be ordering a rebuild kit tonight. However, it's giving me some weird symptoms I'm hoping someone can recognize. I get nothing while cranking it. No sputter. Pulled the plugs and they are both very wet. Checked spark and both plugs look strong. However, when I checked the front cylinder's plug spark, (holding plug to stud) the engine started rumbling! It will actually run (obviously very rough) with the front plug pulled...whats up with this? When I pull the rear plug, I got smoke coming billowing out but none from the front cylinder. I figured the timing was off and I had somehow sheared the woodruff key. Pulled the flywheel and the key was fine! No idea where to go from here. This project has become much more of a PITA than I had anticipated....Any advice?

 

[97superjet]

Try a different stator if you got one..I had a similar problem but my ski wouldnt even fire, just crank over.. if its got compression, got fuel inside the cylinders then it needs spark..

 

[Skirunner24]

I actually just replaced the stator from another clean 750...hmmm

 

[Skirunner24]

Any other ideas? I have two weeks to get this thing running to use at a buddies lake for the weekend...

 

[PLD]

Couple easy things to try/think about; how old are the plugs? trimmed the plugs wires a little? swap the plugs wires on the plugs.

 

[Skirunner24]

Update...got the flywheel and stator back on. Replaced plugs with brand new ones. Tried swapping wires. Compression is solid at 142/143. Rechecked spark again to be sure and both plugs show nice strong arcs. Still have fuel on the plugs with no rumble or stutter. I have no idea where to head now. Carbs would seem to be the next thing to tackle I guess. I've got rebuild kits with new needles and seats on the way. Hopefully be here by the weekend. I'm totally stumped with this thing. Could these symptoms indicate a carb problem?

 

[PLD]

Your needles could be worn or sticking open and flooding your engine. Try cutting off the fuel supply for now let it sit with the plugs out turn it over a couple times to help it dry out. Than after a few minutes, pour a little gas through the carb and see if it attempts to start.

 

[Brax]

if you ditch the timing advance id love to buy it for my early sx.... good luck with the ski

 

[Skirunner24]

Decided to check the spark ONE more time since nothing else is adding up. After turning it over and checking the front plug, I realized it looks like the spark starts off decently strong and then grows weaker and erratic after a couple seconds of cranking. Could the new (used) stator be a pos? Sorry for constantly bumping this thread with questions...just want to get it in the water.

Brax...I'll look for the advance and get back to you

 

[Skirunner24]

BIG update: It was the F*$@ing stator!! Had an old one laying around that I thought was shot...bolted it on and she fired right up...now I've got some issues with the guy who sold me the stator...

 

[Skirunner24]

Got out riding yesterday! Big thanks to all for the help in getting her running again. She ran pretty well except for some hesitation/bogging when grabbing a handful of throttle. Screamed after that all the way through the powerband. I'm hoping a rebuild on the carbs and a little low speed adjustments can take care of that... Also, anyone familiar with R&D heads? I picked one up on pwctoday and am trying to figure out the correct install. It looks like just the orings and 1211 on the mating surfaces to seal the water jacket? The head is also dual cooling. Should I actually utilize the dual cooling or just block off one inlet on the head and stick with one cooling line? (if possible)

 

[Skirunner24]

Thought I'd give an update in case anyone needs the info in the future... I ended up rejetting to 80's on the low. It now runs AWESOME. Also slapped on a high comp head. A little tweak with the low speed screws and I finally had a nice smooth, consistent powerband. I also switched back to the stock flame arrestor. Unfortunately had the ride plate rip off on me last weekend. All four inserts had rotted out from a horrible previous repair. I picked up some all brass inserts on amazon and glassed them in. So far, so good!

 

[Big Pin]

Thanks for the info. For some reason I figured that that pipe had it its own cooling loop separate from the head. Any advice removing the timing plate, or is it pretty straightforward?

Think 2000's and up have the advanced cooling loop for the pipe. I have an 01 and i have the advanced cooling loop on my pipe